World Terrorism: News, History and Research Of A Changing World #6 Disinformation, Inc.

VEVAK learned its methodology from the Soviet KGB and many of the Islamist revolutionaries who supported Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini actually studied at Moscow's Patrice Lumumba Friendship University, the Oxford of terrorism. Documented Iranian alumni include the current Supreme Leader (the faqih) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, under whose Velayat-e Faqih (Rule of the Islamic Jurisprudent) apparatus it has traditionally operated. Its current head is Cabinet Minister Hojatoleslam Gholam-Hussein Mohseni-Ezhei, a graduate of Qom's Haqqani School, noted for its extremist position advocating violence against enemies and strict clerical control of society and government. The Ministry is very well funded and its charge, like that of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (the Pasdaran) is to guard the revolutionary Islamic Iranian regime at all costs and under all contingencies.

From the KGB playbook, VEVAK learned the art of disinformation. It's not so difficult to learn: tell the truth 80% of the time and lie 20%. Depending on how well a VEVAK agent wants to cover his/her tracks, the ratio may go up to 90/10, but it never drops below the 80/20 mark as such would risk suspicion and possible detection. The regime in Teheran has gone to great lengths to place its agents in locations around the world. Many of these operatives have been educated in the West, including the U.K. and the United States. Iranian government agencies such as embassies, consulates, Islamic cultural centers, and airline offices regularly provide cover for the work of VEVAK agents who dress well and are clean shaven, and move comfortably within our society. In this country, because of the severance of diplomatic relations, the principal site of VEVAK activities begins at the offices of Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York.

Teheran has worked diligently to place its operatives in important think tanks and government agencies in the West. Some of its personnel have been recruited while in prison through torture or more often through bribery, or a combination of both. Others are Islamist revolutionaries that have been set up to look like dissidents - often having been arrested and imprisoned, but released for “medical reasons”. The clue to detecting the fake “dissident” is to read carefully what he/she writes, and to ask why this vocal “dissident” was released from prison when other real dissidents have not been released, indeed have been grievously tortured and executed. Other agents have been placed in this country for over twenty-five years to slowly go through the system and rise to positions of academic prominence due to their knowledge of Farsi and Shia Islam or Islamist fundamentalism.

One of the usual tactics of VEVAK is to co-opt academia to its purposes. Using various forms of bribery, academics are bought to defend the Islamic Republic or slander its enemies. Another method is to assign bright students to train for academic posts as specialists in Iranian or Middle East affairs. Once established, such individuals are often consulted by our government as it tries to get a better idea of how it should deal with Iran. These academics then are in a position to skew the information, suggesting the utility of extended dialogue and negotiation, or the danger and futility of confronting a strong Iran or its proxies such as Hizballah (Hezbollah). These academics serve to shield the regime from an aggressive American or Western policy, and thereby buy more time for the regime to attain its goals, especially in regards to its nuclear weaponry and missile programs.

MOIS likes to use the media, especially electronic media, to its advantage. One of VEVAK's favorite tricks is setting up web sites that look like they are opposition sites but which are actually controlled by the regime. These sites often will be multilingual, including Farsi, German, Arabic French, and English. Some are crafted carefully and are very subtle in how they skew their information (e.g., Iran-Interlink, set up and run by Massoud Khodabandeh and his wife Ann Singleton from Leeds, England); others are less subtle, simply providing the regime's point of view on facts and events in the news (e.g., www.mujahedeen.com or www.mojahedin.ws). This latter group is aimed at the more gullible in our open society and unfortunately such a market exists. However, if one begins to do one's homework, asking careful questions, the material on these fake sites generally does not add up.

Let's examine a few examples of VEVAK's work in the United States. In late October, 2005, VEVAK sent three of its agents to Washington to stage a press event in which the principal Iranian resistance movement, the Mojahedin-e Khalq (MeK), was to be slandered. Veteran VEVAK agent Karim Haqi flew from Amsterdam to Canada where he was joined by VEVAK's Ottawa agents Amir-Hossein Kord Rostami and Mahin (Parvin-Mahrokh) Haji, and the three flew from Toronto to Washington. Fortunately the resistance had been tracking these three, informed the FBI of their presence in Washington, and when the three tried to hold a press conference, the resistance had people assigned to ask pointed questions of them so that they ended the interview prematurely and fled back to Canada.

Abolghasem Bayyenet is a member of the Iranian government. He serves as a trade expert for the Ministry of Commerce. But his background of study and service in the Foreign Ministry indicates that Bayyenet is more than just an economist or a suave and savvy businessman. In an article published in Global Politician on April 23, 2006, entitled “Is Regime Change Possible in Iran?”, Bayyenet leads his audience to think that he is a neutral observer, concerned lest the United States make an error in its assessment of Iran similar to the errors of intelligence and judgment that led to our 2003 invasion of Iraq, with its less than successful outcome. However, his carefully crafted bottom line is that the people of Iran are not going to support regime change and that hardliner President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad actually has achieved greater popularity than his predecessors because of his concern for the problems of the poor and his fight for economic and social justice. To the naive, Bayyenet makes Ahmadinejad sound positively saintly. Conveniently overlooked is the occurrence of over four thousand acts of protest, strikes, anti-regime rallies, riots, and even political assassinations by the people of Iran against the government in the year since Ahmadinejad assumed office. So too, the following facts are ignored: the sizeable flight of capital, the increase in unemployment, and the rising two-figure rate of inflation, all within this last year. Bayyenet is a regime apologist, and when one is familiar with the facts, his arguments ring very hollow. However, his English skills are excellent, and so the naОve might be beguiled by his commentary.

Mohsen Sazegara is VEVAK's “reformed revolutionary”. A student supporter of Khomeini before the 1979 revolution, Sazegara joined the “imam” on his return from exile and served in the government for a decade before supposedly growing disillusioned.

He formed several reformist newspapers but ran afoul of the hardliners in 2003 and was arrested and imprisoned by VEVAK. Following “hunger strikes”, Sazegara was released for health reasons and permitted to seek treatment abroad. Although critical of the government and particularly of Ahmadinejad and KhameneМ, Sazegara is yet more critical of opposition groups, leaving the impression that he favors internal regime change but sees no one to lead such a movement for the foreseeable future. His bottom line: no one is capable of doing what needs to be done, so we must bide our time. Very slick, but his shadow shows his likely remaining ties to the MOIS.

