Macedonia approves budget amid violence

December 24, 2012

SKOPJE, Macedonia (AP) — Macedonia's parliament approved the 2013 budget late Monday, amid clashes outside the building between rival groups of protesters that left 11 police officers and at least three opposition lawmakers injured, police and party officials said.

Lawmakers voted 65-4 in favor of the €2.7 billion ($3.6 billion) draft budget in the Christmas Eve vote, as riot police were need to separate pro- and anti-government protesters, who hurled rocks and eggs at each other. Three protesters were detained for questioning, police said.

Other deputies were absent for the vote in the 123-seat parliament. Reporters were also ordered to leave the building before the vote. The budget must be adopted by year-end. The Social Democrat-led opposition argued the conservative government was spending too much on grandiose monuments, as well as expensive cars and furniture for state officials. The opposition had demanded that spending be trimmed by more than €200 million ($264.5 million). In an emergency meeting Sunday, the government agreed to cut just €3 million ($4 million).

Social Democrat leader Branko Crvenkovski, a former president of Macedonia, announced his party would boycott parliamentary proceedings indefinitely. He urged his supporters to join a campaign of "civil disobedience" aimed at toppling Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski's conservatives.

Crvenkovski argued that the budget was wasteful at a time when many in the country are struggling to make ends meet. But in a televised address late Monday, Gruevski accused his opponents of staging a "violent attempt to overthrow democratic institutions and the legitimately elected government."

He added: "The budget is just being used as a pretext for a battle by (Crvenkovski) for his own political survival." The U.S. Embassy expressed "concern and disappointment" at the clashes in front of parliament and urged the country's two main parties to try to ease tension.

"The peaceful expression of different opinions is the foundation of a strong and democratic nation, and the use of violence by any parties involved undermines that system and damages its ability to govern responsibly," an embassy statement said.

"The United States urges the leaders of all political parties and their supporters to put an end to these confrontations without delay."

Monti resigns as Italy heads to elections

December 21, 2012

MILAN (AP) — Mario Monti handed in his resignation to Italy's president in Rome on Friday, bringing to a close his "difficult but fascinating" 13-month technical government and preparing the country for national elections.

With the short trip to the president's office after bidding a farewell to foreign diplomats and then his Cabinet, Monti kept his pledge to step down as soon as Parliament approved a budget law. President Giorgio Napolitano, who tapped Monti in November 2011 to draft reforms to shield Italy from the continent's debt crisis, asked Monti to stay on as head of a caretaker government until the national vote, expected in February.

Napolitano will meet with leaders of Italian parties Saturday morning before dissolving Parliament. The question facing Italy, the eurozone's third-largest economy and with the second-largest debt as a proportion of GDP, is if the vote will mark a return to politics as usual, or if the government of technocrats succeeded in some measure in preparing the way to continue the path of reforms and sacrifices.

Monti is expected to announce Sunday whether he will run to head a political government — backed by a collection of small centrist parties and movements, and perhaps even Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi has been toying with a return to electoral politics — after first pulling support in Parliament for Monti's government then inviting him to run under a conservative banner. The leader of the center-left, Pier Luigi Bersani, is among those critical of a Monti candidacy, saying that parties built around personalities "is not good for Italy."

A survey by the Demopolis institute for La7 private TV aired on Friday showed that two-thirds of Italians believe the Monti government had succeeded in restoring credibility to Italy and more than half said it had made progress in the fight against tax evasion.

On the minus side, a huge majority of 80 percent, however, criticized his government's restoration of a tax on primary residences. The survey polled 1,040 Italians. In what was his last official public act as premier, Monti told foreign diplomats in Rome Friday that his year-old technical government had rendered the country "more trustworthy."

He called his tenure "difficult but fascinating." "The work we did ... has made the country more trustworthy, besides more competitive and attractive to foreign investors," Monti told diplomats, who gave him a standing ovation. "I hope that it can continue this way also in the next legislative session."

Monti cited structural reforms, such as measures to improve competition and liberalize services, as well as the recently approved anti-corruption law. Monti's address to diplomats coincided with the lower house of Parliament's final approval of the budget law, which the premier promised to see through before stepping down.

Monti took over as head of a technical government in November 2011 as Italy's borrowing costs soared in a clear market vote of no-confidence in then-Premier Berlusconi's ability to reform Italy's economy.

Monti announced he would resign after Berlusconi's parliamentary party withdrew its support for his government, accelerating national elections initially set for April and now expected in February. Earlier Friday, Monti quipped that the impending end of his technical government "was not the fault of the Mayan prophecy," though it came to an end on the same day as the ancient Mayan calendar, which had prompted unfulfilled doomsday predictions.

Egypt's Morsi: constitution dawn of new republic

December 26, 2012

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist president proclaimed the country's newly adopted constitution as the dawning of a "new republic" in a television address Wednesday, calling on the opposition to join a dialogue with him after a month of violent turmoil and focus on repairing a damaged economy.

Mohammed Morsi sought to present the Islamist-drafter charter as the turning of a historic page for Egypt, but his speech did little to ease the suspicions of those who fear he and his Muslim Brotherhood are entrenching their power. He offered no concrete gestures to an opposition that has so far rejected his dialogue and vowed to fight the constitution.

Instead, with a triumphalist tone, he presented the constitution, which was approved by nearly 64 percent of voters in a referendum that ended last weekend, as creating a democracy with balanced powers between branches of government and political freedoms.

"We don't want to return to an era of one opinion and fake, manufactured majorities. The maturity and consciousness (of voters) heralds that Egypt has set on a path of democracy with no return," Morsi said. "Regardless of the results, for the sake of building the nation, efforts must unite. There is no alternative to a dialogue that is now a necessity."

The opposition says the constitution allows a dictatorship of the majority — which Islamists have won with repeated election victories the past two years. It says the charter's provisions for greater implementation of Islamic law, or Shariah, would allow Islamists who hold the presidency and overwhelmingly dominate the temporary legislature to restrict civil rights and limit the freedoms of minorities and women.

Opponents also say the low turnout in the referendum, just under 33 percent, undermines the document's legitimacy. The main opposition National Salvation Front said it would study Morsi's speech to see if his call for dialogue is serious. But it dismissed a "national dialogue" body that he launched before the results emerged as "farcical and simply theater." The dialogue is mainly between Morsi and other Islamists.

"The president is talking to himself," said Hussein Abdel-Ghani, a leading figure in the Front told a press conference after Morsi's speech. He said the opposition would only enter "real and effective" talks, suggesting Morsi was aiming to assuage the United States, which has called for compromise and talks, without offering real substance. The Front said it will continue to be in opposition to the current rulers who "seek to establish a repressive regime in the name of religion."

Morsi's prerecorded address was his first speech since Dec. 6 after laying low amid the turmoil leading up to the referendum. It came a day after official referendum results were announced, formally bringing into effect the first constitution since the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

Morsi's main message: it is time to put aside differences and start "the epic battle for construction and production." He said he had asked his Prime Minister Hesham Kandil to make changes to his Cabinet to meet the "needs of the coming period" and to introduce measure to facilitate investment. But he made no gesture of inviting the opposition to join the reshuffled government.

"As we set on a new phase moving from the first republic to the second republic, a republic that has this constitution as its strong base ... I renew my pledge to respect the law and constitution," Morsi said, repeating his oath of office based on the new charter.

The line signaled the formal end of the political system in place in Egypt since 1952, when a military coup pushed out the Western-backed king and Egypt was declared a republic. Morsi acknowledged the "respectable" proportion that voted against the constitution, but gave no nod to the concerns opponents have over the charter. Liberals and Christians withdrew from the assembly writing the document, complaining that the Islamist majority was railroading it through. Opponents worry about provisions giving Muslim clerics a say over legislation, subordinating many civil rights to Shariah and providing little protection for women's rights.

Morsi declared the constitution Egypt's first to be drafted and passed through a popularly approved process, saying it protects human dignity, enshrines moderation, protects freedoms and ensures rights to work, education and health.

His implicit message to those who complain that the Muslim Brotherhood, from which he hails, is dominating government was that he could be trusted and that in the end, voters can remove them. "God only knows I make no decision except for God, and for the interest of the nation," Morsi said. "As you know, I am not a lover of authority or someone who is keen to monopolize power. Power is with the people."

He defended decrees he issued in November granting himself sweeping powers, which sparked a wave of protests. He said the decrees, since revoked, were necessary to swiftly push through the constitution to a referendum to end instability. The opposition had urged him to postpone the vote.

The administrator of a Facebook page seen as a major mobilizer for the uprising that forced out Mubarak dismissed Morsi's speech, saying, "His words don't match his deeds." Abdel-Rahman Mansour, of the "We are All Khaled Said" page, said Morsi had violated earlier promises to respect processes and institutions and is now calling for a dialogue after rushing through a constitution that was highly disputed.

"You can't talk about a second republic when it is based on a constitution that has no national consensus," Mansour said. "He says he doesn't want power but acts differently." Under the new constitution, the Islamist-dominated Shura Council, the traditionally toothless upper house, was granted temporary legislative powers and began its work on Wednesday. It will legislate until elections for a new lower house are held within two months. Morsi has had legislative powers for months since a court dissolved the law-making lower house of parliament.

