Egypt prevents Hamas taking millions into Gaza

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AFP) - Egyptian authorities on Thursday prevented a senior Hamas official carrying nine million dollars and two million euros in cash entering Gaza via Rafah, a security official told AFP.

Border official had held up a six-member delegation on its way back from truce talks in Cairo after insisting that they search their bags.

The officials allowed five members to cross, but prevented Gaza-based Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha, who was carrying nine million dollars and two million euros, from crossing into Gaza with the money.

"There are contacts with the finance ministry to decide whether to allow the money in," the official said.

Hamas officials crossed several times into Gaza with large amounts of money after winning parliamentary elections in 2006, but this was the first attempt made since Hamas seized Gaza from rivals Fatah in June 2007, the official said.

In December 2006, Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya was forced to leave 35 million dollars at the Egyptian side of Rafah. The money was then transferred to a Palestinian Authority account.

Egypt on Thursday closed the Rafah crossing to all but exceptional cases after opening it to aid and wounded Palestinians during Israel's war on Hamas .

"No humanitarian, media or medical delegations will be allowed through, nor will medical aid deliveries be permitted," a border official told AFP, while "foreign delegations" who entered Gaza from Egypt would also be allowed to return.

Egypt allowed aid and medical supplies as well as some doctors and journalists into the Gaza Strip during Israel's devastating 22-day offensive on the territory which ended with unilateral ceasefires on January 18.

Egypt has refused to permanently open the crossing in the absence of EU monitors and representatives of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas after Hamas ousted his forces from the territory when it took over Gaza.

Israel, which controls all Gaza crossings except Rafah, has since kept the densely populated territory closed off to all but essential supplies in order to put pressure on Hamas, which it labels a terrorist organization.

Egypt has been mediating a lasting truce in and around the territory that would satisfy Israel's demand for an end to smuggling through tunnels from Egypt and Hamas's demand for the reopening of Gaza's borders.

Cairo had proposed February 5 as a start date for a such a long-term truce, with Hamas saying it would send a delegation back to Cairo on Saturday to give its "final" response to Egypt's proposal.

U.S., Nine Allies Work on Plan to Stop Gun Smuggling to Gaza

By Christian Wienberg

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. and nine other countries are working on measures, including the use of warships, to stop the smuggling of weapons to Hamas in Gaza to prevent the conflict with Israel from flaring up again.

Officials held a two-day meeting in Copenhagen to discuss possible solutions, Michael Zilmer-Johns, of Denmark’s foreign ministry, told reporters today in the Danish capital.

Most of the 10 countries agreed that the use of warships in international waters in the region would be necessary, said a senior diplomat, who asked not to be identified. He declined to say which countries opposed military use.

Israel carried out a 22-day offensive against Hamas that the military said was aimed at ending cross-border rocket attacks. At least 1,375 Palestinians died in the conflict, according to the Gaza emergency services department. Thirteen Israelis died, the Israeli army said. The operation ended Jan. 18 with unilateral cease-fires declared by both sides.

The 10 countries, which include Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and the U.K., will present “a document of solutions,” next month in London after further talks, Zilmer-Johns said. Israeli observers participated in the meetings, while Egypt, which was invited to send observers, declined to attend, he said.

Israel seizes Gaza freighter; no arms aboard

By Amir Cohen

ASHDOD, Israel (Reuters) – The Israeli navy boarded a freighter trying to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip on Thursday and escorted it to the port of Ashdod where 20 passengers were being questioned, the military said.

It was the first apparent attempt by a foreign ship carrying aid to reach the Palestinian coastal enclave since Israel ended its 22-day offensive in the Gaza Strip two weeks ago.

A military official said humanitarian aid found on the ship would be transferred to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Video footage released by the army showed boxes piled up in one corner of the ship and no weapons were found.

Israel Radio said those aboard the Tali, a cargo vessel flying the flag of the West African state of Togo, would be returned by land to Lebanon, from where the ship sailed. The military official said the ship's 20 passengers, including 10 journalists, were being questioned.

"Once the questioning is completed we will make a decision on their fate," a military spokesman said.

A military source said the passengers also included a veteran Palestinian rights campaigner, Syrian-born Archbishop Hilarion Capucci of the Melkite Church of the Eastern Rite.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said the navy had initially allowed the ship to sail to Egypt but its captain made a sudden U-turn toward Gaza's shore after which the navy boarded the vessel and ordered it to sail to Ashdod.

Qatar-based Al Jazeera television quoted a correspondent aboard the vessel as saying an Israeli navy ship had fired shots and then sailors boarded the Tali and beat passengers and crew.