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Monday, December 25, 2006
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Don't stop terror rockets, says Israeli prime minister
New rules of engagement restrict army from taking defensive actions
Posted: December 25, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Aaron Klein
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert yesterday rejected a plan by military leaders here to allow the Israeli Defense Forces to take out Palestinian militants it catches in the process of launching rockets from the Gaza Strip into nearby Jewish cities, WND has learned.

IDF leaders charged Olmert was "damaging" Israeli security.

Following a cease-fire imposed in Gaza Nov. 26, Olmert has restrained the IDF from taking any defensive measures to stop the regular firing of Palestinian Qassam rockets into Israeli communities.

Since the truce went into effect, nearly 50 rockets were fired from Gaza.

(Story continues below)

Yesterday, the IDF spotted militants in the northern Gaza Strip setting up rocket launchers, military sources told WND. Two rockets then were fired into Israel. One landed near Sderot, a large city about 3 miles from Gaza; the second landed in an open field near Gaza.

As WND reported, the IDF several times last week spotted militants in the process of launching rockets but the military was unable to take any action. Olmert's government changed the rules of engagement following the cease-fire. Now, if Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are caught launching rockets at Jewish cities, the Israeli military is forbidden to respond.

Previously, the IDF used artillery units and aerial strikes against militants discovered in the process of launching rockets.

"We are frustrated just watching the rocket launchers being set up. There is nothing we are allowed to do," said a military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to media.

"So far we've been lucky, but soon one of the rockets will kill someone and then questions should be asked about why we weren't allowed to do anything," the source said.

Military leaders told WND defense officials, backed by Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz, yesterday petitioned Olmert at a security cabinet meeting to ease some of the limitations on the army and to allow the military to take out Palestinian rocket crews in Gaza it catches setting up for attacks.

The military leaders said Olmert rejected the plan, stating he had confidence Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would act against the Gaza rocket crews.

Olmert said his policy of restraint in the face of Palestinian cease fire violations would continue to "give peace a chance," according to the military leaders, who were present at the meeting.

Olmert said he discussed the issue of Palestinian rockets at a meeting Saturday with Abbas.

Olmert and Abbas met in Jerusalem to discuss Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and Palestinian infighting that has been waging since Abbas last weekend called for new elections in a move widely seen as an attempt to dismantle the Hamas-led government.

Olmert reportedly agreed to a series of concessions to help bolster Abbas, including the transfer of $100 million in frozen taxes collected on behalf of the Palestinian government and the removal of some security checkpoints in the northern West Bank. The checkpoints are regularly credited by the IDF with helping to stop Palestinian terrorists attempting to infiltrate Jewish cities.

Israeli political sources told WND Olmert also agreed to freeze Jewish construction in the West Bank and to bulldoze Jewish communities in the territory reportedly built without government authorization.

Olmert said he plans to hold several future meetings with Abbas in light of what he said was progress made Saturday.

Vice Premier Shimon Peres told Israeli radio yesterday Olmert's meeting with Abbas could provide an opportunity to carry out the prime minister's plan to withdraw from most of the West Bank.

"An opportunity has been created [for West Bank withdrawal], certainly. I don't want to say that it's a done deal. But this is an important opening, one that should not be dismissed," Peres said.

The West Bank runs alongside Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport.

Olmert didn't consult army before implementing cease-fire

Meanwhile, defense officials here are charging the cease-fire in Gaza is damaging Israel's security.

The truce called for a halt of smuggling activity by Palestinian groups in Gaza. It also called for a cessation of rocket attacks launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza aiming at nearby Jewish communities in exchange for Israel withdrawing its ground troops from the Strip and halting military activity in the territory.

Earlier this month, IDF chief of staff Dan Halutz told Israel's Knesset that Olmert did not fully consult with the Israeli army before agreeing to the cease-fire with Palestinian militants.

IDF sources and several prominent Knesset members said the cease-fire is allowing Palestinian groups to continue smuggling weapons into Gaza. They said the truce would provide downtime for militants to train for attacks against Israel.

The IDF has been petitioning for a large-scale assault in Gaza.

The officials said that according to IDF assessments, the best options to stop the daily rocket fire from Gaza into nearby Jewish communities and to halt the regular smuggling of weapons from neighboring Egypt include drafted plans to retake parts of Gaza.

They said other options presented to the Israeli government for a large-scale Gaza assault focusing on dismantling the terror infrastructure inside the Gaza Strip have also been rejected by Olmert.

Terrorists: Cease-fire means chance to reload

In a series of WND exclusive interviews conducted immediately after last month's cease-fire was finalized, leaders of the four largest Palestinian terror groups in Gaza said the new truce will be used to smuggle weapons into Gaza; reinforce and train "fighter units"; and produce rockets for a future confrontation with the Jewish state.

"The cease-fire offers a period of calm for our fighters to recover and prepare for our final goal of evacuating Palestine," said Abu Abir, spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, a Hamas-allied terror organization in the Gaza Strip responsible for many of the recent rocket attacks against Israeli communities.

"We will keep fighting [Israel], but for the moment we will postpone certain parts of the military struggle," said Abu Abir. "We will reinforce very quickly and rush what we are doing to prepare [for attacks against Israel] in Gaza and in the West Bank."

Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' so-called "military wing," told WND Hamas agreed to the cease-fire "because we need a period of calm to recuperate. This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace."

Abu Abdullah is considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared military wing.

He pointed to Hamas' doctrine, which calls for the destruction of Israel and which refuses to recognize the Jewish state.

"The political leadership (of Hamas) will never compromise on these values," the terror leader said.

Abu Abdullah said Hamas has its own political reasons to respect the truce.

"We wish to show Islam as a ruling party is capable of leading the Palestinian people," he said. "Since Hamas was elected, we have been through only chaotic periods. We want a period of calm to prove we are not only a revolutionary movement but to show the Palestinian people our rule is without the corruption of (the rival) Fatah (party)."

But Abu Abdullah said the cease-fire would ultimately end in violence.

"All the Palestinian people and all the Muslims will launch a direct confrontation with Israel. This may come soon or it may take some time," Abu Abdullah said.

Abu Luay, a leader of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, told WND Israel's call for a cease-fire "proves our rocket attacks work. The Zionists know there is now remedy for our rockets."

The Islamic Jihad leader said Palestinian rocket attacks against Israel would resume "at a time of our choosing."

Abu Ahmed, the leader of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in the northern Gaza Strip, told WND his terror group would respect the cease-fire.

The Brigades, responsible for scores of suicide bombings, shootings and rocket attacks, is the declared military wing of Abbas' Fatah party.