Morsi filled out the Shura Council this week by appointing 90 members to bring it to its full 270 members, adding a few non-Islamist members to the body recommended by the national dialogue. But the main liberal and secular opposition groups rejected the appointments as "political bribery."

The parliamentary affairs minister, Mohammed Mahsoub, told Wednesday's session that the government will prepare new legislation for the Shura Council to discuss, including a law to regulate the upcoming parliamentary elections, anti-corruption laws, and laws to organize Egypt's efforts to recover money from corrupt Mubarak-era officials.

Mahsoub said such bills can be ready as early as next week, when the council convenes again for its regular working session. Nasser Amin, the head of the Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession, said that now the conflict has moved from dueling street protests between the regime and opposition to "a new phase of legal disputes over legislation and control of state institutions."

"This is the most critical phase," he said, "and the battle won't be very clear to regular people."

Syrian rebels make more gains in north

December 25, 2012

BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels fully captured a northern town near the Turkish border on Tuesday after weeks of heavy fighting and attacked a regime air base in a neighboring province, activists said.

The air base is in Aleppo province, where opposition fighters have already captured three other large military bases in recent months. Rebels have also laid siege to the international airport in the city of Aleppo, Syria's commercial capital, and launched an offensive on the police academy near the city.

With steady rebel gains across the north, President Bashar Assad's regime is having increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province, especially after rebels cut a major thoroughfare from Damascus. It is just another sign that the opposition is consolidating its grip across large swathes of territory in northern Syria near the Turkish border.

In his traditional Christmas address, Pope Benedict XVI decried the slaughter of the "defenseless" in Syria, where anti-regime activists estimate more than 40,000 have died in fighting since the uprising against President Bashar Assad's rule began in March 2011.

In another blow to the regime, activists said that Mohammed Adnan Arabo, a member of Syria's parliament has left the country and joined the opposition. Ahmad Ramadan, an executive council member of the opposition Syrian National Council group, and other activists said Arabo arrived in Turkey on Tuesday.

He said the regime's hold on power is deteriorating and rebels are besieging military bases for weeks until they either take over or negotiate with local army commanders to surrender. He added that some regime forces are being diverted to the capital to fight there.

"The regime cannot protect its bases and also cannot send forces to support troops under siege," he said. Over the weeks, rebels fighting to overthrow Assad have also been able to take the battles into the capital Damascus, Assad's seat of power, where the southern neighborhoods are witnessing almost daily clashes between troops and rebels.

The big successes began in mid-November, when rebels captured Aleppo's Regiment 46, a large military base, carting off tanks, armored vehicles and truck-loads of munitions. Three weeks later, they captured the Sheik Suleiman base near the provincial capital of Aleppo and days later they took an infantry base in the city.

Last week, they captured an army technical regiment near Damascus' international airport but were pushed back in a counter attack. The army command said in a statement that the regiment's commander was killed in the battle.

The rebels have also brought the battle to areas around Damascus international airport where some flights were cancelled earlier this month because of the intensity of the fighting. One of the biggest blows came in Damascus on Dec. 12 when a suicide attacker blew his vehicle outside the Interior Ministry, killing five and wounding many, including Interior Minister Mohammed al-Shaar. The government denied at first that al-Shaar had been wounded until it got out when he was brought last week to a Beirut hospital for treatment.

It was the second injury the minister suffered after being wounded in a July 17, bomb inside a high-level crisis meeting in Damascus that killed four top regime officials, including Assad's brother-in-law and the defense minister.

The rebel takeover of Harem, a town of 20,000 in northern Idlib province, was the latest in a string of recent rebel successes. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the rebels captured Harem in the early hours of Tuesday. Mohammed Kanaan, an Idlib-based activist, said the last post to be taken was the historic citadel, which overlooked the town. The army had turned the citadel into a military post.

"Harem is fully liberated now," Kanaan said via Skype. He added that as the rebels pounded army posts and checkpoints in Harem, the troops withdrew to the citadel that later fell in the hands of rebels.

Rami-Abdul-Rahman, who heads to Observatory, said nearly 30 soldiers and pro-government gunmen surrendered late Monday. He added that rebels set free all gunmen at the age of 16 or less and referred others to local tribunals.

"Harem was very important because it is one of the towns that was loyal to the regime," Abdul-Rahman said by telephone about the town that is nearly a mile from the Turkish border. In Aleppo province, which neighbors Idlib, local activist Mohammed Saeed said rebels attacked the air base in the town of Mannagh near the Turkish border. He said it is one of four air bases in the province, adding that rebels also attacked the police academy near the city of Aleppo.

Regime forces have been using helicopters to carry supplies to besieged areas and to attack rebel positions. The regime has had increasing difficulty sending supplies by land to Aleppo province after rebels captured in October the strategic town Maaret al-Numan. The town is on the highway that links Damascus with Aleppo, Syria's largest city and a major battleground in the civil war since July.

"Airplanes and helicopters are the only way to send supplies since the Free Syrian Army controls the land," Saeed said. He added that rebels are also laying a siege to Aleppo's international airport known as Nairab and threatening to shoot down military or civilians planes using it.

In the Damascus suburb of Jaramana, opposition gunmen ambushed the head of military intelligence in the area and seriously wounded him. He later died of his wounds, the Observatory said. Elsewhere in Syria, the Observatory reported violence in areas including the eastern province of Deir el-Zour, the southern area of Quneitra on the edge of the Israeli-occupied Golan Height and the southern region of Daraa.

In Israel, top officials said they cannot corroborate Syrian activists' claims that the regime has used chemical weapons against its citizens. Vice Premier Moshe Yaalon told Army Radio that Israel has "no confirmation or proof" the regime has employed such weapons in the civil war. He says Israel is "monitoring the situation with concern."

Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad told Israel Radio that Syria was closely guarding its chemical weapons stockpiles. On Monday, the Observatory quoted activists in the central city of Homs as saying that six rebels died in two neighborhoods the day before after inhaling white smoke that came out of shells fired by government troops in the area. Amateur videos released by activists showed men in hospital beds suffering breathing problems as doctors placed oxygen masks over their faces.

Egypt's draft charter gets 'yes' majority in vote

December 23, 2012

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's Islamist-backed constitution received a "yes" majority in a final round of voting on a referendum that saw a low voter turnout, but the deep divisions it has opened up threaten to fuel continued turmoil.

Passage is a victory for Islamist President Mohammed Morsi, but a costly one. The bruising battle over the past month stripped away hope that the long-awaited constitution would bring a national consensus on the path Egypt will take after shedding its autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak nearly two years ago.

Instead, Morsi disillusioned many non-Islamists who had once backed him and has become more reliant on his core support in the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamists. Hard-liners in his camp are determined to implement provisions for stricter rule by Islamic law in the charter, which is likely to further fuel divisions.

Saturday's voting in 17 of Egypt's 27 provinces was the second and final round of the referendum. Preliminary results released early Sunday by Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood showed that 71.4 percent of those who voted Saturday said "yes" after 95.5 percent of the ballots were counted. Only about eight million of the 25 million Egyptians eligible to vote — a turnout of about 30 percent — cast their ballots. The Brotherhood has accurately predicted election results in the past by tallying results provided by its representatives at polling centers.

In the first round of voting, about 56 percent said "yes" to the charter. The turnout then was about 32 percent. The results of the two rounds mean the referendum was approved by about 63 percent. Morsi's liberal and secular opposition now faces the task of trying to organize the significant portion of the population angered by what it sees as attempts by Morsi and the Brotherhood to gain a lock on political power. The main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, said it would now start rallying for elections for the lawmaking, lower house of parliament, expected early next year.

"We feel more empowered because of the referendum. We proved that at least we are half of society (that) doesn't approve of all this. We will build on it," the Front's spokesman, Khaled Daoud, said. Still, he said, there was "no appetite" at the moment for further street protests.

The new constitution would come into effect once official results are announced, expected in several days. When they are, Morsi is expected to call for the election of parliament's lawmaking, lower chamber no more than two months later.

In a sign of disarray in Morsi's administration, his vice president and — possibly — the central bank governor resigned during Saturday's voting. Vice President Mahmoud Mekki's resignation had been expected since his post is eliminated under the new constitution. But its hasty submission even before the charter has been sealed and his own resignation statement suggested it was linked to Morsi's policies.

"I have realized a while ago that the nature of politics don't suit my professional background as a judge," his resignation letter, read on state TV, said. Mekki said he had first submitted his resignation last month but events forced him to stay on.

The status of Central Bank Governor Farouq el-Oqdah was murkier. State TV first reported his resignation, then soon after reported the Cabinet denied he has stepped down in a possible sign of confusion. El-Oqdah, in his post since 2003, has reportedly been seeking to step down but the administration was trying to convince him to stay on.

The confusion over el-Oqdah's status comes at a time when the government is eager to show some stability in the economy as the Egyptian pound has been sliding and a much-needed $4.8 billion loan from the IMF has been postponed.

Over the past month, seven of Morsi's 17 top advisers and the one Christian among his top four aides resigned. Like Mekki, they said they had never been consulted in advance on any of the president's moves, including his Nov. 22 decrees, since rescinded, that granted himself near absolute powers.

