Monday, August 24, 2009

08/24/09

* Israel won't accept limitations on its sovereignty in Jerusalem Netanyahu will make it clear in his discussions with US and European officials abroad that Israel will not accept any limitations on its sovereignty in Jerusalem.

* Iran wants West to resume interaction Iran wants the West to change its nuclear policy of sanctions and resume "interaction" with the Persian nation, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hasan Qashqavi said.

* Peres: Hizbullah has 80,000 weapons Hizbullah has stockpiled 80,000 weapons which can be used against Israel, President Shimon Peres told Kuwaiti paper al-Rai, some three times more than it had prior to the Second Lebanon War.

* IDF moves one step closer to getting Iron Dome The IDF moved one step closer to receiving the Iron Dome last week after the Israeli Air Force completed the establishment of the new battalion that will operate the short-range missile defense system.

* Saudis, Israel to lead Mideast arms buys Defense expenditure in the Middle East will cross the $100 billion mark in the coming five years, mainly due to deals Gulf states are closing out of fear of Iran's nuclear program.

* Lebanon will never negotiate with Israel - directly or indirectly Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh said that Beirut would never negotiate with Israel over the return of captured land, reiterating the government's stance that Lebanon would be the last Arab state to sign a peace treaty with Jerusalem.

* EU verdict on Afghan poll faces objections While the EU has praised Afghanistan for its conduct of last week's presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, the main challenger to the country's incumbent president, said the poll had been rigged in favour of Hamid Karzai.

* EU presidency under pressure over Israel organs story With Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu arriving in Europe for talks set to focus on settlement expansion, EU presidency country Sweden is embroiled in a diplomatic crisis with Tel Aviv over a newspaper article about Israeli soldiers harvesting Palestinian organs.

* Iraqi Shias form new alliance A group of Shia Muslim parties in Iraq have formed a coalition ahead of January's election, but Nouri al-Maliki, the prime minister, has not joined the bloc.

* Afghan conflict serious, 'deteriorating'-Mullen The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating along with U.S. public support for the war, Washington's top military officer said on Sunday as he left open the possibility of another increase in troops.