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The Foreign Ministry Wednesday issued a situation assessment to Israeli embassies worldwide that lambasts Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen) and says that an agreement between Israel and the PA "will not be possible as long as Abu Mazen leads the PA." The document comes on the heels of remarks by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman who labeled Abbas “the biggest obstacle to an agreement between the Palestinian Authority and us.” "It is clear today that chairman Abbas is motivated primarily by his will to leave behind a historic legacy and achieve personal gains," the document says. "In...

NOTE The following text is a quote: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-obama-and-president-abbas-palestinian-authority-after-meeting Home • Briefing Room • Speeches & Remarks The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release June 09, 2010 Remarks by President Obama and President Abbas of the Palestinian Authority after Meeting Oval Office 11:58 A.M. EDT PRESIDENT OBAMA: Hello, everybody. Be careful, careful. Before I begin, I know that there was just a vote in the United Nations Security Council. I'm going to comment on that separately. I don't want to detract from the topic at hand here. So for reporters who are interested in that issue, I...

Note: The following text is a quote: Eight Area Men Sentenced on Federal Racketeering Charges Involving Conspiracy to Transfer Cash and Checks to the Palestinian Territories ST. LOUIS, MO—The United States Attorney’s office announced today that eight members of a criminal enterprise operating out of five St. Louis area convenience stores have been sentenced on charges of federal racketeering or related charges. As far back as 2000, the RICO conspiracy has involved bank fraud, receipt of stolen property, conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business, purchasing contraband cigarettes for resale, evading reporting requirement on exporting monetary instruments, and transporting monetary instruments...

The plot of the hit Fox drama “24” may make for exciting television, but Muslim groups fear their representation as terrorists does more than entertain - it vilifies an entire religious group. “I think that TV has quite an effect on how people think,” said Nadeem Mazen, past president of the MIT Muslim Association. “So much of what we hear on Muslims is hearsay - an expert opinion by people with a personal agenda and not necessarily motivated by truth. And then a show like this comes along that perpetuates the ‘them’ factor.” The plot of the sixth season of...

Abu Mazen: Jerusalem the Capital of Palestinian State 15:15 Sep 10, '06 / 17 Elul 5766 (IsraelNN.com) PA (Palestinian Authority) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) on Sunday released statements expressing a willingness to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. The PA opposition leader stated that Israel must however recognize “Palestinian rights,” adding Israel must realize there must be a Palestinian state with Jerusalem serving as its capital.

The Ain al-Hilwe Palestinian refugee camp in the Lebanese port city of Sidon has been infiltrated by some 200 al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists who are using it as a base for planning and launching attacks, Lebanese intelligence officials told the London-based Sunday Telegraph. The officials blame the terror group, which calls itself Esbat al-Ansar (League of Warriors), for a rocket attack on the Future TV station in Beirut last Saturday night. The blast devastated the newsroom of the station, which is controlled by Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but caused no injuries as no one was on duty at the...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 21, 2005 – Coalition forces have captured two key terrorist medical doctors, dealing a serious blow to al Qaeda attempts to establish treatment facilities for terrorists in Iraq, military officials here announced this week. Coalition forces acting on multiple intelligence sources and tips from concerned citizens raided two suspected terrorist locations in the Baghdad and Baqubah regions Aug. 29 and 30 to capture known terrorists operating in the areas, officials said. Anis Abd-al-Razaq Ali Muhammad, also known as Dr. Anis or Dr. Saad, was captured during those raids. Dr. Saad is an admitted terrorist and senior member of...

Gaza celebrations begin First official Palestinian Authority celebration marks Israeli withdrawal from Gaza Strip; Mahmoud Abbas: this is first step in creating Palestinian state with Jerusalem as capital By Ali Waked 8/12/05 Celebrations have already begun - Tens of thousands of Palestinians participated in the first official ceremony to mark Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip on Friday evening. The ceremony saw Palestinian Authority Chairman Abu Mazen and other PA senior figures take part. Mahmoud Abbas greeted by crowds in Gaza (Photo: Reuters) Dozens of fishermen in boats adorned with Palestinian flags sailed past the ceremony. Abu Mazen, who was...

By Joseph Farah © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Sometimes, you just have to realize when to say no to a bad idea. That's what Israel and the United States need to realize about the plan to force thousands of Jews from their homes and businesses in the Gaza Strip next month. As many as 100,000 Israelis have walked away from their families and jobs in the last few days to march to the Jewish community of Gush Katif in an attempt to save it from Israeli bulldozers. The confrontation threatens to turn Israel upside down and draw the country into a civil war. And...

Pipes criticises Middle East leadersLateline - Australian Broadcasting Corporation February 9, 2005 TONY JONES: Joining us now is Dr Daniel Pipes, the Director of the Philadelphia-based Middle East Forum. 18 months ago, President Bush appointed him to the board of the US Institute for Peace. Dr Pipes was a scathing critic of Yasser Arafat, and he recently claimed that the new Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, is potentially a far more formidable enemy and remains intent on eliminating Israel. Daniel Pipes, thanks for joining us.DANIEL PIPES (DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST FORUM): Thank you, Tony.TONY JONES: It's time, isn't it, to put aside...