"We will respect the cease-fire as the president (Abbas) has ordered us to do," said Abu Ahmed. "We keep our right to respond to any Israeli aggression. Our group does not give up any of its ideals, which is a withdrawal of the Israelis."

[photo at link, of a beautiful young lady, with a large scar]

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Thursday, December 21, 2006
FAITH UNDER FIRE
Christian teen recovering from attack by Islamists
Voice of Martyrs helping with medical, emotional cataclysm
Posted: December 21, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

Noviana Malewa, after treatments to minimize scarring from the machete attack

In many ways Noviana Malewa is like any other teen-aged Christian girl in Indonesia. But it is her eyes – which reveal a sadness and strength far beyond her years – that are different, and give evidence of the emotional and mental trauma of her own experience with radical Islam, a new report concludes.

That, and the machete chop scar that runs from her cheek bone across her face down onto her neck, says the report from Voice of the Martyrs.

As WND has reported, Noviana and three of her friends were walking on a school path Oct 29, 2005, when they were assaulted by radical Islamic jihadists wielding machetes. Noviana was the only survivor, and suffered the massive slash across her face and neck; the other three girls were decapitated.

VOMedical, a division of the outreach to persecuted Christians worldwide that deals with medical issues, eventually was able to arrange transportation for Noviana to a hospital in Surabaya, and officials are planning to continue follow-up physical treatment.

"Though Noviana's physical scars are beginning to heal, she still struggles with the emotional and mental scars from witnessing the brutal murder of her three friends. Yet, she remains steadfast in her faith," the group confirmed in its report.

(Story continues below)

Noviana and her friends had been taking a small footpath on their way to their Christian high school in Poso, Indonesia, when radical Islamists dressed all in black jumped suddenly from the jungle and began slashing the girls with machetes.

VOM reports that Noviana fought back as she was struck, then fell to the ground and rolled down into a ravine. Above, she heard her friends screaming.

Just as she was about to lose hope, a van of soldiers appeared and the attackers fled. The soldiers then took her to a hospital.

But she had to be hidden in a Christian village and guarded by police because her testimony was needed in court, and the radical Muslims who had killed her friends still were hunting her. At that point it was too dangerous even to leave her in a hospital, but after months of negotiations to guarantee her safety, arrangements were made for her to be in the Surabaya hospital, VOM said.

She's had successful surgery and VOM is working on continuing care, officials said. She suffered from an involuntary tick in her eye and another near her mouth because of the nerve damage from the slash, and she also suffered other nerve damage and a dislocated jaw.

Surgery was used to help repair the damage from the attack from Ils

Earlier reports said daily massages are being used to stimulate nerve repair and skin salves must be given daily. Plastic surgery also was obtained to reduce the scarring.

Authorities said Theresia Morangke, 15, Yarni Sambue, 15, and Alfita Poliwo, 17, were killed in the attack. Their heads were found in bags on the steps of a church and along a road, carrying a message, "We will murder 100 more Christian teenagers and their heads will be presented as presents."

The Pakistan Christian Post reported that Noviana recalled streaming with blood.

"All I could do was pray to Jesus for his help,' she said.

According to a subsequent report in The Jakarta Post, the Islamic suspects in the deaths have confessed to the fatal attack. Authorities reported that the suspects have ties to Noordin Top, who is considered a key leader of the Al-Qaida-linked group Jamaah Islamiyah.

There also have been reports that the defendants told authorities they planned the murders as a "gift" to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

VOM is a non-profit, interdenominational ministry working worldwide to help Christians who are persecuted for their faith, and to educate the world about that persecution. Its headquarters are in Bartlesville, Okla., and it has 30 affiliated international offices.

It was launched by the late Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand, who started smuggling Russian Gospels into Russia in 1947, just months before Richard was abducted and imprisoned in Romania where he was tortured for his refusal to recant Christianity.

He eventually was released in 1964 and the next year he testified about the persecution of Christians before the U.S. Senate's Internal Security Subcommittee, stripping to the waist to show the deep torture wound scars on his body.

The group that later was renamed The Voice of the Martyrs was organized in 1967, when his book, "Tortured for Christ," was released.

22/12/06 - Femail section

The shocking truth about the baby factories
By NATALIE CLARKE

EXCLUSIVE: This is the first picture of the British woman with the Romanian baby she stole. And as this investigation reveals, countless other children are being bred to order in Mafia-run baby farms:

The Baby Factory is run with brutal efficiency. As soon as an order has been placed, a woman is chosen to produce a baby. Only the beautiful girls are selected to join the production line.

The customers will, the owners of the factory know all too well, pay a higher price for an angelic-looking baby. The blue-eyed ones are particularly prized.

The woman is impregnated by mafia racketeers and then looked after, housed, fed and clothed for the next nine months.

She does not give birth in hospital in case someone asks too many questions. Rather, she has the baby in a makeshift maternity suite - a room in a house rented by the factory for the purpose.

A trained midwife in the pay of the factory is on hand to ensure a safe delivery. There is, after all, a lot of money at stake. Up to £20,000, in fact.

The scenario painted above sounds like something that might have happened in Hitler's Germany. In reality, it is a burgeoning industry today.

A Mail investigation has uncovered such a baby factory in Athens run by the Albanian and Russian mafias, catering to the demands of wealthy Western women unable to have children of their own.

They come from Britain, Europe and as far afield as America, hand over a huge wad of cash and take the child back home.

The baby factory in Athens is doing a booming trade. The girls selected by the gangs for the production line are mostly Bulgarians and Romanian gipsies.

Consequently, there are very real fears that when Romania and Bulgaria join the EU next month, giving nationals from those countries an open door to Britain, the gangs will set up similar baby factories here.

Did Marie Golby, the 41-year-old British woman who hit the headlines this week after being accused of stealing a baby from a Romanian gipsy, come into contact with such a gang? The Romanian gipsy, Sophia Percula, has admitted to the police that she went to Greece earlier this month to sell her six-month-old daughter for 14,000 euros (around £9,500) in an illegal adoption scam arranged by a cousin.

She told police that she arranged to meet Golby in an Athens supermarket on Wednesday of last week, but Golby ran off with the child. Golby denies stealing the six-month-old girl - pictured here exclusively for the first time in the Mail - but admits taking her.

Sophia's father-in-law, Nikolai Percula, is said to have brought her over the border into Greece earlier this month.

Does Nikolai, who has a Rasputin-like appearance together with cartoonish attempts at a menacing manner during his appearances in court, have connections with the mafias running the baby factory?

Sophia certainly fits the mould of the beautiful, healthy young woman who has the misfortune to be desperately poor - perfect prey for the gangsters running the racket.

