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Palestinians Agree to Resume Indirect Negotiations with Israel
by Barak Ravid
 Negotiations
between Israel and the Palestinian Authority are to be renewed next
week using the "proximity" talks format, a senior government official
in Jerusalem said on Thursday. The Israeli and Palestinian teams will
sit in separate locations, and U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell
and his staff will convey messages between them. Mahmoud Abbas met in
Ramallah on Thursday with David Hale, the U.S. deputy assistant
secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, who gave Abbas American
assurances regarding the renewal of talks with Israel, including a
timetable for the move from indirect to direct talks and clarifications
regarding the issue of the 1967 borders. A senior government source in
Israel said that Israel wants the parties to move as soon as possible
from proximity talks to direct talks on all core issues. (Ha'aretz)
Pressure on Iran Increases from U.S.
by Peter Spiegel and Chip Cummins
 U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton's accusation last week that Iran is becoming a
military dictatorship run by elements of the militant Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps is the public expression of conclusions
privately drawn by U.S. officials and administration advisers for
months. Senior U.S. officials and Iran analysts said the administration
may be able to rally world opinion against the elite military group in
a way it has yet to manage against the religious leaders who sit atop
the regime.
Gordon Duguid, a State Department spokesman, said Tuesday the
Revolutionary Guards is "currently in control" of nine of 22 cabinet
ministries. Focusing on the Revolutionary Guards also allows Washington to
target an organization that is - through its paramilitary militia, the
Basij - primarily responsible for the violent crackdown against
demonstrators in the wake of June's presidential elections. (Wall Street Journal)
Israeli Cabinet Passes Project to Preserve Heritage Sites
 The Israeli cabinet unanimously passed the
"Heritage" project, which includes 500 sites to strengthen the
connection with Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, "In an
age in which globalization increases shallowness, we are creating a
center of gravity for parents to connect their children to, and the
children to the people, and the country to Jewish and Zionist
heritage." (Ynet News)
Venus Williams Beats Israeli Shahar Peer to Reach Dubai Final
by Richard Jago
 Venus Williams quelled fears of a security nightmare when she halted the inspired run of Shahar Peer, the first Israeli woman athlete ever to compete in the United Arab Emirates. With the furore over the refusal to grant Peer a visa here last year, and the assassination of a Hamas leader in  a hotel less than 300 meters away last month, it was considered essential to be doing everything possible – and sometimes more – to assist her safety. One important upside is that a former Israeli soldier has made Arab friends and generated worldwide publicity for the success of her visit. (Guardian - UK)
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UN Nuclear Watchdog Says Iran Worked on Warhead
by David E. Sanger and William J. Broad
 UN nuclear inspectors declared for the first time on Thursday that they had extensive evidence of "past or current undisclosed activities" by Iran's military to develop a nuclear warhead. The report by the new director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, also concluded that Iran's weapons-related activity apparently continued "beyond 2004," contradicting an American intelligence assessment that work on a bomb was suspended at the end of 2003. The report cited new evidence of a concerted drive in Iran toward a weapons capability. It also reiterated evidence that Iran had tested ways of detonating weapons and had worked extensively to design warheads small enough to fit atop a missile. (New York Times)
See also IAEA Suspects Syrian Nuclear Activity at Bombed Site (Reuters)
Slaying of Hamas Leader in Dubai Is International Murder Mystery
 It was something straight out of a James Bond film: A team of alleged killers in a swank Dubai hotel, some of them scoping
out their target in an elevator while dressed in tennis clothes and
carrying rackets and backpacks. But their mission, according to Dubai police, was a chilling one: the cold-blooded murder of a top Hamas official. And
that alleged mission was a success -- the body of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a
founding member of Hamas' military wing, was found in his hotel room
the following day. Hamas has called al-Mabhouh's death an "assassination," and mourners at
his funeral in Damascus, Syria, speculated that the Israeli
intelligence unit, Mossad, was behind it. Al-Mabhouh, according to
Hamas, was behind the kidnapping and killing of two Israeli soldiers in
1989. Israeli security sources have told CNN that al-Mabhouh was a key link
between Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas and he was involved in smuggling arms
to Gaza. (CNN)
Gaza Glutted with Smuggled Goods - Non-Hamas Tunnel Owners Suffering
by Avi Issacharoff
 Hamas has recently
set up its own tunnels which it uses to smuggle merchandise from Egypt.
As a result, existing, non-Hamas run tunnels are suffering financially. The Hamas tunnels have brought in an overflow of goods, causing a
complete standstill in dozens of non-Hamas tunnels. Moreover, work on
digging additional tunnels has also stopped. The recent increase in smuggled goods has caused many factories to
renew activity, with increasing supplies of gasoline and cement
actually causing Gaza to experience an economic reawakening. (Ha'aretz)
Does Coke's Super Bowl Ad Look a Lot Like Old Israeli Dairy Spot?
 The creative community is buzzing with allegations that a Coca-Cola
commercial that aired during the Super Bowl is a ripoff of an
eight-year old ad for an Israeli milk brand. The beverage giant has
firmly denied it copied the commercial, saying any similarities are
purely a coincidence. Within 24 hours of the spot airing on the Super Bowl, the video below
-- a split-screen comparison of the Coke ad and a 2002 spot for Yotvata
by Shalmor Avnon Amichay/Young & Rubicam, Tel Aviv, both with
similar storylines and set to the music of Ravel's "Bolero" -- had been
loaded onto YouTube. (Advertising Age)
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