GAZA (Reuters) - Palestinian militants ambushed an Israeli army jeep in Gaza on Wednesday, killing a Jewish settler, wounding three soldiers and challenging new Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's opposition to attacks on Israeli targets. Islamic Jihad said the raid, the first since Abbas won a landslide election on Sunday, was a riposte to his calls for an end to four years of armed struggle in favor of non-violent means to achieve a state in Israeli-occupied territories.

[I'm just posting MEMRI'S titles, smash the link for their translations. ~ OXEN] In the last few weeks the Friday sermons at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and at the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Mosque in Gaza by preachers on the payroll of the Palestinian Authority have included incitement against the United States. The Palestinian preachers likened American activities in Iraq to the deeds of the Mongols, claimed that the U.S. is conducting a Crusade against Islam and Muslims, and that it is also trying to disseminate a forged Koran. The following are excerpts from the sermons:'Satan's Minions are Planning...

Thu Jan 6, 1:28 PM ET Campaign billboards of interim Palestinian leader and presidential candidate Mahmoud Abbas, right, and candidate Mustafa Barghouti, left, are seen defaced in the street in Gaza City, Thursday Jan. 6, 2005. Palestinians will go to the polls Jan. 9 to elect a succesor to the late Yasser Arafat (news - web sites). The Arabic text on the billboard at right reads, 'the Student Union and Fatah (news - web sites) Youth Organization at the American World University supporting the brother Mahmoud Abbas, Abu Mazen.' (AP Photo/Murad Sezer)

In a poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion (PCPO), results showed that over half of the participants support PLO leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)’s call among Palestinians to put an end to the militarization of the Intifada. In the latest poll prepared by Dr. Nabil Kukali and conducted by the PCPO in the period between December 17 to December 19, a random sample of 1010 Palestinian adults was included, representing the demographic models in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip. The poll revealed that 56.8% of the Palestinians support the call of Abbas to...

[IMRA: While various Washington officials sang the praises of Abu Mazen until his resignation, Abu Mazen explains in the following excerpt of his resignation speech how he avoided complying with the requirements of the Roadmap.] PA's Mahmud Abbas Addresses PLC Closed Session, Criticizes Arafat's Policies GMP20030910000030 London Quds Press (Internet Version-WWW) in Arabic 1045 GMT 09 Sep 03 Ramallah Al-Ayyam Arabic 07 Sep 03 Reasons for PA Government's Resignation as Presented By Mahmud Abbas to LC GMP20030907000064 Jerusalem Al-Quds Arabic 07 Sep 03 ["Text" of speech outgoing Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmud Abbas delivered at a closed Palestinian Legislative Council session...

While some in Israel may think that the resignation of PA PM Abu Mazen has derailed President Bush's road map juggernaut there is every reason to believe that the Palestinians may succeed in once again playing their "weakness" to an advantage. During the course of Abu Mazen's short term, Washington's expectations plummeted from requiring the Palestinians to actually act against the terror infrastructure to hopes that the level of terror activity would be low enough that the "process" could continue - with a sovereign Palestinian state formed within a few months as per the road map. With Abu Mazen's resignation,...

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's Office responded to Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas's resignation Saturday by saying Israel would not accept a situation where the PA is controlled by Yasser Arafat or someone who does his bidding. At the same time, Israeli diplomatic said the move is likely just a tactical maneuver by Abbas. While one official said Abbas resigned in order to bring massive international pressure on Arafat to take him back and give him real power, other officials said it was a tactical move to get Israel and the US to reduce pressure on Abbas to dismantle the...

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas said that Israel's killing of a top Hamas leader on Thursday would undermine Palestinian efforts to crackdown on militant groups. Israeli helicopters fired five missiles at a car in the Gaza Strip, killing Hamas leader Ismail Abu Shanab and two of his bodyguards. Speaking to reporters outside his office in the West Bank town of Ramallah, Abbas condemned the killing. "There is no doubt that what the Israeli troops carried out today is an ugly crime," he said. "We condemn such acts. This is against peace and the peace process." A faltering, U.S.-backed peace plan...

Pope to meet Mahmoud Abbas during Palestinian PM`s official visit to Italy in August

The Shin Bet presented a pessimistic view of the future on Wednesday, predicting that Palestinians will launch another wave of terror as the cease-fire inevitably disintegrates into chaos. Briefing defense reporters, a senior Shin Bet official said the Palestinian Authority's present leadership is powerless to dismantle the terrorist groups even if it wanted to. He also said the PA leaders are being hampered by the disintegration of Palestinian society into a state of anarchy. The assessment is that PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has succeeded in "selling us air" in return for concessions like the transfer of Bethlehem to PA...