The police are keeping an open mind, but at this stage they suspect it was an 'independent' operation.

The Greek authorities admit the babies-for-sale racket is worsening. 'This is an escalating problem, the scale of which is impossible to grasp,' said Lieutenant Colonel Antonia Andreakou, director of the Greek police's public security division, which handles cross-border crime.

Ms Andreakou said her department had traced nine sales of Bulgarian infants in the first six months of this year and arrested 33 suspected mediators - 24 Bulgarians, seven Greeks (including doctors and lawyers) and two Albanians.

'This is just a fraction of the number of cases,' she said. 'We need to prove that money has exchanged hands, as this is what makes the transaction illegal, but that is very difficult to do.'

Last month, five Albanians were arrested near the Greek-Albanian border for the alleged sale of eight Roma infants. The gangs recruit the women in several ways. One, say police sources, is to seek out a young, attractive, healthy woman and tell her they can organise a false passport and papers to enable her to enter Greece.

Once this has been done, the girl is presented with a huge bill which she is unable to pay. She is then told that the debt will be written off if she gets pregnant and gives up her baby.

'The girls have no option but to comply,' says a police source. 'You would not want to upset these people.'

It is believed that these women are made pregnant by members of the gang - a man inevitably caught up in the other mafia 'businesses' of drug dealing and prostitution.

Another method of 'recruitment' is to prey on pregnant women who are drug addicts. They are offered money in return for their baby.

During the woman's pregnancy, she is well looked after. Not out of care or compassion, of course, but to ensure the baby has the best possible chance of being born healthy.

The birth takes place in one of the factory's self-styled maternity wards. But there will be a doctor and midwife present at the birth to make sure the investment yields a viable product.

The woman takes care of her child for up to 40 days before it is handed over to the couple in exchange for a large envelope of cash. The gangs have doctors and midwives in their employ who will vouch that the baby is the adoptive woman's own for the purposes of obtaining a birth certificate.

It's a dirty business. Amid this backdrop of bribery, misery and menace, a child is bought by an affluent Westerner who will be entirely ignorant of the wretched circumstances of her child's conception. But what of the baby's natural mother?

'Once the woman has served her purpose, she is as good as dead,' a senior police source told me. 'The gang will force her into prostitution and drive her into the ground.' The location of the baby factory's HQ is unclear but it is likely some of its operations are carried out within Athens' red light district.

It is in one of the area's grubby hotels which operate as brothels that Sophia, whose young husband remained behind in Romania, is believed to have been staying in the past few weeks.

It's a long way from the wealthy enclaves of Europe and the U.S. So just how do these middle-class women make contact with Albanian and Russian gangsters?

'They don't go to them, the gangs go to the women,' explains Spiras Kloudas, a lawyer who specialise in human trafficking cases. 'The gangs are tipped off that the women are desperate for a baby and they make contact with them.'

For example, if the woman has had failed IVF treatment in hospital, a corrupt employee will inform the gang. It is also thought there may be staff at adoption agencies who tip off the mafia.

It is not yet clear how Golby, from a Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, made contact with Sophia Percula, but it is clear she was desperate to the point of going mad to have a baby.

At 17, she had had an operation to remove an abscess on her ovaries and was told she could never have children, but she did not give up hope.

Married three times, she has left a trail of bitter ex-husbands and boyfriends in her wake in her search for true love and a family.

Husband number one was Kevin Kawalkowski, a member of the U.S. Air Force stationed at Upper Heyford, near Oxford, in the late 1980s. Within three weeks, she informed him she was pregnant and three months after that, said she had lost the baby. Tests revealed the 'pregnancy' had not existed.

The marriage ended soon afterwards. It is believed there was a second brief marriage in America before Golby returned home in the early 1990s.

Husband number three was Michael Leonard, whom she married in 2002. Attempts to conceive through IVF treatment failed and the marriage broke down.

Last year, Golby went on holiday to the Greek island of Kefalonia, where she met Giorges Manentis, a 24-year-old restaurant owner. She fell in love with her handsome toyboy and decided to stay on.

As a result, she has been dubbed a real life Shirley Valentine, after the eponymous character in the 1989 film in which a disaffected British housewife finds love with a Greek waiter.

The couple did not live together, however. Golby set up home in the town of Skala, near the Veto bar where she worked, while Mr Manentis lived a few miles away in the village of Agia Irini.

Then, it seems, she decided to fake a pregnancy. Two months ago, during a trip back home to Britain, Mr Manentis says she called him to say she was having his baby and that she would be returning to Greece with the child.

On Wednesday of last week, Golby met up with Sophia Percula. As she told it to the police, she had not arranged to meet the mother, but came across her begging in the streets.

Her lawyer, Christopher Kaparounakis, says she felt sorry for the girl and bought her a cheese pie, then gave her some money to buy nappies.

The girl then disappeared. Instead of going to the police, however, Golby headed to Kefalonia with the baby.

Unfortunately, Mr Manentis thought she seemed rather large for a baby just a couple of weeks old.

'The baby girl is indeed beautiful, but when she brought it to Kefalonia I quickly suspected it was not mine. I could not accept to raise it.

'Marie was very anxious to have a child, to have a family, but she should have understood that I am much too young to take on such responsibilities.'

After Mr Manentis had told her he could not accept the child - and ended the relationship - Golby took her to a hospital on Kefalonia and requested that the baby be taken in for adoption because she did not have the means to raise her.

Because she had no documents to prove she was the mother, doctors called police and she was arrested.

She was taken to Athens, charged with 'direct involvement in the abduction of a child for illegal adoption or possible sale' and placed in custody. The offence carries a maximum sentence of ten years. Sophia and her father-in-law were also arrested for their part in the alleged scam.

As for the child, she is being cared for at a children's hospital in Athens and is likely to be put up for adoption.

Golby may have to wait up to a year before her trial begins. On Wednesday, she was freed on bail on condition that she remains in Greece.

On Thursday afternoon she boarded a ferry to Kefalonia, presumably to try to make things up with her boyfriend. There is little chance of that.

There is no happy ending to Marie Golby's story. And while many of those other women who come to Athens to adopt a baby through the back door get what they want, it comes at a huge cost to those benighted women who have been forced on to the production line of the Baby Factory.

