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Bush: "U.S. Would Defend Israel Against Iran"
 The United States would come to Israel's defense if attacked by Iran said President George W. Bush Wednesday night. Bush went on to denounce Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying, "I am concerned about a person that, one, tries to rewrite the history of the Holocaust, and two, has made it clear that his intentions are to destroy Israel. Israel is a solid ally of the United States, we will rise to Israel's defense if need be," he added. Asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel." (Jerusalem Post)
Israeli Troops, Jewish Settlers Clash
by Josef Federman
 Thousands of club-wielding riot police evacuated the illegal Israeli outpost of Amona on Wednesday, pulling stone-throwing settlers from rooftops in the fiercest confrontation over settlements since Israel's pullout from the Gaza Strip last summer. The battle over Amona, an Israeli hilltop enclave in the heart of the West Bank, was seen as a test for acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has said he would act with determination against settlers violating the law. (AP/Washington Post)
UN Opens to Israel on Holocaust Day
by Judy Siegel
 As the world community marked International Holocaust Memorial Day - set by the UN General Assembly - for the first time last week, Israeli professionals have begun to realize that they are now welcome partners of the UN, which generations of Israelis have so long regarded with despair and derision. (Jerusalem Post)
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Hamas Head: We Will Never Recognize the Legitimacy of a Zionist State
by Khaled Mashaal
  Khaled Mashaal, the Damascus-based head of the political bureau of Hamas, wrote in the Guardian on Tuesday: "When the Palestinians went to the polls last Wednesday they were well aware of what was on offer and those who voted for Hamas knew what it stood for. We shall never recognize the legitimacy of a Zionist state created on our soil in order to atone for somebody else's sins or solve somebody else's problem. But if you are willing to accept the principle of a long-term truce, we are prepared to negotiate the terms." (Guardian-UK)
See also Hamas: We Will Not Give Up a Single Inch of Palestine (MEMRI)
Palestinian Rocket Hits Israeli Dwelling
by Scott Wilson
 At least three members of an Israeli family, including a 7-month-old infant, were wounded Friday when a rocket fired by Palestinian fighters in the Gaza Strip struck their mobile home in the Negev region of southern Israel. (Washington Post)
Birthright and Masa Talk Unification
by Amiram Barkat
 Is the end in sight for the tug-of-war over donations between the two main programs, Masa and birthright, both bringing Jewish young people for visits to Israel? The chairman of the Jewish Agency, Ze'ev Bielski, for Masa, and Canadian Jewish philanthropist Charles Bronfman, for birthright, are now negotiating the unification of the two programs. The unification of the programs will create one organization with a budget of over 1 billion Israeli shekels. (Ha'aretz)
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