Those decrees sparked large street protests by hundreds of thousands around the country, bringing counter-rallies by Islamists. The turmoil was further fueled with a Constituent Assembly almost entirely made up of Islamists finalized the constitution draft in the dead of night amid a boycott by liberals and Christians. Rallies turned violent. Brotherhood offices were attacked, and Islamists attacked an opposition sit-in outside the presidential palace in Cairo leading to clashes that left 10 dead.

The turmoil opened up a vein of bitterness that the polarizing constitution will do little to close. Morsi opponents accused him of seeking to create a new Mubarak-style autocracy. The Brotherhood accused his rivals of being former Mubarak officials trying to topple an elected president and return to power. Islamists branded opponents "infidels" and vowed they will never accept anything but "God's law" in Egypt.

Both rounds of voting saw claims by the opposition and rights groups of voting violations. On Saturday, they said violations ranged from polling stations opening late to Islamists seeking to influence voters to say "yes." The official MENA news agency said at least two judges have been removed for coercing voters to cast "yes" ballots.

The opposition's talk of now taking the contest to the parliamentary elections represented a shift in the conflict — an implicit gamble that the opposition can try to compete under rules that the Islamists have set. The Brotherhood's electoral machine has been one of its strongest tools since Mubarak's fall, while liberal and secular parties have been divided and failed to create a grassroots network.

In the first post-Mubarak parliamentary elections last winter, the Brotherhood and ultraconservative Salafis won more than 70 percent of seats in the lower chamber, which was later dissolved by a court order. The opposition is now betting it can do better with the anger over Morsi's performance so far.

The schism in a country that has for decades seen its institutions function behind a facade of stability was on display in Saturday's lines of voters. In the village of Ikhsas in the Giza countryside south of Cairo, an elderly man who voted "no" screamed in the polling station that the charter is "a Brotherhood constitution."

"We want a constitution in the interest of Egypt. We want a constitution that serves everyone, not just the Brotherhood. They can't keep fooling the people," Ali Hassan, a 68-year-old wearing traditional robes, said.

But others were drawn by the hope that a constitution would finally bring some stability after nearly two years of tumultuous transitional politics. There appeared to be a broad economic split, with many of the middle and upper classes rejecting the charter and the poor voting "yes" — though the division was not always clear-cut.

In Ikhsas, Hassan Kamel, a 49-year-old day worker, said "We the poor will pay the price" of a no vote. He dismissed the opposition leadership as elite and out of touch. "Show me an office for any of those parties that say no here in Ikhsas or south of Cairo. They are not connecting with people."

In the industrial working class district of Shubra El-Kheima just north of Cairo, women argued while waiting in line over the draft charter. Samira Saad, a 55 year old housewife, said she wanted her five boys to find jobs.

"We want to get on with things and we want things to be better," she said. Nahed Nessim, a Christian, questioned the integrity of the process. "There is a lot of corruption. My vote won't count." She was taken to task by Muslim women wearing the niqab, which blankets the entire body and leaves only the eyes visible and is worn by ultraconservative women.

"We have a president who fears God and memorizes His words. Why are we not giving him a chance until he stands on his feet?" said one of the women, Faiza Mehana, 48. The promise of stability even drew one Christian woman in Fayoum, southwest of Cairo, to vote "yes" — a break with most Christians nationwide who oppose the draft. Hanaa Zaki said she wanted an end to Egypt's deepening economic woes.

"I have a son who didn't get paid for the past six months. We have been in this crisis for so long and we are fed up," said Zaki, waiting in line along with bearded Muslim men and Muslim women wearing headscarves in Fayoum, a province that is home to both a large Christian community and a strong Islamist movement.

The scene In Giza's upscale Mohandiseen neighborhood was starkly different. A group of 12 women speaking to each other in a mix of French, Arabic and English said they were all voting "no." "It's not about Christian versus Muslim, it is Muslim Brotherhood versus everyone else," said one of them, Shahira Sadeq, a Christian physician.

Kamla el-Tantawi, 65, said she was voting "against what I'm seeing" — and she gestured at a woman nearby wearing the niqab. "I lose sleep thinking about my grandchildren and their future. They never saw the beautiful Egypt we did," she said, harkening back to a time decades ago when few women even wore headscarves covering their hair, much less the black niqab.

Many voters were under no illusions the turmoil would end. "I don't trust the Brotherhood anymore and I don't trust the opposition either. We are forgotten, the most miserable and the first to suffer," said Azouz Ayesh, sitting with his neighbors as their cattle grazed in a nearby field in the Fayoum countryside.

He said a "yes" would bring stability and a "no" would mean no stability. But, he added, "I will vote against this constitution."

Associated Press writers Maggie Michael in Fayoum, Egypt, and Aya Batrawy, in Cairo, contributed to this report.

Israel to build 942 more homes in east Jerusalem

December 25, 2012

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has advanced the process of building 942 more settler homes in east Jerusalem under a new fast-track plan to tighten its grip on the territory, which the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state.

A government planning committee on Monday moved the project to the advanced stage of asking contractors to submit bids to build them, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday. Once a bid is awarded, construction can begin on the project in the Gilo area, though it can take months, if not longer, to reach that point.

An additional 300 units can be built after further planning, said attorney Daniel Seidemann, an expert on Jerusalem construction who sees the building as an obstacle to peacemaking. About 40,000 Israelis live in Gilo.

"With God's help, we will continue to live and build in Jerusalem, which will remain united under Israeli sovereignty," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the campaign launch event of his Likud Party. "We will continue to strengthen the settlements." Israeli elections are set for Jan. 22.

Nabil Abu Rdeneh, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the new Israeli announcement was a "red line" that would block the chance for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in which a Palestinian state would be established alongside Israel.

"The Palestinian Authority will take all the possible means available to respond to this," said Abu Rdeneh. The statement was posted on the official Palestinian news agency Wafa. The newly-approved homes are among more than 5,000 new settler homes in east Jerusalem that Israel pressed ahead over the past week. Palestinians do not recognize Israel's 1967 annexation of the territory and say any Israeli construction there undermines their claims to it. The international community has not recognized Israel's 1967 annexation of east Jerusalem.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched a settlement construction push to punish the Palestinians after the United Nations recognized a de facto Palestinian state in east Jerusalem, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip last month. Israel says the Palestinians can achieve a state only through negotiations with the Israeli government, and regards the U.N. bid as a maneuver to sidestep talks.

The Palestinians have said they hope the upgraded status will allow them to return to the negotiating table with a stronger hand. Talks stalled four years ago, primarily over settlement construction. The construction push in east Jerusalem has drawn international condemnation, as have plans to build thousands of more settler homes in the adjacent West Bank.

Israel captured both areas and Gaza in 1967. It withdrew settlers and soldiers from Gaza in 2005, but blocks most access to the territory and retains control over the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Also Tuesday, the Gaza Strip's ruling Hamas announced that Palestinian journalists there have been banned from working for Israeli media outlets.

The official statement from the Hamas Cabinet called Israeli outlets "hostile entity media institutions." Israeli media have no permanent correspondents in the Gaza Strip, but Israeli TV channels and newspapers often employ local Palestinian journalists as stringers. The Gaza journalists do not generally identify themselves to others as working for Israeli outlets because of a taboo against cooperating with Israel.

Israel bans Israeli journalists from entering the Gaza Strip, saying their presence in Gaza would pose a risk to their security.

Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip contributed to this report.

C. African Republic neighbors to send help

December 29, 2012

BANGUI, Central African Republic (AP) — Central African Republic's neighbors agreed on Friday to dispatch a contingent of soldiers to intervene in the troubled country, where a coalition of rebel groups is seeking to overthrow the president of nearly a decade.

Representatives from the 10-nation Economic Community of Central African States meeting in Gabon, though, did not specify how many troops they could contribute nor did they outline how quickly the military assistance would arrive.

President Francois Bozize had pleaded for international help Thursday as fears grew that the rebels would attack the capital of 600,000 next. Former colonial power France already has said that its forces in the country are there to protect French interests and not Bozize's government.

"We are now thinking about the arrangements to make so that this mission can be deployed as quickly as possible, said Gabon's Foreign Affairs Minister Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet. The announcement came as military officials in Central African Republic reported renewed fighting in the third largest city of Bambari, which fell under rebel control five days ago.

The military said it had taken country of the town, located about 385 kilometers (240 miles) from the capital, a claim that could not be immediately corroborated. The ongoing instability prompted the United States to evacuate about 40 people, including the U.S. ambassador, on an U.S. Air Force plane bound for Kenya, said U.S. officials who insisted on anonymity because they weren't authorized to discuss the operation.

The United States has special forces troops in the country who are assisting in the hunt for Joseph Kony, the fugitive rebel leader of another rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army. The U.S. special forces remain in the country, the U.S. military's Africa Command said from its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

The evacuation of the U.S. diplomats came in the wake of criticism of how the U.S. handled diplomatic security before and during the attack on its consulate in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11. The ambassador and three other Americans were killed in that attack.

French diplomats are staying despite a violent demonstration outside its embassy earlier this week. Dozens of protesters, angry about a lack of help against rebel forces, threw rocks at the French Embassy in Bangui and stole a French flag. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius spoke via phone with Bozize, asking him to take responsibility for the safety of French nationals and diplomatic missions in Central African Republic.

Bozize on Thursday urgently called on former colonial ruler France and other foreign powers to help his government fend off rebels who are quickly seizing territory and approaching the capital. But French President Francois Hollande said France wants to protect its interests in Central African Republic and not Bozize's government.