"They are opening fire toward the vessel...there are Israeli soldiers who have actually boarded the vessel," said correspondent Salam Khoder. "Three of them are pointing their weapons at us...They are beating those on the vessel, they are beating and kicking us."

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora condemned the action.

"Those who commit massacres against innocent civilians in Lebanon and Gaza will not stop themselves from assaulting, in front of the world, a ship carrying humanitarian supplies," he said. "I express my utmost condemnation for this blatant attack."

'ACT OF PIRACY'

At the United Nations, Lebanese envoy Caroline Ziade called on the Security Council for international action to press Israel to release the ship immediately. Arab League Ambassador Yahya Mahmassani condemned the "act of piracy" and said he had received assurances of U.N. efforts to get the ship returned.

The army said no gunfire was used in taking control of the vessel and most of the 20 passengers aboard were from media organizations. But it said warning shots were fired in the air when the ship tried to sail toward the Gaza Strip.

Al Jazeera said the ship, dubbed Brotherhood by activists, was carrying humanitarian aid from Lebanese and Arab charities for those made homeless by Israel's devastating offensive.

It was sent by the Palestinian National Committee Against the Siege in cooperation with the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement, and the cargo included about 60 tonnes of medicine, food and toys, plus 10,000 units of human blood plasma which requires constant refrigeration.

Israel maintains tight control of Gaza's access to the outside world, insisting it will not permit shipment of cash, steel or other materials that could be used by Hamas Islamists, who control the enclave, to make weapons.

Sympathizers of Gaza's 1.5 million Palestinians have tried several times in past months to break the Israeli blockade. Some boats with peace activists were allowed to dock, others were warned off.

Israel stops Lebanese Gaza aid ship

by David Buimovitch

ASHDOD, Israel (AFP) – A Lebanese freighter that tried to deliver aid to Gaza in defiance of a blockade docked in the Israeli port of Ashdod under navy escort on Thursday after being intercepted at sea.

The boat was towed into the commercial port, surrounded by Israeli naval vessels before being steered to a military dock.

Israeli forces intercepted the Togolese-flagged "Tali" as it tried to enter Gaza's territorial waters, the military said.

"While at sea, the cargo boat was contacted by Israel, clarifying that it will not be permitted to enter Gazan coastal waters because of security risks in the area and the existing naval blockade," the statement said.

The crew stated it would sail to the Egyptian port of Al-Arish, but eventually tried to slip into Gaza, the military said.

It said the crew would be questioned by police and any humanitarian goods aboard the vessel taken to Gaza.

One of the organizers of the shipment claimed the navy had fired on the boat, an allegation denied by Israel.

"We were informed by the crew that Israeli forces boarded the ship after firing shots at it," Maen Bashur told AFP.

In response, a military statement said "no gunshots were fired on board during the boarding and capture of the cargo boat."

Bashur confirmed that the freighter had tried to reach Gaza through Egyptian territorial waters despite being warned off by Israel earlier.

The Hamas rulers of Gaza accused Israel of "piracy."

"The Palestinian government strongly condemns the act of piracy undertaken by the Israeli occupation in abducting the ship of our Lebanese brothers," said Taher al-Nunu, a spokesman for the Islamist administration in Gaza.

"The government considers this aggressive Israeli behavior to be a tightening of the unjust blockade," he said.

Among the eight people on board the "Brotherhood Ship" was the former Greek Catholic archbishop of Jerusalem, Monsignor Hilarion Capucci, who left Jerusalem in the 1970s after serving time in an Israeli jail for membership in the Palestine Liberation Organization.

The Tali had earlier stopped over at the nearby Mediterranean island of Cyprus where authorities inspected the cargo before continuing its voyage towards Gaza.

An Israeli military spokesman said that by entering Gazan waters, the crew "raised suspicion, as it could threaten security concerns, or furthermore, the boat could be used for smuggling banned equipment (weaponry, etc.) into or out of the Gaza Strip."

He stressed that "any organization or country that wishes to transfer humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, can do so via the established crossings between Israel and the Gaza Strip with prior coordination."

Following the devastating 22-day military offensive that ended on January 18, humanitarian agencies have stepped up calls for a lifting of the blockade Israel imposed on Gaza after Hamas seized power in the Palestinian enclave 18 months ago.

World must continue sending aid for Palestinians: Abbas

LONDON (AFP) – Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas appealed Thursday for the world to continue sending aid to the Palestinian territories, despite the UN accusing Hamas of seizing aid for Gaza after the recent war.

"As far as reconstruction is concerned now, all the humanitarian help is coming in to Gaza, although there are many saying that this aid is being stolen," Abbas said after talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

"In spite of that, what we are saying is that the world must, must keep sending humanitarian aid.

