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Sources Confirm Israeli Airstrike on Syria
 Last week, Syria reported that its aircraft fired on Israeli "enemy aircraft" that flew into northern Syria early Thursday. The strike may have targeted Hizbullah weapons coming into Syria or transiting through the country from Iran, according to sources in the region and in the U.S. Sources said the military operation may have also involved Israeli ground forces who directed the airstrike, which "left a big hole in the desert" in Syria. The Israeli government is very happy with the success of the operation, the sources said. Sources in the U.S. government and military confirmed that the airstrike did happen, and that they are happy to have Israel carry the message to both Syria and Iran that they can get in and out and strike when necessary. (CNN)
Israel, PA to Set Up Working Groups to Draft Agreement
by Aluf Benn, Avi Issacharoff and Barak Ravid
 Israel and the PA will establish working groups to begin drafting an agreement of principles, Prime Minister Olmert and PA Chairman Abbas announced Monday following their meeting in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister's Bureau said the working groups will focus on furthering the "two-state vision." In addition, Israel will release additional Palestinian prisoners during the first week of Ramadan, which began on Thursday, as a good-will gesture. (Ha'aretz)
Palestinian Rocket Strikes Israeli Army Base
by Aron Heller
 A Palestinian rocket exploded in an Israeli army base early Tuesday, wounding recent recruits undergoing basic training. (AP/Washington Post)
See also 67 IDF Troops Wounded in Palestinian Rocket Strike - Hanan Greenberg
67 Israeli soldiers were wounded after a Kassam rocket launched by Palestinians in Gaza landed on a military base in Israel Tuesday morning. One soldier was critically wounded, and four soldiers were seriously injured. This is the largest number of casualties to date resulting from a single Palestinian rocket attack. (Ynet News)
Ahmadinejad: Israel "Cannot Continue Its Life"
 Interview with Iranian President Mahboud Ahmadinejad: "What do we want a [nuclear] bomb for? The British and Americans have them - what does that serve? No we don't need it and we have a solution for the Israeli Zionist Regime. We told them that they should let the Palestinians express their views in a referendum so that the people can chose - we think that this is a humanitarian approach. We are fundamentally opposed to war. We do not accept or officially recognise Israel. They are occupiers and illegitimate. But our approach is humanitarian. We say a regime that does not have a proper philosophy of existence, which is an occupier which bullies people, and which is without culture and civilization and which has all the powers of the region against it - this cannot survive." (ITN -UK)
Wayne State Student, a Hizbullah Supporter, Nabbed with Rifle
by Sean Delaney
 A  laptop seized from the home of a Wayne State University medical student earlier this week could hold the key to an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Police Department and the FBI. The laptop belongs to 26-year-old Dearborn resident Houssein Zorkot, who was arraigned Tuesday in 19th District Court on multiple felony charges, including one count of carrying a dangerous weapon with unlawful intent- a five-year felony. Dearborn police arrested Zorkot Sept. 8 after he was seen wielding an AK-47 semi-automatic assault rifle in Hemlock Park. A laptop computer and several pictures were seized. According to Mayor Jack O'Reilly, several of the pictures were taken during a recent trip by Zorkot to Lebanon, and featured him standing in front of pro-Hizbullah billboards. (Press and Guide)
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North Korea, Syria May Be at Work on Nuclear Facility
by Glenn Kessler
 North Korea may be cooperating with Syria on some sort of nuclear facility in Syria, according to new intelligence the United States has gathered over the past six months, sources said. The evidence, said to come primarily from Israel, includes dramatic satellite imagery that led some U.S. officials to believe that the facility could be used to produce material for nuclear weapons. Israel conducted a mysterious raid last week against targets in Syria. The Israeli government has refused to divulge any details, but a former Israeli official said he had been told that it was an attack against a facility capable of making unconventional weapons. (Washington Post)
See also U.S. Official Says Syria May Have Nuclear Ties (New York Times)
Israelis "Blew Apart Syrian Nuclear Cache"
by Uzi Mahnaimi, Sarah Baxter, Michael Sheridan
  It was just after midnight when the 69th Squadron of Israeli F15Is crossed the Syrian coast-line. On the ground, Syria’s formidable air defences went dead. An audacious raid on a Syrian target 50 miles from the Iraqi border was under way. The mission was the focus of intense speculation this weekend amid claims that Israel believed it had destroyed a cache of nuclear materials from North Korea. Known to have chemical weapons, was Syria seeking to bolster its arsenal with something even more deadly? Alternatively, could it be hiding equipment for North Korea, enabling Kim Jong-il to pretend to be giving up his nuclear program in exchange for economic aid? Or was the material bound for Iran, as some authorities in America suggest? (Times-UK)
Hamas Showcases Military Readiness, Wary of Possible Israeli Incursion into Gaza
 Hundreds of Hamas security forces trained for a possible Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip, firing automatic rifles and shoulder-held grenade launchers in their first extensive exercise since they overran the coastal territory in June. Hamas has said it is preparing for the possibility that Israel will launch a large military operation in the Gaza Strip. Hamas forces are better equipped than at the time of previous Israeli incursions since they confiscated weapons from Fatah during the fighting in June, senior Hamas official Nizar Rayyan said. (AP/International Herald Tribune)
See also PFLP Denounces Hamas' "Ugly Offensive in Gaza" (Xinhua-China)
Jerusalem: Strong Showing for Ramadan
by Steven Erlanger
 Despite restrictions imposed by Israel and long lines at checkpoints, more than 50,000 Palestinians prayed at Al Aksa Mosque on September 14, the first Friday of Ramadan. Only men older than 45 and women older than 35 with special permits were allowed into the Old City and the mosque, Islam’s third holiest shrine. The start of Ramadan coincided with the Jewish New Year. (New York Times)
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