This landlocked nation of some 4.4 million people has suffered decades of army revolts, coups and rebellions since gaining independence in 1960 and remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The current president himself came to power nearly a decade ago in the wake of a rebellion in this resource-rich yet deeply poor country.

Speaking to crowds in Bangui, a city of some 600,000, Bozize pleaded with foreign powers to do what they could. He pointed in particular to France. About 200 French soldiers are already in the country, providing technical support and helping to train the local army, according to the French defense ministry.

"France has the means to stop (the rebels) but unfortunately they have done nothing for us until now," Bozize said. Bozize's government earlier reached out to longtime ally Chad, which pledged to send 2,000 troops to bolster Central African Republic's own forces.

The rebels behind the most recent instability signed a 2007 peace accord allowing them to join the regular army, but insurgent leaders say the deal wasn't fully implemented. The rebel forces have seized at least 10 towns across the sparsely populated north of the country, and residents in the capital now fear the insurgents could attack at any time, despite assurances by rebel leaders that they are willing to engage in dialogue instead of attacking Bangui.

The rebels have claimed that their actions are justified in light of the "thirst for justice, for peace, for security and for economic development of the people of Central African Republic." Despite Central African Republic's wealth of gold, diamonds, timber and uranium, the government remains perpetually cash-strapped.

The rebels also are demanding that the government make payments to ex-combatants, suggesting that their motives may also be for personal financial gain. Paris is encouraging peace talks between the government and the rebels, with the French Foreign Ministry noting in a statement that negotiations are due to "begin shortly in Libreville (Gabon)." But it was not immediately clear if any dates have been set for those talks.

The U.N.'s most powerful body condemned the recent violence and expressed concern about the developments. "The members of the Security Council reiterate their demand that the armed groups immediately cease hostilities, withdraw from captured cities and cease any further advance towards the city of Bangui," the statement said.

Goma reported from Libreville, Gabon. Associated Press writers Krista Larson in Dakar, Senegal; and Jason Straziuso in Nairobi, Kenya contributed to this report.

Russia sends navy squadron to Mediterranean

December 18, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian navy squadron has set off for the Mediterranean amid official talk about a possible evacuation of Russians from Syria.

The Defense Ministry said Tuesday that the ships will rotate with those that have been in the area since November. Russian diplomats said last week that Moscow is preparing plans to evacuate thousands of Russians from Syria if necessary. The ministry did not say whether the navy ships are intended for an evacuation.

The Interfax news agency, citing unidentified naval sources, reported that the navy command wants the ships to be on hand for the task if needed. It said the mission's duration will depend on the situation in Syria.

Last week, a senior Russian diplomat said for the first time that Syrian President Bashar Assad is losing control and the rebels might win the civil war, a statement that appeared to signal that Moscow has started positioning itself for an endgame in Syria. But the Foreign Ministry disavowed Mikhail Bogdanov's statement the next day, saying his words were misinterpreted and that Moscow's position on the crisis hasn't shifted.

Russia's base in the Syrian port of Tartus is its only naval outpost outside the former Soviet Union. Moscow has been Assad's main ally, shielding him from international sanctions over a brutal crackdown on an uprising that began in March 2011 and turned into the civil war, killing more than 40,000 people.

The squadron of five ships that sailed from the Baltic Sea base of Baltiysk includes a destroyer, a tugboat, a tanker and two large amphibious vessels that could evacuate hundreds of people. Another group of three navy ships departed Tuesday from Severomorsk, the main base of Russia's Northern Fleet on the Kola Peninsula. While their official mission is anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden, the ships will sail past the Syrian shores and may linger there if need be.

Earlier this year, Russia sent several ships to Tartus on a mission to evacuate its personnel and equipment, but authorities decided then that the situation in Syria didn't require such a move yet. The latest naval deployment comes as the Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that two Russians were kidnapped alongside an Italian in Syria and that their captors have asked for a ransom for their release. The three, who worked at a Syrian steel plant, were kidnapped late Monday on the road between Tartus and Homs.

The ministry identified those kidnapped as V. V. Gorelov, Abdesattar Hassun and Mario Belluomo and said the kidnappers have contacted the Hmisho steel plant by telephone and demanded a ransom for their release. It did not specify the amount.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, speaking in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, said "all necessary steps are being taken in Syria and other countries that may influence the situation," according to Interfax. The kidnapping of foreigners has been rare, but as Syria descends further into chaos the abduction of Syrians has become increasingly common across many parts of the country.

Most of those kidnappings appear to have sectarian motives, part of tit-for-tat attacks between rebels and pro-regime gunmen. But there have been many cases of gunmen capturing wealthy people for ransom or settling personal scores.

Jim Heintz contributed to this report.

After landslide, Abe says Japan has difficult road

December 17, 2012

TOKYO (AP) — After leading his conservative party to a landslide victory that will bring it back to power after a three-year hiatus, Shinzo Abe stressed Monday that the road ahead will not be easy as he tries to revive Japan's sputtering economy and bolster its national security amid deteriorating relations with China.

The Liberal Democratic Party, which led Japan for most of the post-World War II era until it was dumped in 2009, won 294 seats in the 480-seat lower house of parliament in Sunday's nationwide elections, the party said.

With the elections over, a vote among the members of parliament to install the new prime minister is expected on Dec. 26. Abe, who was prime minister for a year in 2006-2007, is almost certain of winning that vote because the LDP now holds the majority in the lower house.

Abe, who would be Japan's seventh prime minister in 6 1/2 years, will likely push for increased public works spending and lobby for stronger moves by the central bank to break Japan out of its deflationary trap.

Stock prices soared Monday to their highest level since April, reflecting hopes in the business world that the LDP will be more effective in its economic policies than the outgoing Democrats were. Abe told a packed news conference Monday that Japan is facing a series of crises — from the weak economy to security issues to reconstruction after the tsunami disaster.

"Our mission is to overcome these crises," he said. He said his party's victory was less a vote of confidence from voters and more a repudiation of the "mistaken leadership" of the Democrats. "The public will be scrutinizing us."

He said he would like to meet with President Barack Obama in late January or early February to strengthen the Japan-U.S. alliance. Chinese bloggers, meanwhile, reacted with scorn to the LDP's victory, with many concentrating their fire on Abe, a China hawk. Chinese micro-blog sites Monday were full of anti-Abe comments, with some calling for a boycott of Japanese goods.

The countries are embroiled in a territorial dispute over a cluster of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but also claimed by China and Taiwan. During the two-week campaign leading up to the election, Abe took a rather tough line toward China, promising to defend Japan's "territory and beautiful ocean."

On Monday, Abe called for improved ties with Beijing while stressing the islands are an integral part of Japan's territory and that there was "no room for talks" over their sovereignty. "As with many cases, issues arise with countries that share borders, and what is important is how each nation keeps these issues under control. I feel we need wisdom so that the political issues or problems do not extend to economic problems," he said.

"Although we are not in a situation where I can immediately visit China or have bilateral talks, first and foremost, we will persistently continue with our dialogue with China and hope to improve relations between the two countries," he said.

Outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced his resignation as party chief late Sunday, calling the election results "severe" and acknowledging his party failed to live up to the nation's high expectations.

His Democratic Party of Japan said it won only 57 seats. Among its casualties were eight Cabinet ministers — the most to lose in an election since World War II. Although the election was the first since the March 11, 2011, earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, atomic energy — which the LDP conditionally supports — ended up being a side issue, though polls showed that about 80 percent of Japanese want to phase it out completely.

The LDP will stick with its longtime partner New Komeito, backed by a large Buddhist organization, to form a coalition government, party officials said. Together, they now control 325 seats, securing a two-thirds majority that would make it easier for the government to pass legislation.

A dizzying array of more than 12 parties, including several news ones, contested in the election, some with vague policy goals. The most significant new force is the right-leaning, populist Japan Restoration Party, which won 54 seats.

The party is led by the bombastic nationalist former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara and lawyer-turned Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto — polarizing figures with forceful leadership styles. Ishihara is another hawk on China, having stirred up the latest dispute with Beijing by proposing Tokyo buy the islands from their private Japanese owners and develop them.

The anti-nuclear Tomorrow Party — formed just three weeks ago — captured only nine seats. Party head Yukiko Kada said she was very disappointed to see the LDP, the original promoter of Japan's nuclear energy policy, make such a big comeback.

Russian opposition fights to stay relevant

December 16, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — Speaking to more than 100,000 protesters who thronged a Moscow street last December, charismatic anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny said Russia's opposition had mustered "enough people to take the Kremlin."

A year on, the movement that shocked Vladimir Putin's regime and galvanized huge numbers of ordinary Russians is at an impasse. After a weekend rally to mark its first anniversary only attracted a few thousand protesters, opposition leaders met to figure out where they go from here.

"We are seeing a certain weariness. People had hoped for a quick result," prominent opposition figure Ilya Yashin said during Sunday's meeting. "But it's not a sprint, it's a marathon." Since Putin easily won a third presidential term in March, the opposition has struggled to maintain any momentum or direction. Attendance at rallies has consistently ebbed.

The Kremlin, meanwhile, has gone on the offensive, pushing through repressive new laws aimed at severely restricting opposition activity. Opposition leaders and ordinary activists alike face criminal charges that could see them spend 10 years in prison.

