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Winograd Report: Israel's PM Was Unprepared
by Dan Izenberg
 The Winograd Committee lays the primary blame for the "grave failures" of the Second Lebanon War on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Defense Minister Amir Peretz and former chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz, in a stinging report presented to them last week and then, in censored form, to the public. "The main responsibility for the grave failures belongs to the prime minister, the defense minister and the former chief of General Staff because it is reasonable to assume that had any one of them done a better job, the decisions and the way they were taken in the period under study, as well as the final outcome of the campaign, would have been better," the panel said. (Jerusalem Post)
See also The Main Findings of the Interim Report by the Winograd Committee Investigating the Lebanon War (Israel Government Press Office)
IDF Chief: Hizbullah Trying to Move South of Litani
by Ronny Sofer
 "The organization is attempting to descend south of the Litani River, to open areas. UNIFIL and the Lebanese army are operating, but the smuggling of weapons from Syria to Lebanon continues, as there is no effective mechanism controlling the process along the very long border," IDF Chief of Staff Lt-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi told government ministers. (Ynet News)
Former Arab Lawmaker Suspected of Helping Hizbullah during the War
by Efrat Weiss
 The gag order on the allegations made against former Knesset Member Azmi Bishara was lifted last week, three weeks after rumors began circulating regarding the investigation against him. According to suspicions, Balad's chairman contacted a Hizbullah official during last summer's war in Lebanon and handed him information on strategic locations in Israel in order to enable the Shiite organization to fire rockets at these destinations. Bishara allegedly received hundreds of thousands of shekels in exchange for this information. VIDEO (Ynet News)
Hamas: "The Extermination of the Jews Is Good for the World"
by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Cook
The extermination of Jews is Allah's will and is for the benefit of all humanity, according to the Hamas paper Al-Risalah of April 23. Kan'an Ubayd explains that the suicide operations carried out by Hamas are committed solely to fulfill Allah's wishes. Furthermore, Allah demanded this action because "the extermination of the Jews is good for the inhabitants of the world." It should be noted that Hitler wrote in Mein Kampf: "When I defend myself against the Jew, I am fighting for the work of the Lord." (Palestinian Media Watch)
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U.S. Sets Eight-Month Timetable for Israel-Palestinian Peace Moves
by Adam Entous
 The Bush administration has drawn up an eight-month timetable setting dates for when Israeli and Palestinian leaders would complete steps meant to bolster prospects for peace talks, U.S., Israeli and Palestinian officials said. The U.S. timeline, the first of its kind presented to both sides, includes specific dates for when Washington envisages Israel letting Palestinian bus and truck convoys travel between Gaza and the West Bank. At the same time, Washington has set dates for when Mahmoud Abbas would step up deployment of his forces and take specific measures to begin curbing rocket fire by militants. (Reuters)
Hamas: Abbas Does Not Have Authority to Negotiate with Israel, We Will Oppose Any Agreement
 On April 17, Ayman Muhammad Saleh Taha, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, noted in an interview with Al-Alam, an Iranian TV channel in Arabic, that Abbas does not have full authority to engage in negotiations with Israel and that Hamas rejects any agreement reached in such negotiations. He said the meetings held by Abbas with Olmert "are pointless and do nothing to further the Palestinian cause." (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center)
The Hate Industry: Articles and Cartoons in the Jordanian Press
 The Jordanian media publishes articles and cartoons which combine vicious messages of hate against Israel with anti-Semitic and, at times, anti-American themes. The Jordanian government, which signed a peace treaty with Israel, does not put an end to these publications, which contribute towards an atmosphere of hate and hostility against Israel and the Jewish people. On April 12, 2007, the Jordanian newspaper Al-Arab al-Yawm published an article titled, "From the Holocaust Industry to Terrorism," dealing with Holocaust denial, by Muwaffaq Muhaddin, which begins: "Not a single country in history was founded by turning fiction into fact - save for the country of the Jewish enemy." On March 9, 2007, Ad-Dustour published an article titled "The Integral Relationship between Zionism and Nazism, by Rakan al-Majali, a regular columnist. (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center)
See also Iranian Anti-Semitic Cartoon (YouTube)
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