Find this story at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=424450&in_page_id=1879
©2006 Associated New Media

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3344359,00.html

Palestinian terrorist: We did not deface Church of Nativity

Former Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Bethlehem chief and leader of 2002 Church of Nativity standoff denies reports saying wanted gunmen inside sacred site used Bible as toilet paper. ‘Relations inside the church between us and those responsible in the church were excellent; the toilet paper report is an Israeli attempt to create bad relations between Christians and Muslims,’ he says

Aaron Klein, WND
Published: 12.25.06, 14:15

In what many consider to be one of the most notorious holy site desecrations in recent history, nearly 100 Palestinian terrorists in April 2002 holed up inside the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem while fleeing a massive Israeli anti-terror operation. One of Christianity's most sacred sites, the church is believed to be the birthplace of Jesus.
Expelled Militants
Nativity Church deportees to return / By ALI WAKED
Dozens of Palestinians involved in standoff with IDF in 2002 currently reside in Gaza, Europe
Full Story

Israel surrounded the Church area but refused to storm the structure. Gunmen inside included wanted senior Hamas, Tzanim and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terrorists reportedly involved in suicide bombings and shooting attacks. Over 200 nuns and priests were trapped in the church after Israeli hostage negotiators failed to secure their release.

The siege ended after 39 days, when mediators agreed 13 senior terrorists would be deported to European countries, 26 would be transported to the Gaza Strip, and the remaining gunmen would be freed.

WorldNetDaily caught up with Jihad Jaara, former Bethlehem chief for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group and the leader of the Church of Nativity siege. He is currently living in exile in Ireland.

WND: There was enormous outcry in the Muslim world last year when an American magazine reported but later retracted a story claiming United States interrogators in Cuba flushed a Quran down the toilet. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims protested throughout the Middle East. But priests holed up with you in the church told reporters your group used pages of the Bible as toilet paper. Explain this seeming double standard.

JAARA: I am not ready to hear these dirty accusations. It is completely untrue (that we used the Bible as toilet paper). We believe in the Bible and cannot do such a thing. On the contrary, the priests and monks had allowed us to pray our Muslim prays, which meant Muslims praying in this very holy site to the Christians. This proves that the relations inside the church between us and those responsible in the church were excellent. (The toilet paper report) is an

Israeli attempt to create bad relations between Christians and Muslims and to separate between the communities of the unified Palestinian people.

WND: You were armed. Your group is responsible for scores of violent attacks. Perhaps the priests and nuns inside with you were afraid for their lives and had no choice but to let you pray in their church?

JAARA: This is nonsense. What prevented the priests from going out was the Israeli army.

WND: People around the world followed the news as Israel attempted to negotiate the release of the church officials inside with you. ... Did your group deface the church while you were holed up inside?

JAARA: No, not at all. We could not deface a place that is very holy to our Christian brothers toward whom we feel that we owe very much. How could we deface a holy place to the only community who helped us and who gave us a shelter while the Arab and Muslim countries neglected us and left us to our destiny in front of the Israeli army. During the 39 days of siege it was only the priests and the monks who helped and supported us.

WND: Again, the church siege took place in front of the world media. There is plenty of video footage of the condition the church was in when the ordeal finally ended. It was a big mess. And the priests afterwards told reporters your group seized church stockpiles of food and "ate like greedy monsters" until the food ran out while civilians inside went hungry. They say you also guzzled beer, wine, and Johnny Walker scotch that your group found in the priests' quarters. Israel says it even found over 40 explosive devices inside.

JAARA: It is not a secret that inside the church there was a very serious lack of food. I don't remember that there were such problems as you describe. Still, we were 250 persons inside the church who suffered from the fact that the Israeli army prevented any food supply and we were obliged to eat the weeds of the gardens in the church. We did not blackmail the religious to give us their food. They kindly and with much generosity offered us to share their food with us.

As for the conditions in which we left the church, it is true there was a lot of dirt but it is normal to the conditions in which we were living. Thirty-nine days without any water and any possibility to move because of the snipers who were placed all around the church.

WND: To many Christians, the Church of the Nativity is one of the holiest places in the world. It is where they believe Jesus was born. What does the church mean to you?

JAARA: It is also a very holy place for us. Jesus is a prophet whom we believe in as we believe in all the prophets like we are asked to by our religion. We believe in all religions. Therefore the church means much to us and not only to our Christian brothers. For this reason we decided not to let the Israelis enter the church and everyone remembers the operation in which we killed four Israeli soldiers from the Duvdevan elite unit and took their arms after they tried to break into the Nativity.

WND: Israel says it found documents after the siege that imply your group attempted to extort Church officials for money in exchange for their assured safety. Is this accurate?

JAARA: This argument is very funny. The officials of the church whom you say we tried to extort were the only ones who gave us money before our exile to Gaza and Europe. This is a very noble position that we will not forget. Secondly, why should we have needed this money during the siege? Were there malls inside the church (for us to shop in)? We did not know if we were going to survive the whole operation or not. So why should we need this money?

WND: Tell me about the situation in Bethlehem between Christians and Muslims while you were head of Al-Aqsa in the city. During that period, the Christian population declined drastically.

JAARA: The two communities lived in harmony and still do. We both share each others holidays. In one holiday it was us the Muslims who led Palm Sunday during the whole of the celebration. Many of our fighters in Al-Aqsa Martyrs are Christians like the members of the Shtara family who are in jail or exiled in Gaza. We are proud of our Christian fighters.

WND: I reported from the streets of Bethlehem last week. I talked to Christian leaders and regular civilians in the city. Most told me they are constantly persecuted by Muslims. They point to instances in which they say your group and Fatah have taken their property illegally, built mosques over their churches, threatened violence. There are reports of Christian woman being raped and murdered; of Christian stores being burned. There have been anti-Christian riots in Bethlehem. Muslims have been appointed to traditionally Christian positions in city council.

JAARA: All these arguments are mistaken. These are lies that are part of the Israeli propaganda that aims to create a separation between Muslims and Christians. The relations between Muslims and Christians are excellent. These are blood relations, relations of brotherhood. It is true that some little problems have happened but it is very rare. We are both part of the Palestinian people.

WND: Explain why Christians accounted for upwards of 90 percent of Bethlehem for years until the Palestinian Authority took control of the city in 1995. Immediately Christians started fleeing the city. Now the population is about 20 to 25 percent Christian. Just what caused the vast majority of Bethlehem's Christians to flee right after the Palestinians took control?

JAARA: This is the responsibility of the Israeli occupation and the Israeli cruelty. The Israeli occupation defaced Christian monuments and sites and this was part of the reasons that incited Christians to leave. The Christian emigration is not a new phenomenon. Muslims leave places too. I reject your attitude that makes a separation between Muslims and Christians.