The euphoria of last winter's irreverent and mostly middle-class protest movement has been replaced with a lingering sense of powerlessness and despair. Two thirds of Russians are "disenchanted" with Putin's government, according to an October study by the Center for Strategic Research, a Kremlin-connected think tank, suggesting discontent goes far beyond supporters of the opposition.

Ratings for hagiographical TV specials detailing Putin's daily life and public relations stunts have plummeted by two thirds, said Anton Krasovsky, a TV producer and political consultant. "People are tired of the same old agenda," he said. "The country needs new heroes."

The opposition, however, has struggled to convert that discontent into support. Refusing to try to challenge Putin directly in the presidential election or develop a political program, conscious decisions intended to widen the opposition's appeal, now looks like a tactical mistake.

A poll released by the independent Levada Center last week found that 58 percent of Russians thought the protest movement had failed to change the situation in the country for the better. None of its leaders had an approval rating higher than 3 percent.

"If you want to win support from the broadest sectors of society possible, you have to show that you're an acceptable alternative, that you can be trusted behind the wheel," Vladimir Milov, a former deputy energy minister now in opposition, wrote in a column on the Russian news site Gazeta.ru. "But since you spent time on nonsense instead of taking the fight to him, that's why Putin's the president."

Putin has belittled the opposition, saying it lacks leaders and "always demands the impossible and then never does anything." As if in response to Putin's jibe, the opposition has begun rethinking its approach from the ground up. Its Coordination Council, which met Sunday, agreed to campaign for jailed activists and nominate candidates for local elections next year. The small-scale approach is partly one of necessity: The council spends the vast majority of its time arguing over arcane bureaucratic details and has struggled to agree over whether to call outright for Putin's resignation.

Kremlin officials, once visibly disturbed by the sudden emergence of the protest movement, now confidently point to the opposition's organizational struggles as proof of their strength. At 60, however, Putin looks more vulnerable than ever before. Once eager to show off his physical prowess in elaborate public relations stunts, Putin is now fending off rumors about his health. Since early September he has restricted his travels and often visibly struggled to walk, which his spokesman ascribed to an "old sports injury."

Putin also is under pressure to fulfill the pledges he made during the election campaign, lavish spending plans that his own Finance Ministry has warned may be unsustainable. Should the oil price fall significantly, Putin may be required to take measures that would hit his working-class base, such as raising the retirement age, now at 60 for men and 55 for women.

Some opposition figures have attempted to capitalize on tension within the political and business elite by making overtures to its more progressively minded figures. Navalny, the anti-corruption activist, and his allies pushed on Sunday for former Kremlin staffer Dmitry Nekrasov to chair the Coordination Council, even though he had not been elected to it and stops short of calling himself a member of the movement.

Nekrasov's employer, former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who remains close to Putin, released a statement through his think tank earlier this month calling on the Kremlin to end the crackdown on the opposition and involve them in a dialogue aimed at liberalizing the country.

For now, the opposition's task is to remain relevant when the time for change comes.

Unauthorized anti-Putin rally draws thousands

December 15, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — Thousands of opposition supporters gathered Saturday outside the old KGB headquarters in central Moscow to mark a year of mass protests against Vladimir Putin and his government.

The turnout was far smaller than the tens of thousands who filled Moscow streets in protests that erupted after fraud-plagued parliamentary elections last December. But unlike most of those protests, Saturday's gathering was not authorized and those who came risked arrest and heavy fines.

Soon after Putin returned to the presidency in May, Russia passed a law raising the fine for participating in unauthorized rallies to the equivalent of $9,000, nearly the average annual salary. Even if the protest had been authorized, the opposition would have struggled to draw a crowd. Enthusiasm for street demonstrations has waned, in part because of disillusionment with the opposition leaders, while polls show that discontent with Putin's government has continued to rise.

Police dispersed the rally after 2 ½ hours. Several prominent opposition figures were among dozens detained in the course of the gathering, but all were released within hours. There was a heavy police presence around the approximately 3,000 people who came to Lubyanka Square for the rally. The square is outside the headquarters of the Federal Security Service, the main successor agency of the Soviet KGB.

The square also holds the Solovetsky Stone, a monument to the victims of political repression during the Soviet era. The stone comes from the Solovestky archipelago, the site of early prison camps considered the beginning of the Gulag system.

Many rally participants laid flowers at the stone, among them Boris Nemtsov, a veteran Russian politician now in the opposition. "The people who have come here are free, honest and decent people," Nemtsov said "I'm very proud of our people, of Muscovites, of Russians. They (the government) wanted to scare us, there's a helicopter flying over us and they've surrounded us with policemen. They think that we're slaves, but we're not. We're free people, and thank God for that."

About 90 minutes into the rally, police arrested about a dozen people who were walking around the monument chanting "Free political prisoners." Earlier, police detained protest leaders Sergei Udaltsov and Alexei Navalny, along with other prominent opposition figures including Ilya Yashin and Ksenia Sobchak, a glamorous TV personality.

"They fear their citizens, they fear their people. But you can't forbid the people (from coming)," Udaltsov said shortly before he was bundled into a police van. One person who braved frigid temperatures of minus 15 Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) and the threat of huge fines to come to Saturday's gathering was 67-year-old Andrei Lyakhov, a retired physicist.

"At a minimum, the government will understand that there is some kind of opposition," he said about why he came. Lyakhov noted that the protest mood of the past year had put pressure on nominal opposition parties in Russia's parliament to criticize the dominant Kremlin party, producing some of the most contentious debates in years. "This pressure on the government, even if we don't succeed in changing the government, this pressure will force it to do something," he said.

The goal, Lyakhov said, is a real democracy that allows a change of leadership. Putin, whose term runs through 2018, has already been in power for nearly 13 years.

Jim Heintz, Max Seddon and Laura Mills contributed to this story.

Russian investigators accuse Navalny of fraud

December 14, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian investigators on Friday accused a prominent opposition leader of fraud and money-laundering, intensifying legal pressure on the anti-Kremlin protest movement as it prepares to hold its next big demonstration this weekend.

Investigators said they suspect Alexei Navalny and his brother Oleg of defrauding a transportation company of 55 million rubles ($1.8 million) by overcharging it for postal services. Navalny wrote on Twitter that the accusations were "utter nonsense" and suggested they were aimed at targeting his family in reprisal for his efforts to mobilize opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

A 36-year-old charismatic lawyer, Navalny first made his name exposing corruption in state-controlled companies. He then spearheaded a series of street rallies in Moscow that drew up to 100,000 people before last March's vote that handed Putin a third presidential term.

Navalny's personal assistant, lawyer and brother all told Russian media they had learned of the charges through news reports and were unaware of any summons for questioning. Brother Oleg Navalny's office was searched on Friday and so were the premises of the firm owned by Navalny's parents.

Navalny was charged in July with stealing 16 million rubles (about $500,000) in assets from a state timber company, threatening him with a 10-year prison sentence. Navalny has called the timber charges "absurd" and "shameless."

The Russian opposition is gearing up for another major demonstration on Saturday, marking roughly a year since the mass anti-Putin protests began. The Moscow city government has refused to authorize the opposition rally, so it is likely to be dispersed by police.

Navalny's mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, on Friday accused authorities of putting pressure on her son. She told the Ekho Moskvy radio station that the investigators' announcement aimed to "blackmail my son through his family, to keep him away from that march, to make him stop his political activities."

She said the entire family stands by Navalny and his work. Investigators have accused several other opposition figures of crimes in the buildup to the protest. State-linked media released transcripts and audio recordings Thursday that the federal Investigative Committee said proved protest leaders, including prominent left-wing activist Sergei Udaltsov, had followed the orders of Georgian officials intent on overthrowing the Russian government.

Protesters slam Turkish coup plot trial

December 13, 2012

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish police on Thursday used pepper spray and water cannons to push back hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse where prosecutors were to deliver final arguments in a trial against nearly 300 people accused of plotting to overthrow the government, Turkish media reported.

Inside the courthouse, a panel of judges was forced to interrupt the trial three times over objections by defense lawyers and spectators shouting slogans in support of the defendants, who include prominent journalists, politicians, academics and retired generals, the state-run Anadolu agency and other media said.

The defendants are accused of plotting a series of attacks in a bid to foment chaos and provoke a military coup to bring down Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government, in a manner similar to past coups in Turkey that ousted civilian governments.

They are charged with belonging to an ultranationalist gang, Ergenekon, which takes its name from a legendary valley in Central Asia, believed to be the ancestral homeland of the Turks. Prosecutors say the Ergenekon gang was behind attacks on a newspaper and a courthouse, and plots to kill the prime minister and author Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's Nobel laureate. The defendants have rejected the accusations.

The trial, now in its fourth year, grew out of an investigation into the seizure of hand grenades at the home of a noncommissioned officer in Istanbul in 2007. Opponents maintain the accused are victims of a government attempt to muzzle critics and undermine Turkey's secular legacy and say the trial is based on flimsy or fabricated evidence.

The government insists the trial is a step toward democratic reform. Thousands of people travelled to the courthouse on the outskirts of Istanbul to show solidarity with the suspects, which includes the former Turkish military chief of staff, Ilker Basbug.

