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Palestinian Rocket Kills Israeli Woman
by Scott Wilson
 Palestinian rocket fire from the Gaza Strip killed a 32-year-old Israeli woman Monday night and seriously wounded another civilian in the city of Sderot, prompting Israeli officials to threaten severe reprisals. It was the first Israeli fatality of the most recent surge in violence. The woman, identified as Shirel Friedman, was the 9th Israeli to be killed by the crude rockets, known as Kassams, since hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians began to flare in the fall of 2000. The military wing of Hamas, the Izzedine al-Kassam Brigades, asserted responsibility for the attack. (Washington Post)
See also Sderot Bleeds from Kassams (YouTube)
Iran FM: A Nation Can't Be Wiped Off the Map -- Israel Not Included
 Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki denied on Saturday that he had been referring to Israel when he told journalists at the World Economic Forum in Jordan that "a nation cannot be wiped off the map." Mottaki told IRNA, the official Iranian news agency, that what he had actually said was that "every pupil knows that a nation like the Palestinians cannot be eliminated from the map." (Jerusalem Post)
See also Ahmadinejad Threatens Israel with Destruction (Der Spiegel-Germany)
See also IAEA Says Iran Continues to Defy Iran (Reuters/Ynet News)
Government Will Collapse, Say Palestinians
 Many adults in the Gaza Strip and West Bank express no confidence in their current administration’s capacity to govern, according to a poll by An-Najah National University. 68.6 per cent of respondents think the unity government will collapse at some point, and 90.9 per cent assess their current conditions as bad. Polling Data: Do you think the unity government will continue to perform its duties, ot will it collapse? Continue: 19.1 percent; Collapse: 68.6 percent (Angus Reid Global Monitor)
Israel Changed Me Forever
by Yaakov Lappin
 Thousands of Jewish youths from around the world met in Jerusalem last week to celebrate their participation in long-term programs organized by the MASA organization. A carnival-like atmosphere enveloped the area of the Sultan's Pool center in Jerusalem, as the youths watched a Kaperua show, and joined in with a hand drum and shofar musical group. Ariel Scheer, 19, from New Jersey described her experience: "I lived in Bat Yam and volunteered for the community. I taught English to fourth graders from a pretty underprivileged area. I've been thrown into Israeli society. This has been amazing year, and I'm really sad to be leaving. I have gained a new appreciation for what Israel represents for the Jewish people." (Ynet News)
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Tehran Behind Escalation of Violence from Gaza; Officials Fear Longer Range Rocket Fire
by Yaakov Katz, Khaled Abu Toameh, Rebecca Anna Stoil
 Iran's fingerprints were all over the recent  escalation in Gaza and the Palestinian rocket attacks, Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh (pictured) said last week. Tehran ordered the terrorist groups to escalate the conflict in an effort to distract the world's attention from its nuclear program, he said. "Everything is being organized by Iran," Sneh said. "All of the terrorist groups are supported directly by Iran, which pays for all of the military training and the weapons." Government officials expressed concern that Palestinian rockets could reach southern Ashdod and the western reaches of Beersheba. (Jerusalem Post)
Israel Sets Bar for Gaza Peacekeeper Idea
by Adam Entous
 Israel said last week it might agree to international peacekeepers being deployed in Gaza as long as they were ready to crack down on Palestinian militants. Meeting senior Western diplomats, Israel Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said any Gaza force would have to be willing to search for "terrorists" and arms, and play other "executive" roles in order to be acceptable, a Foreign Ministry official said. A senior European diplomat said Livni told the group that "if the mandate of the force is similar to the current UNIFIL, then Israel is not interested." (Reuters)
Israel's UN Ambassador: Moderate Muslims Not Doing Enough to Curtail Terrorism
 Israel's UN ambassador on Monday accused moderate Muslim and Arab leaders of standing by in "eerie silence" while Islamic extremists terrorize people around the world. "We live in a world where when Christians kill Muslims, it's a crusade. When Jews kill Muslims, it's a massacre. When Muslims kill Muslims, it's the weather channel. Nobody cares," Ambassador Dan Gillerman said in New York. He cited recent incidents in Iraq, Afghanistan, Egypt, Kenya, Jordan, Turkey, Algeria and Morocco. "Hundreds of Muslims are killed by Muslims and you don't see a single Muslim leader that stands up and says enough is enough." (AP/International Herald Tribune)
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