"Now, as far as reconstruction is concerned, reconstruction must start today, yes, today, through the international organizations and agencies," he added at Brown's Downing Street office.

He added that while international bodies could help reconstruction in Gaza after its three-week assault by Israeli forces, "there is only one legitimate government, and this must be the only conduit through which aid comes."

Abbas insisted that "the side which is causing problems is not the Palestinian Authority."

"We want to see the reconstruction process as soon as possible, because it is impossible for 100,000 people to wait even further."

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on Wednesday said Hamas has seized hundreds of food parcels and thousands of blankets destined for Gaza civilians in the wake of Israel's war.

"At 14:30 on 3 February, over 3,500 blankets and 406 food parcels were confiscated from a distribution store at Beach Camp in Gaza by police personnel," it said in a statement.

"This took place after UNRWA staff had earlier refused to hand over the aid supplies to the Hamas-run ministry of social affairs.

Virtually all aid delivered to Gaza comes from UN and other humanitarian agencies.

The deliveries are an exception to the crippling blockade of Gaza, but Israel has regularly responded to rocket attacks by preventing aid convoys from entering the besieged territory.

Syria’s Assad Determined to Improve U.S. Ties, Says Congressman

By Henry Meyer and Massoud A. Derhally

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Syria is determined to normalize ties with the U.S., said an American congressman who met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last week.

“Syria is a rational actor,” said Representative Adam Smith, a Democrat who led the first congressional delegation to Syria since President Barack Obama took office Jan. 20. “President Assad wants to be protected from the things that threaten his regime; he is of the opinion that Israel threatens him and that we threaten him,” Smith said in a phone interview from Washington late yesterday.

The U.S. could take steps to improve ties by restoring its ambassador in Damascus and easing sanctions, while Syria could show it is acting to stop insurgents from getting into Iraq through its territory, said Smith. After receiving the seven- member congressional delegation, Assad said on Jan. 31 he seeks “positive and constructive dialogue” with the U.S.

Syria’s relations with the U.S. deteriorated during the administration of George W. Bush, which accused Syria of allowing insurgents into Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country and supporting the Islamist groups Hamas and Hezbollah. The U.S. imposed economic sanctions in May 2004, including a ban on trade transactions with the Commercial Bank of Syria, the country’s largest bank.

Ties with the U.S. were further strained after the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, which prompted the U.S. to withdraw its ambassador from Syria. A United Nations investigation into the killing implicated Syrian officials, allegations denied by the government in Damascus.

‘Economic Opportunities’

“What Syria wants is greater economic opportunities, better relations with the U.S. and with the West to grow their economy,” said Smith, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee whose district is in Washington state. “What we want is Syria to work with us to stop violent extremists operating in the region.”

International pressure on Syria has eased since it helped broker an end to an 18-month long political crisis in Lebanon in May last year. Syria played a key role in Lebanese politics for three decades and withdrew its army in 2005.

Syria broke off indirect discussions with Israel in the wake of Israel’s 22-day offensive in Gaza. The talks, which began last year through Turkish mediation, marked the first effort to reach a Syrian-Israeli peace agreement since negotiations broke down in 2000 over the terms for Israel to return the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since the 1967 Six-Day War.

“Overall you can see the broad framework of a deal” between the U.S. and Syria, said Smith. One of the “most critical” elements would be getting Israel and Syria back to the negotiating table, he said.

Algerian legislators visit Indonesia

A group of Algerian parliamentarians is paying a visit to Indonesia, which will last till Feb. 8, the Antara news agency reported Thursday.

The visit is a reciprocal one to that made by Indonesian House Commission I members to Algeria in last April, which resulted in an agreement between the two parliaments to set up an Indonesia-Algeria Parliamentary Friendship to increase cooperation, Antara quoted a statement of the Indonesian Foreign Ministry as saying.

During the visit, the Algerian lawmakers, who are from the commission of foreign relations, cooperation and emigration, are scheduled to meet with their Indonesian counterparts in the House Commission I and the Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Agency (BKSAP).

They would discuss, among others, efforts to increase cooperation between the two countries' parliaments.

The Algerian parliamentarians will also meet with leaders of the Indonesian parliament and Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda.

They are also scheduled to visit the Asia-Africa museum in Bandung, West Java which is an important site in view of the history of Algeria's independence.

Chief of the Algerian parliamentary delegation Reguieg Bentabet said on Wednesday that as a country that has a strong commitment to the Palestinian struggle, the Algerian parliament has been actively promoting solidarity for Palestine.

The visit, among others, is also aimed at supporting and appreciating Indonesia that has also been actively promoting solidarity for the Palestinian struggle, he said.