"People are being held (in prison) on false evidence," Muharrem Ince, a legislator from Turkey's main opposition party said in an address to protesters outside the court. "This is not a trial, it is (a government) revenge over the (secular) Republic."

In September, more than 300 military officers, including the former air force and navy chiefs, were convicted of separate plots to bring down the government in 2003. Their case is being appealed.

Turkey Patriot defenses to be ready next month

December 13, 2012

BRUSSELS (AP) — The Patriot air defense missiles being deployed to protect Turkey from spillover from Syria's civil war will become operational at the end of January, officials said Thursday. In addition, NATO will send Turkey special aircraft that can detect missile launches from Syria.

A number of Syrian shells have landed in Turkish territory since the conflict in the Arab state began in March 2011. Turkey has condemned the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad, supported Syrian rebels, and provided shelter to Syrian refugees, and Ankara is particularly worried that Assad may get desperate enough to use chemical weapons.

NATO foreign ministers endorsed Turkey's request for the Patriots on Nov. 30. The Netherlands, Germany and the United States are the only NATO members that have the advanced PAC-3 model Patriots that Turkey needs to intercept ballistic missiles.

Germany and the Netherlands will each provide two batteries of the U.S.-built air defense systems. The U.S. would likely fill any gaps, possibly by sending some from its stocks in Europe. Up to 400 German and 360 Dutch troops will man the batteries, likely from somewhere well inland in Turkey.

In Berlin, German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Link told lawmakers that current plans call for the missile sites to be stationed at Kahramanmaras, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) north of Turkey's border with Syria.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Thursday that the three nations are working closely with Turkey "to ensure that the Patriots are deployed as soon as possible." "We expect them to be operational by the end of January," Rutte said at a joint press conference after meeting NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen at the alliance's headquarters. "The location will be decided with our allies, and several matters need to be sorted out before the Patriots can be deployed."

Due to the complexity and size of the Patriot batteries — including their radars, command-and-control centers, communications and support facilities — they cannot be flown quickly by air to Turkey and will have to travel by sea, officials said.

Syria is reported to have an array of artillery rockets, as well as short-range missiles — some capable of carrying chemical warheads. These include Soviet-built SS-21 Scarabs and Scud-B missiles, which were originally designed to deliver nuclear warheads. Both have inertial guidance systems that have proven fairly accurate.

NATO also will deploy its Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft, or AWACS, to Turkey, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because alliance rules do not allow him to speak on the record.

The aircraft, which can detect launches of ground-to-ground missiles, are scheduled to participate this month in a training exercise in Turkey, the official said. The planes will exercise command and control procedures as well as test the connectivity of various NATO and Turkish communications and data sharing systems.

Turkey has been a NATO member since the early 1950s. Its air defenses consist mostly of short-range Rapier and Stinger systems, and U.S.-made Hawk low- altitude missiles. Ankara has been looking to acquire a new high-altitude defense system to replace its Cold War-era Nike-Hercules batteries.

Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

US, Syria opposition disagree over terrorist label

December 12, 2012

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — The U.S. and the head of the new Syrian opposition coalition being feted at a conference in Morocco Wednesday publicly disagreed over designating a rebel group as terrorist, highlighting a key dilemma in overthrowing President Bashar Assad's regime.

Even as the U.S., Europe and its allies recognized the new opposition of the sole legitimate representatives of the Syrian people to succeed the Assad regime, they have to deal with the fact that some of the greatest battlefield successes are by extremist groups the West does not want to see running the country one day.

The Obama administration designated Jabhat al-Nusra a terrorist organization Monday, a day before he recognized the newly formed Syrian National Coalition as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people.

The Syrian opposition has been under international pressure for months to form a more representative and organized coalition that could receive international assistance in the battle against Assad. The organization they formed in Doha last November was then formally recognized by 114 countries at the fourth Friends of Syria conference held in Marrakech.

Deputy Secretary of State for the Middle East William Burns described the new coalition as the future for Syria that the U.S. wants — democratic, pluralist, inclusive and unified. "The step that we took with regard to the designation of the al-Nusra Front raises an alarm about a very different kind of future for Syria, about a direction that a group like al-Nusra will try to take in Syria to impose its will and threaten the social fabric," he said, describing the group as a successor to al-Qaida in Iraq.

But the president of that coalition, Mouaz al-Khatib, who Burns invited to Washington at the conference, disagreed publicly with blacklisting one of the most successful fighting groups in the war against Assad.

"I say in all transparency that labeling one of the factions fighting the regime as a terrorist organization should be reconsidered," he said in his speech at the conference's opening. "We love our country very much, though we may not agree with all factions."

Jabhat al-Nusra has recently conquered a number of bases from the regime in the north and has claimed responsibility for a number of deadly effective bombings that have hit sensitive government institutions, like a blast near the Interior Ministry on Wednesday that took four lives.

According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, several ministers from the Arab states also disagreed with the U.S. move. In his speech, Khatib did condemn "all forms of extremism" and pledged to protect the countries many religious and sectarian minorities, including the Alawites, a Shiite offshoot from which the Assad family hails. He urged them to join the resistance against the regime.

"We call on them to accept our extended hand and work together against the violence of the regime," he said. Violence in the 21-month civil war that has claimed 40,000 lives has taken on a sectarian tone in some cases, with the majority Sunnis arrayed against Alawites and other minorities remaining loyal to the regime — a stance encouraged by the Islamic militants among the rebels who consider Shiites heretic.

The conference did succeed in gaining international legitimacy for the new opposition coalition and has further isolated the Assad regime, making it, in the words of British Foreign Secretary William Hague, "the most significant" of all the conferences held to support the Syrian people in the past year.

Saudi Arabia pledged $100 million in humanitarian aid, with the U.S. following up with another $14 million in emergency medical care and winter supplies, including medicine, blankets and insulation. The world's recognition of the Libyan opposition gave it a huge boost in the battle against Moammar Gadhafi last year and paved the way for Western airstrikes. Military intervention does not appear to be an immediate option for Syria, however, where the government has the powerful backing of Russia, China and Iran — though the conference pledged a swift international response if Assad unleashes his chemical weapons stocks against his own people.

According to Jon Wilks, the British special representative to the rebels, the purpose of the conference was not so much about military intervention or even collecting donations, but making sure the new opposition was building institutions that would let them channel the aid and administer the increasing amounts of territory under its control.

"The key point is they are setting up institutions and money is coming, it's a better situation than three months ago, they are happy, we are happy," he said, adding that farther down the road for the Cairo-based group would be a provisional government.

Suheir Atassi, one of the vice presidents of the opposition, said in her speech that these structures for delivering aid, free of religious or political affiliations, were now in place across liberated areas, so the most needy during Syria's cold winters get needed supplies.

The international recognition could also eventually pave the way for other sorts of aid, hinted Fabius, the French minister. "The fact that the coalition, which asks for the right to defend itself, now is being recognized by (many) countries ... I think it is an important point," he said, expressing confidence that "2013 will be the year of the democratic and united Syria."

Despite the civil war grinding away in Syria, many of the delegates expressed confidence it would just be a matter of time before Assad's regime fell and there was a need to start planning for an aftermath.

To that end, the conference pledged to set up a post-war reconstruction fund for the country to be administered by Germany and the United Arab Emirates. "With the fighting in Damascus, I believe we are coming close to the end, and there is a shift in the balance of power in Syria," Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem said at the closing news conference. "We are coming to the point of talking about the post-Assad era."

According to a representative from Human Rights Watch, there is a strong chance the current human rights violations will pale in comparison to those when the regime falls, which might involve reprisals against former government supporters and wholesale sectarian massacres on the order of Iraq — especially if groups like the now blacklisted Jabhat al-Nusra remain powerful.

The new Syrian opposition has to take into account how they are going to manage justice in the "new Iraq," cautioned Tamara al-Rifai of the rights group. "We are calling on the Syrian delegation to include transitional justice in any political plan they are doing and calling on the international community to help support that," she said.

Afghan president welcomes British pullout timeline

December 20, 2012

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Afghan president on Thursday welcomed the withdrawal of nearly half of the British troops from Afghanistan next year, saying his forces were ready to take on defense of the country.

A statement from Hamid Karzai's office said the partial pull-out was an "appropriate" move as NATO forces hand over the war against the Taliban to the Afghan military. British Prime Minister David Cameron announced Wednesday that about 3,800 British troops would be withdrawn by the end of 2013, leaving some 5,000 into 2014. The majority of NATO forces, including those of the United States, will depart by the end of 2014.

"The Afghan security forces are ready to implement the defense and security of the country. It is an appropriate act in the transition of security to Afghan forces," Karzai's statement said. Cameron told lawmakers in London that the decision reflects confidence in the Afghan military. It also reflects mounting political pressure and periodic public protests in Britain to end its military role in Afghanistan, to which Britain sent the second largest NATO force after the United States and sustained the second highest number of casualties.

Afghanistan's army and police have grown substantially with the help of international allies and now number 350,000. But desertion rates, illiteracy and tensions among ethnic groups within the ranks remain high and analysts say the Afghan military still lacks the know-how to mount major, multi-unit operations.

NATO officials regularly praise operations as "Afghan-led," even when Afghan forces play a minimal role, making it difficult to determine their full capability to take over. Also, a surge in insider attacks by Afghan soldiers and police against their own colleagues and their international allies has raised further questions about their readiness.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who visited the country last week, said U.S. commanders in Afghanistan believe NATO has "turned the tide" after 11 years of war. But skepticism remains whether the Afghan military can hold back a still powerful and resilient insurgency after 2014.