WND: I am not referring to Israeli reports. I have personally talked to scores of Christians in Bethlehem who say they feel threatened by the Muslim population. Many were afraid to even give me their names for fear of Muslim retaliation. Should Christians in Bethlehem be afraid?

JAARA: I say that all these things are rumors and arguments that Israel brings in order to separate between the two communities hoping that these thoughts will infiltrate our society. Problems can take place between a Muslim family and a Christian one, yet this happens between neighbors all over the world. It is not in any way a planned aggression against Christians. It is true also that when there is a case of a Christian girl who gets married with a young Muslim it is a very sensitive affair that may create some tension but it is very natural now all over the world that couples from different religions get married. It is the occupation that feeds this tension.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3344737,00.html

Iran looks to re-examine relationship with IAEA

Iranian Foreign Minister Mottaki participates in closed parliament meeting addressing UN resolution's repercussions, bill calling on government to reconsider cooperation with IAEA proposed. Mottaki says government backs bill
Dudi Cohen

The Iranian Parliament discussed on Tuesday a draft proposal that would call on the Iranian government to reconsider its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, following the sanctions placed on Iran by the United Nations Security Council on Saturday.

Global Threat
Iran: Missile industry won’t be hurt by sanctions / Dudi Cohen
Two days after UN Security Council decides to impose sanctions on Islamic Republic, Iranian officials continue to condemn decision, claiming illegality of resolution. During visit to Iranian military industrial factories, defense minister says country’s missile industry based on self-sufficient knowledge, won’t be hurt by sanctions
Full Story

Before the Parliament's open discussion, a private meeting was held behind closed doors with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, in which the Security Council's resolution, and the pros and cons of the bill were discussed.

After the meeting Mottaki announced to the press that the Iranian government supports the bill. Iranian Parliament President Ghulam Ali Haddad Adel told Agence France-Presse that talks on the matter would recommence on Wednesday.

The bill proposal is worded in an unbinding manner, and calls on the government to "reconsider" cooperation with the IAEA – this wording gives the Iranian government a lot of freedom.

If the bill is approved, the government would be able to decide whether or not it would cooperate with the IAEA, and forbid the agency's inspectors to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities.

The bill is not committing, and only calls on 'reconsideration' of cooperation. Nonetheless, the Iranian government is not interested in worsening its relationship with the IAEA at the moment- as the agency's guideline is based on the fact that Iran has signed an accreditation that it would not distribute nuclear weapons, and has been obeying all the agency's rules and allowing inspectors to visit it's facilities.

Despite this, the Iranian Parliament wishes to show that it does not abide to the Security Council's decisions, and, internally, to show that it can influence the public agenda in Iran.

Centrifuge activity soon to be announced

One of the members of parliament present at the closed discussion, Ali Asgari said that Mottaki promised those present that an official announcement would be made soon regarding the usage of thousands of new uranium enriching centrifuges.

According to Asgari, Mattoki said that Iran has 3,000 centrifuges ready for use, and soon their activation would be announced.

Asgari said that "the main purpose of the Security Council's decision to place sanctions on Iran is a publicity war against Iran. The parliament members feel that if Iran backs down, their (the Security Council) demands of us will become harsher, and therefore we must insist and not give in."

The committee's members also demanded the government take all legal and diplomatic steps necessary to revoke the Security Council's resolution through international forums.

On Sunday morning Iran's Chief Nuclear Negotiator Ali Larijani announced that the activation of the 3,000 centrifuges at the uranium enriching nuclear facility in Natanz is Iran's response to the resolution.

Nonetheless, it seems his announcement was prepared in advance as a propaganda counter strike, and that the centrifuges have not yet been properly activated since the centrifuge activation has encountered some technical problems.

In order to enrich uranium for military purposes, thousands more centrifuges are needed, as is time and experience.

Petrol Minister: Will use oil as weapon if we necessary

Also following the Security Council's resolutions, Iran's Petroleum Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said Tuesday that Tehran has not ruled out the possibility of using Oil as a weapon.

In an interview to the Fars intelligence agency, the minister said that "If the need arises Iran will use any weapon necessary to defend itself."

Hamaneh added that the UN's resolution "will not have any effect" on Iran's conduct and its petroleum industry. He said that "Since even before the Security Council's resolution many countries boycotted us, the resolution's passing and implementation will not affect Iran significantly – and nothing new will happen. The contracts that have been signed still stand and no change will occur."

He continued to say that "It was a government decision not to give in to pressures, and this is our mission at the petroleum ministry, which is part of the government."

The minister even suggested his own solution to the problem of the sanctions – relying on Iranian companies instead of foreign companies. "We have attempted, and are still attempting to find alternative companies. In the matter of spare parts, we will settle with local companies."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3344611,00.html

Report: Israeli mob boss negotiating plea bargain

Police officials say Justice Ministry believes there is chance under American justice system that Israeli mobster Ze'ev Rosenstein won't be convicted. In order to minimize this risk, preliminary negotiations reportedly initiated with his American lawyer. According to them, if plea bargain goes through, Rosenstein to serve 10-year sentence
Avi Cohen

The Israeli Ministry of Justice is holding preliminary negotiations with Israeli mob boss Ze'ev Rosenstein's American lawyer in an attempt to draw up a plea bargain for Rosenstein, who was extradited by Israel to the United States on drug charges.

As part of the plea bargain, Rosenstein is expected to admit to some of the charges brought against him in exchange for a 10-year sentence, according to a report by Israeli police officials Tuesday.

According to the officials, the Justice Ministry realized that there is a chance under the American justice system that the Florida court won't convict Rosenstein. In order to minimize this risk, the ministry decided to initiate preliminary negotiations with Rosenstein's American legal representation.

Rosenstein's trial is slated to begin at the end of January in Miami. If a plea bargain is decided upon, the court process is expected to be shorter.

Rosenstein, 51, was extradited nine months ago to American authorities after an indictment was issued against him in Miami after a police operation revealed that he allegedly headed a drug ring that pushed millions of ecstasy pills from Israel to the United States and Australia, through Europe.

During a court hearing in May, Rosenstein denied the allegations against him.

Last month, a federal judge accepted the submissions of six Israeli detectives, who are expected to testify in Rosenstein's trial, and gave them authorization to appear in court wearing disguises in order to protect their identity. The authorized disguises include wigs, make-up, and fake facial hair.

However, the judge refused the detectives one of their other requests, namely, to identify themselves using their police identification numbers, and not their full names.

