Israel-Syria Talks Resume/ Lebanon’s Doha Agreement
May 23, 2008 | AIJAC staff
As readers will be aware, Israel and Syria officially announced the resumption of peace talks this week, mediated by Turkey. Meanwhile, following last week’s violent confrontation whereby Hezbollah took over much of Beirut, Lebanon’s factions agreed to a Qatari-mediated deal, known as the Doha Accord.
Israel considers a Gaza Ceasefire
May 21, 2008 | AIJAC staff
As this Update goes out, the Israeli government is reportedly waiting for the response from Hamas to the conditional acceptance Israel conveyed to Egypt of the ceasefire proposal Egypt has been brokering.
Lebanon on the Brink
May 15, 2008 | AIJAC staff
This Update brings together some analysis of the crisis in Lebanon over the last week, which saw Hezbollah gunmen temporarily take over much of Beirut in fighting that left scores of people there and in the North, including one Australian, dead.
1948 Revisited
May 14, 2008 | AIJAC staff
Israel’s 60th Anniversary celebrations led to much comment on the real circumstances of 1948, and especially the causes of the Palestinian refugees from that war. Below are three good comments on that history from prominent Israeli academics.
Dealing with Iran and its proxies/ Lebanon’s latest crisis
May 9, 2008 | AIJAC staff
Today’s Update features some new pieces on strategies for dealing with the challenge posed by Iran and its proxies and allies, as well as analysis of the latest example of destablising behaviour by one such ally, Hezbollah, in Lebanon.
Sixty Years of Israeli Independence
May 8, 2008 | AIJAC staff
This Update highlights just a few of the many articles being printed around the globe to celebrate or mark Yom Hatzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) today, the sixtieth anniversary (in the Jewish calendar) of Israel’s foundation.
Durban II and the UN / Casualty levels in Iraq
May 7, 2008 | AIJAC staff
This Update reports on the problematic deliberations last week at the UN in Geneva, as preparations, chaired by Libya, are made for a follow-up conference to the infamous 2001 Durban conference on racism.
Discussing an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire
May 2, 2008 | AIJAC staff
The Israeli government is reportedly considering whether to accept a truce deal with Hamas and twelve other Palestinian terrorist factions brokered by Egypt, with senior Defence Ministry official Amos Gilad off to Egypt shortly to discuss the deal with Egyptian Intelligence Minister Omar Suleiman. This Update provides some background on the reported terms of the deal, and the considerations that will shape Israel’s decision.
Nuclear Revelations about Syria/ Israel-Syria negotiations?
April 30, 2008 | AIJAC staff
This Update focuses on two recent developments vis a vis Syria. Firstly, according to the US CIA Director, what Israel destroyed in a mysterious airstrike in Syria last September was a plutonium producing nuclear reactor, capable of producing enough plutonium for one to two nuclear bombs per year, built with North Korean assistance.
Hamas’ Build-up and Tactics/ Terrorism and Tribalism
April 15, 2008 | AIJAC staff
A new study has come out detailing the military build-up Hamas has been undertaking in Gaza. Among its findings are that Hamas has brought 80 tons of explosives into Gaza since last summer, that it now has 20,000 men under arms, hundreds of whom have been trained in Iran, Syria and Lebanon, and has established a special suicide bomb unit.