The U.S. has some 66,000 troops in the country with the number to be pulled out next year and the size of a residual force past 2014 currently under review in Washington. Cameron said some British troops would stay on after 2014 to return equipment and deal with logistics.

"We've said very clearly: no one in a combat role, nothing like the number of troops there are now," Cameron said. "We've promised the Afghans that we will provide this officer training academy that they've specifically asked for. We are prepared to look at other issues above and beyond that, but that is the starting baseline."

The withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan will start next April, according to Defense Secretary Philip Hammond. Cameron said Britain would continue to support Afghanistan by contributing about 70 million pounds (US $114,000) a year to help pay for Afghan security forces. Another 70 million pounds a year are spread through other aid programs.

Since 2001, 438 British personnel have died in Afghanistan. Last month, France ended its combat operations in Afghanistan, pulling hundreds of troops from a base in a volatile region northeast of Kabul and fulfilling promises to end its combat role on a faster track than other NATO allies. France has lost 88 troops in Afghanistan since late 2001.

Hungarian students protest education reforms

December 19, 2012

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian high school and university students went ahead Wednesday with protests against changes in the education system despite the government's acceptance of some of their demands.

In Budapest, the capital, several thousand students gathered outside the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, dissatisfied with the concessions announced by the government. Calling their protest the "Winter Rose Student Revolution," they later marched downtown and threw rose petals into the Danube River.

Police said Wednesday evening that three students had been detained for breaking rules related to the right of assembly, after a group of protesting students cut off traffic on the Chain Bridge, the oldest span in Budapest across the Danube.

Government spokesman Andras Giro-Szasz said the Cabinet had decided to drop plans greatly cutting the number of state-sponsored scholarships and will guarantee at least 55,000 full scholarships next year, the same number as this year.

He added that spending on higher education would increase by at least 24 billion forints ($110 million) in 2013. Students, however, also oppose signing a contract requiring them to work in Hungary for several years after graduation if they accept studying at the state's expense. They are also calling for comprehensive reforms to the education system, claim the current changes were planned haphazardly and want the government to consult with them before implementing any more reforms.

Several student protests over the past two weeks - in Budapest and cities around the country - seemingly changed Prime Minister Viktor Orban's mind about his intentions to make higher education in Hungary become practically self-funding in coming years.

Orban was a student leader in the late 1980s, when Hungary was still under communist rule, and his Fidesz party was formed in a university dormitory in 1988. More recently, however, Fidesz has accentuated its conservative policies and has made ensuring that pension payments keep pace with inflation one of its top priorities.

Students braving near-freezing temperatures outside the Academy of Sciences said they were frustrated by the confusion caused by the government's decision to make sweeping changes just weeks before the deadline for university applications for the 2013 school year.

"Instead of tying us here, they should build a country which no one wants to leave," said high school student Antal Molnar. "The government needs to quickly understand that the road it is on is unacceptable to us."

Molnar said his father had escaped to Mexico during communism and brought his family back to Hungary in 2002 "believing Viktor Orban's dream of that time - that Hungary is our home and we must succeed here."

Students also called for the resignation of Education State Secretary Rozsa Hoffmann and vowed to continue their protests until all of their demands are met.

France acknowledges brutal rule in Algeria

December 20, 2012

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — French President Francois Hollande acknowledged the "unjust" and "brutal" nature of France's occupation of Algeria for 132 years, but stopped short Thursday of apologizing for the past as many Algerians have demanded.

On the second day of his state visit to this North African nation, he told the two houses of parliament that "I recognize the suffering the colonial system has inflicted" on the Algerian people. He specifically recognized the "massacres" by the French during the seven-year war that led to Algerian independence in 1962. The admission was a profound departure from Hollande's predecessors who, if not defending France's tormented past with Algeria, remained silent.

The Socialist president's visit came as Algeria celebrates 50 years of independence from France, during which the two countries' ties have been fraught with tension. Hollande was traveling on Thursday to the western city of Tlemcen, the birthplace of Algerian wartime nationalist Messali Hadj.

Hollande said at the start of his visit that he and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika are opening a "new era" with a strategic partnership among equals. Large numbers of Algerians, and some political parties, have been seeking an apology from France for inequalities suffered by the population under colonial rule and for brutality during the war. However, Hollande said at a news conference Wednesday that he would make no apologies.

"History, even when it is tragic, even when it is painful for our two countries, must be told," Hollande told lawmakers on Thursday. "For 132 years, Algeria was subjected to a profoundly unjust and brutal system" of colonization.

"I recognize here the suffering that colonization has inflicted on the Algerian people," he added. Hollande notably listed the sites of three massacres, including one at Setif where seven years ago Bouteflika compared French methods to those used by Nazi Germany and asked France to make a "gesture ... to erase this black stain."

The violence in Setif, 300 kilometers (186 miles) east of Algiers, began on May 8, 1945, apparently during a celebration of the end of World War II. Demonstrators unfurled Algerian flags, which were banned at the time by the French. As police began confiscating the flags, the crowds turned on the French, killing about two dozen of them.

The uprising spread and the response by French colonial troops grew increasingly harsh in the following weeks, including bombardments of villages by a French war ship. Algerians say some 45,000 people may have died. Figures in France put the number of Algerian dead at about 15,000 to 20,000.

Hollande and Bouteflika agreed to relaunch economic, strategic and cultural relations between the two countries on a new basis among equals. A new start must "be supported by a base," Hollande said, and "this base is truth."

"Nothing is built in secretiveness, forgetting, denial," Hollande said. A Declaration of Algiers was published late Wednesday saying that France and Algeria "are determined to open a new chapter in their relations" of "exceptional intensity" and spelling out political, human and economic goals.

France announced a deal for French automaker Renault to build a factory in Algeria with cars destined for all of Africa. The long-negotiated joint venture will be 49 percent owned by Renault and 51 percent by two Algerian companies, according to a statement by Renault, the first carmaker to establish production facilities in Algeria. The factory will be located outside Oran, a port city west of Algiers, and eventually expand to an automotive training center.

The accord is one of about 15 agreements being signed during the visit, on topics ranging from culture to defense. Hollande, who came to the French presidency in May, made an initial break with the French past by officially recognizing the deaths of Algerians at a 1961 pro-independence demonstration in Paris at the hands of French police. He referred to the "bloody repression" and paid homage to the victims of "this tragedy," for which an official death toll has never been issued.

Elaine Ganley reported from Paris, Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.

Volunteers hand out soup to Romania's homeless

December 20, 2012

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Volunteers including Britain's ambassador to Romania handed out hot soup and clothing to homeless people in a city where an estimated 5,000 sleep rough in conditions so precarious that 300 die a year from the cold and illness.

Dozens of homeless people received steaming paper cups of soup, tea and coffee Thursday in temperatures of -5 C (23 F ) outside the Gara de Nord railway station, where homeless people congregate and sleep in Bucharest, a city of 2 million.

Charity official Ian Tilling said the goal is to "raise awareness of the difficulties experienced by homeless people particularly in aspects of finding shelter and finding food. It's a basic human right."

Most of those interviewed called on local authorities to take note of their plight and pointed out there were no homeless people during the communist era, which ended in 1989. "Some mayors don't fulfill their duties. Why are there so many poor people in the street?" homeless man Radu Costel said. "When (former leader Nicolae) Ceausescu was alive, (people) were given a job and a house and something to eat. Why do people have to stay in shelters? People must work. We are young and strong and need to work."

British Ambassador Martin Harris said it was "really important at Christmas time that people feel the support of the community and so we want to be here to share the spirit of Christmas with everybody including the people here at the Gara de Nord."

A homeless man who identified himself by his first name, Laur, said he had been living on the streets for 15 years. "My mother went to Italy and never came back. She abandoned me around here somewhere," he said. "I eat from garbage bins and search for scrap iron. If I find it, it's fine, if not you must beg."

Putin promises to bolster economy, military power

December 12, 2012

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's President Vladimir Putin vowed Wednesday to strengthen the country's economy and its military might and rejected what he described as foreign lecturing about democracy and attempts at foreign interference in the nation's internal affairs.

Putin's speech was his first state-of-the nation address since winning a third term in March's election despite a wave of massive protests in Moscow. Putin has taken a tough course on dissent since his inauguration with arrests and searches of opposition activists and introduction of laws that impose heavy fines on protesters and rigid rules on civil society groups.   

In a speech that focused heavily on social issues, Putin encouraged families to have more children, promised to create 25 million new jobs and develop new incentives for teachers, doctors, engineers and others.

He also pledged to support "institutions that represent traditional spiritual values," a hint at even more state support for the Russian Orthodox Church. In August, three members of the punk band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in prison for performing a protest song in Moscow's main cathedral against the church's backing for Putin. One of them was released on appeal, but two others are serving their sentences despite an international outrage over what was widely seen as the intolerance to dissent in Russia.

Putin said Russia would follow its own view on democracy and shrug off any "standards enforced on us from outside." "Direct or indirect foreign interference in our political processes is inadmissible," he said. "Those who receive money from abroad for their political activities and serve alien interests shouldn't engage in politics in Russia."