The prosecution in Rosenstein's case reported that the request was made in order to allow the detectives to continue their undercover work.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3344608,00.html

Qassam lands near Ashkelon strategic facility

Rocket fired from north Gaza lands near strategic facility in city's industrial zone; no injuries, damage reported. Islamic Jihad: Attacks response to the Zionists' crimes, violations against Palestinian people; total of six Qassams fired since morning
Shmulik Hadad

A Qassam rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip landed Tuesday morning next to a strategic facility in Ashkelon's industrial zone, close to where dangerous substances are stored. There were no reports of injuries or damage.

An employee at the facility told Ynet following the attack, “Just like yesterday, at exactly the same hour, we heard an explosion, but this time it was much louder. An alarm was sounded in the area after the security officers received word of the incoming rocket by beeper and we proceeded to enter secure rooms. After the fall there were attempts to locate the exact landing site.”

The Al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, claimed responsibility for the attack on Ashkelon, saying it fired a mid-range Quds-3 type rocket.

The group also claimed responsibility for the attack on Sderot earlier in the day.

“One of the armed-wing’s cells succeeded in launching two advanced Quds-3 rockets toward the settlement of Sderot in as a response to the Zionists' crimes and violations against the Palestinian people."

The announcement also said that "there will be no security for the Sderot residents unless there is security for the residents of the West Bank."

Earlier four additional Qassam rockets were fired toward the western Negev area. One landed in Sderot at about 7 a.m.; no injuries were reported, but slight damage was done.

The Qassam landed in one of the squares in the town's residential area and damaged a few cars.

Following the rockets' falling, many parents worried whether or not they should send their children to school, since it seemed the shelling of Sderot had returned.

Three additional Qassams landed in open areas in the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council area. Residents reported that the “Color Red” alert system was not activated.

In the afternoon a sixth Qassam rocket fired from the northern Gaza Strip landed in an open field near the Shaar Hanegev Regional Council. No injuries or damage were reported.

The Islamic Jihad has claimed responsibility for this attack as well.

“Because of the rockets our children are sleeping in secure rooms, and I sleep in the room next to them,” Sderot resident Moshe Ben Sheetrit told Ynet following the attack. “This morning I heard a loud explosion; this is the second time in two days that a Qassam falls without prior warning. The ‘Color Red’ alert system saves lives, but it was not activated today.”

Destruction in Sderot Tuesday morning (Photo: Tsafrir Abayov)

Alon Davidi, head of the campaign against the government's handling of the situation in Sderot, said Tuesday morning that "The reality here has turned into complete madness. Four Qassam rockets have been fired and nothing has been done, yesterday was the same, and so was the day before that. We are still hoping and waiting to see some kind of response to this firing. Even the defense minister is behind military action."

Batya Mattar head of the Sderot Parents Union pointed out that "each day the feeling that the government has neglected us grows stronger, I hear more and more people asking to take the law into their own hands and acting. Olmert is living in his own reality and we feel as if we have been left out of the State of Israel."

Following a direct hit Monday morning by a Qassam on a strategic facility in Ashkelon, many government ministers called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to end his policy of restraint.

Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Ynet following the attack, "We must operate against Qassam fire and rocket launching cells if we identify them before or after shooting. We must not let these cells get away."

'Stop Qassam rocket fire'

Sources from the defense establishment said that most of the Qassam fire is execute by Islamic Jihad operatives.

“A situation in which we do not open fire at Qassam-launching cells even in open areas allows the Islamic Jihad members to walk around like heroes,” Peretz added. “I do not believe this contributed to the stability of the ceasefire.”

Minister of Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman (Israel Our Home) told Ynet: "The State of Israel must act against the Qassams in a well-planned and organized manner. We must not respond merely in order to appease the public."

"Such an operation must cause a cessation of the Qassam fire plaguing the residents of Ashkelon, Sderot and the western Negev," he emphasized.

Senior security establishment officials have also criticized the government’s restraint policy as of late.

In all security discussions conducted recently, there was a noticeable trend of the IDF command to change the current equation and to act in a targeted manner against the Qassam launchers. However, today the IDF is continuing to act based on the instructions of the political echelon to hold all fire.

The fear in the defense establishment is that the Qassam attacks will bring further casualties, which will necessitate a shift in action; therefore there is a need to act now and not wait for a situation where Israel will act in retaliation to a severe incident.

Ali Waked contributed to the report

Yemen: Canadian company to explore for copper in al-Baida

http://metalsplace.com/metalsnews/?a=9284

Yemen: Canadian company to explore for copper in al-Baida

The al-Baida governorate could be a source of copper, nickel, or
cobalt.
At least, that's what the Canadian Chemical Vapor Metal Refining, Inc.
is hoping. The company signed an agreement with Yemen's oil ministry,
represented by the Geological Survey and Mineral Wealth Board to
evaluate the Asbah region in al-Baida to test the area for minerals.

The memorandum of understanding was signed by the chairman of the
geological survey and mineral wealth board, Ismail al-Janad, and the
president of the Canadian company, Kamran Khosan. "This is a very
important agreement for CFMR, and I hope it turns out to be important
for the government of Yemen," said Khosan. "We want this to be a very
serious agreement, and we are going to explore the possibilities of
mining for nickel, copper, and other metals.

"Within the next three months you will see results of our activities in
Yemen," he said. "The investment will be almost immediate, just after
New Year's, within three weeks." He added that his company plans to use
qualified local people to help it explore for the minerals. "We are
very
hopeful that we will find what we are looking for, and employ local
people to help Yemen to develop mining here." Yemen has gained a
reputation for stability under the current government, he said. "In
fact, the location of the country, if we find mineral resources here,
is
absolutely perfect.

Yemen is near the ocean, India and China, and the shipping cost is so
much lower than from other places. Yemen also has deep port facilities.
"The cost of production is tremendous in our business," he said. In
related news, Yemen and British ZincOx recently signed an agreement to
begin work on the Yemeni Jabali zinc deposit, located 110 km northeast
of Sana'a, in early 2007. Yemen's government has already approved the
contract, which was signed at the end of October 2005 by ZincOx and the
country's Ministry of Oil and Mineral Resources for exploitation of the
Jabali deposit.

ZincOx is expected to complete the final designs for the Jabali zinc
oxide plant by the end of 2006, al-Janad added. Total investments in
the
project are estimated at some $75 million (58.6 million euro). The
Jabali zinc deposit reportedly contains 12.6 million tons of oxide ore,
with a zinc grade of 8.9 pct. The resource is calculated in accordance
with the code of the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC
code), which is widely accepted as a standard for professional
reporting
purposes.