Source: People's Daily.
Link: http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90851/6586394.html.

Ukrainian ship free after $3.2 mln ransom paid to Somali pirates

KIEV, February 5 (RIA Novosti) - A Ukrainian cargo ship captured by Somali pirates in September with 20 crewmembers on board was released on Thursday after a ransom was paid, the head of Ukraine's external intelligence service said.

The Faina will set a course for Kenya on Friday morning, Mykola Malomuzh said at a briefing, confirming reports that all of the 65 pirates that had been on board the hijacked vessel left on Thursday having divvied up the $3.2 million ransom.

He added that a U.S. Navy frigate has already approached the Faina to refuel it, and the cargo ship's acting captain would attempt to start her engines on Friday morning. The ship is expected to reach the Kenyan port of Mombasa in four to six days.

"We hope that tomorrow morning we will put out under the escort of the U.S. Navy," he was quoted by Ukraine's UNIAN news agency as saying.

The Faina, with a crew of 17 Ukrainians, three Russians and one Latvian, was hijacked off the Horn of Africa on September 25, 2008. The vessel's Russian captain died of a heart attack soon after the hijacking.

The pirates initially demanded a $35 million ransom for the vessel, which was carrying 33 T-72 tanks and other heavy weaponry.

Malomuzh said Kenya's defense minister and the head of its general staff were awaiting the Faina's arrival, along with Ukraine's Ukrspetseksport company, which was exporting the arms to Kenya. They will oversee the process of transferring the military cargo to the Kenyan authorities.

He also said that the body of the deceased Russian captain, Vladimir Kolobkov, would be received by the Russian Consulate in Nairobi and sent home.

According to the UN, Somali pirates carried out at least 120 attacks on ships in 2008, resulting in a yield of around $150 million.

Up to 20 warships from the navies of at least 10 countries, including Russia, are involved in anti-piracy operations off Somalia. The East African country, ravaged by years of civil war, has no functioning government.

Source: RIA Novosti.
Link: http://en.rian.ru/world/20090205/120003220.html.

Iraqi refugee reaction to elections mixed

CAIRO, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Iraqi refugees living in host countries across the Middle East expressed mixed reactions to the provincial elections in Iraq, statements show.

"I do not care who will control the majority of seats or who will be in power, but what I truly hope for is a peaceful Iraq that can accommodate all Iraqis, irrespective of their ethnic or religious affiliation," said one Iraqi refugee in Cairo.

The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees interviewed scores of refugees across the Middle East to get an understanding of the Iraqi reaction to the elections from outside the country.

Roughly half of the registered voters in Iraq voted in the provincial elections. More than 14,000 candidates, with around 4,000 women, competed for 440 seats in 14 of the 18 Iraqi provinces.

The UNHCR found a mixed reaction, however, as some refugees echoed sentiments from the Iraqi public regarding the perception of those in political power.

"The elections carry no significance," said another refugee living in Damascus. "The country is destroyed and people care only for their personal gains (and) positions."

The UNHCR did not release the names of those interviewed, for their protection. The agency said there are around 300,000 registered refugees in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey.

Source: United Press International (UPI).
Link: http://www.upi.com/Emerging_Threats/2009/02/04/Iraqi_refugee_reaction_to_elections_mixed/UPI-72281233772335/.

Indonesia receives three more Sukhoi combat fighters

By MARTIN SIEFF

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (UPI) -- The Indonesian air force Monday officially confirmed its acquisition of three Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30MK2 (NATO designation Flanker) multirole combat fighters, RIA Novosti reported.

Russia delivered the three aircraft on Dec. 26 and Jan. 17. Since then, the Sukhoi fighters were put together from their kits and have carried out test flights, RIA Novosti said. The aircraft were built and delivered for the relatively low cost of $300 million under a deal that was concluded in 2007, the report said. The Kremlin also has agreed to deliver a further three Sukhoi Su-27SKM fighters to Indonesia this year and next year, the report said.

Before the current delivery, the Indonesian air force was already operating two Sukhoi Su-27SK and two Sukhoi Su-30MK combat fighters, the news agency said.

"We hope for further contacts in the defense sphere with Russia," RIA Novosti quoted a senior Indonesian Defense Ministry official as saying at the handing-over celebration at the city of Makassar.

The Russian report said the three Sukhoi fighters would be flown by the Indonesian air force's 11th Squadron and that they would be flown out of Sultan Hasanuddin Air Base on Sulawesi Island.

The Sukhoi deal continues the pattern of steadily increasing conventional arms sales by Russia to Indonesia that we have monitored in these columns over the past four years. The Indonesian arms market has been dominated by the United States for most of the past 40 years.