One of the laws passed by the Kremlin-controlled parliament requires non-governmental organizations that receive foreign funding and engage in vaguely defined political activities to register as "foreign agents," a move the groups said was aimed to intimidate them and destroy their credibility before the Russians where the term "agent" is synonymous to spy.

Putin said that on the global stage Russia's task will be to preserve its "national and spiritual identity," adding that the strengthening of the nation's military might should "guarantee its independence and security."

He said Russia would continue to push for "coordinated collective efforts" in dealing with global issues. The Kremlin has said that its continuous refusal to support international sanctions against Syria's President Bashar Assad is rooted in international law that bars interference into a sovereign country's affairs.

The conflict in Syria has started nearly 21 months ago as an uprising against Assad, whose family has ruled the country for four decades and it quickly morphed into a civil war, with rebels taking up arms to fight back against a bloody crackdown by the government. According to activists, more than 40,000 people have been killed since March 2011.

Putin sought to boost patriotic feelings by promising to honor heroes of World War I and restoring the historic names of old imperial regiments of the Russian army. He also made new promises to boost the fight against corruption.

Russia is considered to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world. A group that tracks global perception of the problem ranks Russia 143rd out of 183 countries. "A sustained and visible effort to reduce corruption is one of the catalysts that could cut the current high risk premium investors apply to Russian equities," Chris Weafer, chief strategist at Sberbank CIB investment bank said in a note to investors earlier this week

Putin called for sanctioning officials who own foreign stocks or banks accounts abroad, and said they will have to explain the source of financing for big purchases including real estate abroad. His statements would play well with the domestic audience, which has relished in the recent ouster of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov over a military corruption scandal and investigations against other officials suspected of graft. Still, Gleb Pavlovsky, a political analyst and former Kremlin political strategist told the Intefax news agency that "Putin had failed to send a message of purging the high ranks."

The opposition ridiculed Putin's statements as lacking substance and novelty. "Everything will be fine soon, I promise," opposition activist Alexei Navalny wrote sarcastically while summing up Putin's address.

Putin repeated pledges to reduce the nation's reliance on exports of oil and other mineral resources and encourage the development of high-tech industries. He also lamented a huge capital outflow and Russian companies moving abroad to avoid the uncertainties of Russian laws and courts.

Russian authorities are expecting capital outflows of up to $65 billion this year. Putin quoted analyst estimates that 9 out of 10 major deals of Russian companies are registered abroad to be governed by foreign laws. He urged the government to seek more information on Russian companies from offshore nations where they are registered.

Nataliya Vasilyeva contributed to this report.

US backs new Syrian opposition ahead of conference

December 12, 2012

MARRAKECH, Morocco (AP) — A Syrian opposition spokesman called for "real support" and not just recognition on Wednesday, hours after the U.S. declared that the new Syrian opposition coalition was the "legitimate representative" of its country's people.

Speaking as the fourth meeting of the "Friends of the Syrian People" opened in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, Walid al-Bunni called on the more than a hundred delegates from Europe and the Gulf countries to provide something concrete to help in their battle against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime.

"Recognition is nice, but we need real support," said Walid al-Bunni, a spokesman for the newly formed Syrian National Coalition as the conference began. "I will be happy after the conference if we have something for the Syrian people."

The U.S. move, announced by President Barack Obama late Tuesday, follows that of France and the U.K. The Syrian National Coalition, formed in November during a conference in Doha, Qatar, has been calling for increased international support, including military material for opposition forces battling the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria for nearly two years.

The U.S. and its British allies are not, however, expected to approve military aid, in part over fears of al-Qaida linked rebel units operating in the country. There are also no representatives of the Syrian rebel forces at the conference.

John Wilks, the British special representative to the Syrian opposition, explained that Wednesday's event was neither a donor conference nor a military aid event but rather an effort to set up opposition institutions so that they could effectively use future aid in a credible manner to administer the areas they control.

"The key point is that they are setting up institutions and money is coming, so it's a better situation than three months ago — they are happy, we are happy," he said before the conference began. He said so far Britain had earmarked 50 million pounds ($80 million) of humanitarian aid and 7 million pounds ($11.2 million) non-humanitarian including communications equipment, training and office supplies — but no plans for now for military aid.

"There are big issues concerning legality — intervening in a civil war to overthrow a government is a difficult proposition, to put it mildly," he said. Obama's announcement follows his administration's blacklisting of a militant Syrian rebel group with links to al-Qaida. That step is aimed at blunting the influence of extremists amid fears that the regime may use or lose control of its stockpile of chemical weapons.

The U.S. had been leading international efforts to prod the fractured Syrian opposition into coalescing around a leadership that would represent all of the country's factions and religions. Yet it had held back from granting recognition to the group until it demonstrated that it could organize itself in credible fashion.

In particular, Washington had wanted to see the group set up smaller committees that could deal with specific immediate and short-term issues, such as governing parts of Syria under their control and putting in place institutions to address the needs of people once Assad is ousted. Some of those committees could form the basis of a transitional government.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to attend the conference, but cancelled following an illness and will be represented by Deputy Secretary of State for the Middle East, William Burns.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday the recognition contradicted earlier international agreements that foresee the "commencement of an all-Syria dialogue" that would include all sides of the conflict, in which more than 40,000 people have died so far.

Jordan Prince Scorned For Participating In Jewish Event

by Adam Nicky
Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Anti-normalization groups up in arms over British fundraiser

AMMAN: Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan found himself in hot water this week after his participation in a Jewish charity event in the UK last month was exposed in local media.

Hassan, the uncle of King Abdullah II, was in headlines for the wrong reasons after he addressed a fundraising event on November 21 for the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which Israeli figures also attended. The prince was pictured alongside the organization's president, Vivian Wineman, and treasurer, Laurence Brass.

In a country where anti-Israeli sentiment runs high and most of the 7.5 million citizens are Palestinians, the move was viewed as a flagrant disregard for public sensitivities. What added insult to injury is the fact that the event was held less than a week after the end of hostilities between Israeli and Hamas in the Gaza Strip which claimed civilian lives on both sides.

In his speech, Hassan insisted that the Jordanian monarchy will remain in power despite the recent large demonstrations against recent price hikes that have rocked the nation.

“We are not in it for prestige,” Prince Hassan told the British guests. “I genuinely feel we are there for the sake of human dignity.”

King Abdullah was originally scheduled to attend the event, but cancelled without giving a reason.

Anti-Israel activists have called on the royal family to distance itself from the prince's action. The National Anti-Normalization Committee, which lobbies against normal relations with Israel, blasted Hassan.

"We condemn Prince Hassan’s participation as it represents free service to the Zionist enemy and harms national causes as well as the prince himself and the royal family," read the organization’s statement.

"This is a provocation of the feelings of all Jordanians," added the statement, which was overlooked by most pro-government media.

It is rare for the organization to criticize a member of the royal family.

At least one editor at a major Arabic-language daily confirmed to The Media Line that it received instructions from security authorities to ignore the statement about the prince due to what he said was "sensitive times."

Activist Dr. Anis Khasawneh vilified the prince and called for an apology.

"What I find astonishing is that the prince challenges the feelings of Jordanians by collecting donations for Israel. Why does he act in such an arrogant manner?" he asked.

Khasawneh said Hassan was poised to become leader of Jordan in the past and ended up helping the enemies of the entire Arab nation.

Government sources played down the significance of Hassan’s involvement in the event and tried to defend the prince’s action, insisting that his participation was designed to lobby for the resumption of peace talks and put pressure on Israel to commit to its political obligation, as part of a dialogue between religions.

The official, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the prince left the meeting before Israeli officials took to the podium to address the audience, and had only "scorning words for Israel’s actions in the peace process."

Although Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994, dealing with Israeli officials remains a social and political taboo, with several lobby groups campaigning against improving ties between the two countries.

At least two major labor organizations also object to normalization with Israel. Opposition parties, including the Islamist movement, draw support from Jordanians who are against the peace treaty with Israel.

Hamzah Mansour, president of the National Anti-Normalization Committee and secretary general of the Islamic Action Front, expressed his disappointment over the prince’s actions.

"I urge all Jordanians - the honorable ones - to end dealing with this enemy. The Israelis have no interest in talking. They only understand the language of the sword," he said in response to diplomatic ties between Jordan and Israel.

"We must scrap the peace treaty because Israel has no interest in making peace," he told The Media Line.

Meanwhile, the National Anti-Normalization Committee has accused brokers of doing business with Israeli firms that buy Jordanian products and sell them under Israeli labels. Figures from the Jordanian Department of Statistics show that exports to Israel during the first eight months of 2012 stood at some $48 million, a drop from $54 million in 2011. Imports increased from $65 million to $69 million during the same period.

In Amman’s bustling central fruit and vegetable market, farmers and brokers had mixed views about dealing with Israel. Some said they would rather throw their produce into the garbage than sell it to Israelis. Others believe they have no choice due to limited markets.

Abu Emad, a 56-year-old broker, said he sells to whoever pays the most in his auction.

"The government did not find us new markets. The Syrian crisis was a disaster for us. Now we have to sell to anyone," he said, before starting an auction of newly-arrived olives.

"The prince did what he had to do. He’s a politician and Jordan cannot survive if officials do not talk to all kinds of people, including Jews," he concluded.

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