Western officials visit Fatah camp in Jordan

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Gulf%2C+Middle+East+%26+Africa&month=December2006&file=World_News2006122611238.xml

Western officials visit Fatah camp in Jordan
Web posted at: 12/26/2006 1:12:38
Source ::: REUTERS

jerusalem . US and European officials have visited a base in Jordan
where Fatah is training troops to reinforce Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas in any showdown with Hamas, sources familiar with the
visits said yesterday.

Up to 1,000 members of the Jordan-based Badr Brigade would initially be
deployed in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank as part of
US-backed efforts to strengthen the moderate Palestinian leader's hold
on power.

The Bush administration is seeking congressional support to provide up
to $100m to bolster Abbas's presidential guard and expand his control
over strategic border crossings.

Sources familiar with the plan said US money would not be used to
provide the presidential guard with "lethal" equipment.

But Israeli officials say Washington has been instrumental in helping
organise shipments of guns and ammunition to the presidential guard
from
Egypt and Jordan. It is unclear whether any of the US money would go
directly to the Badr Brigade.

At least 10 Palestinians have died in violence between forces loyal to
Abbas and those of the governing Hamas movement since his call this
month for new elections. Hamas, which beat Fatah in parliamentary
elections in January, said Abbas's call amounted to a "coup".

The sources said Badr's deployment may not start for several months
because the force needs substantial amounts of new military equipment
and training. Badr would reinforce Abbas's presidential guard and other
Fatah-dominated security services.

The United States recently sent a mid-level US official to visit a Badr
training facility in Jordan for informal discussions, a European
diplomat and other sources said. U.S. officials declined to comment on
the matter.

A military official from a European country visited the base separately
to talk to Badr commanders and assess their needs, the sources said.

The United States has so far not provided Badr troops with training or
equipment, but has assisted with coordinating preparations for their
deployment, sources said.

Palestine's necessary civil war

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/12/26/opinion/opinion_30022521.php

Palestine's necessary civil war

Regardless of the latest hastily negotiated truce, the battle between
nationalist Fatah and Islamist Hamas seems to be gaining intensity.

Palestinian politics, always self-destructive, has reached new heights
of internal conflict, pulling the population deeper into disorder and
pushing them further away from statehood.

The movement's remarkable ability to sabotage itself is not new. In the
late 1960s, the PLO, led by Fatah, antagonized its Jordanian hosts
until
they expelled it by force. During the 1970s, the PLO entered Lebanon's
civil war, wearing out its welcome there. The sole issue on which
Israel, Syria, and Lebanese political leaders agreed in the 1980's was
that the PLO should be thrown out of Lebanon. During the 1990's, the
PLO
botched its opportunity to govern the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,
create a stable and development-oriented regime there, and make peace
with Israel.

Rejecting a deal with Israel in 2000, Fatah instead launched a violent
revolt that has lasted ever since then, destroying the infrastructure
built up in the Palestinian territories during the previous decade.
Massive foreign aid was stolen, squandered, or wrecked by unnecessary
violence.

When Yassir Arafat, the perennial PLO, Fatah, and Palestinian Authority
leader, died, Palestinians in theory had a chance to end this history
of
disasters. Yet Arafat's replacement, Mahmoud Abbas, was a colorless,
not
particularly strong figure with no real political or military base of
his own.

During the 1990's, as the challenge from Hamas steadily grew, Arafat
thought he could use the Islamists - after all, he was basically one
himself - and refused to curb them. He was notorious for refusing to
build strong institutions. So once Arafat died, the roof caved in on
Fatah. Three main factors brought Hamas into leadership in January's
parliamentary elections. First, Arafat's legacy left Fatah and the PLO
completely undisciplined. Its deep divisions meant that Fatah
candidates
split the vote and ensured a Hamas landslide.

Second, Fatah never gave Palestinians any alternative vision. Apart
from
a few scattered speeches - some by Abbas himself - it never accepted
peace and compromise. In this respect, Fatah was not much different
from
Hamas, and the two competed to prove who waged terrorism better and was
more militant.

Finally, Fatah did a terrible job at governing, bringing Palestinians
neither material benefits nor a state. Instead, it brought massive
corruption and administrative incompetence, together with breathtaking
arrogance. When I predicted Hamas's victory before the election,
Fatah's
campaign manager replied, "Everyone will vote for Abbas and everything
will be all right". But while Abbas remains chief executive, Hamas
controls the parliament and the government.

Yet Fatah was hardly going to give up. One of Fatah's few remaining
assets is that the West, horrified by Hamas's more open hate-mongering
and extremism, has largely boycotted the new Palestinian regime and cut
off aid. With Hamas allied to Iran and Syria, Fatah has seemed more
attractive in geopolitical terms.

On this issue, however, there are unfortunate realities that few will
admit. Instead, the West continues to believe that there is still a
chance of Arab-Israeli peace, that this problem is the region's
centerpiece, that Hamas might become more moderate, and that Fatah and
Hamas can somehow create a government of national unity.

People of goodwill who want a real negotiated solution, with Israel and
Palestine living peacefully as neighbors, simply don't want to face the
fact that any such deal is now decades away. In Palestinian politics,
total victory and Israel's destruction is still preferable to an honest
assessment that this goal is unattainable, terrorism must be abandoned,
and law and order must be imposed.

But Fatah is almost as extreme as Hamas. Anarchy rules, and there is no
one with the vision and strength to end it.

Dozens of international plans and proposals collapse one after the
other. The current "cease-fire" with Israel is violated by the daily of
salvos of missiles fired from Gaza, while cease-fires among
Palestinians
have typically been broken by gunfire and assassination attempts within
a few hours.

Now Abbas has called for new elections, which Hamas rejects, and it
seems unlikely that he has the capacity to impose his will. Many people
advocate the simple expedient of "strengthening Abbas" as a moderate,
but one cannot strengthen a wet noodle.

The irony is that real change could come about only from a civil war
won
by moderates. But the Palestinians are not engaged in a civil war
pitting moderates versus extremists. The reciprocal low-level violence
between Hamas and Fatah is simply a struggle fueled by greed and
patronage. There are limits to how far that struggle will go, but the
Palestinians are not going to stop fighting among themselves or against
Israel.

This is an unfortunate truth. But recognizing it is crucial to
understanding why no political solution works, and why every clever
plan
to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian or inter-Palestinian conflicts
fails.

Barry Rubin

Herzliya, Israel

Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International
Affairs (GLORIA) Centre, Interdisciplinary University.

Copyright: Project Syndicate

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