Thursday, February 18, 2010

02/18/10

* Dubai 99% sure Mossad killed Mabhouh Dubai police chief said he was 99 percent certain that the Mossad was responsible for the assassination of top Hamas official Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.

* 'Hamas would lose PA elections' Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's party Fatah would crush their rivals Hamas were elections to be held today.

* Turkey rebuffed Obama on missile defense shield Turkey's leader rejected a U.S. appeal to deploy a NATO missile shield that would block an Iranian attack on Europe.

* Ancient Jerusalem Waterway Revealed at Jaffa Gate The excavations are being conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority as part of a “rescue” operation.

* Ahmadinejad: If Israel attacks Hezbollah, its 'case should be closed' Iran's president on Thursday said that if the Israelis launch a new war against Lebanon's Hezbollah, the militant group should retaliate strong enough to close their case once and for all.

* Freemasons keen to open office in EU capital A French freemason has said that part of the movement is keen to open a bureau in Brussels to lobby against the rising influence of religious organisations in the EU institutions.

* Iran vows to stand by Hezbollah against Israel Iran's president on Thursday said that if the Israelis launch a new war against Lebanon's Hezbollah, the militant group should retaliate strong enough to "close their case once and for all."

* 'Arabs now 53% of North's population' Israel's northern Arab population now stands at 53 percent, according to a February report published by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

* Israel contemplating cooperation with Egypt on solar project Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer revealed that during his last visit to Egypt with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu an agreement was reached to initiate cooperation between Egypt and Israel on a solar-related project.

* Netanyahu: Use public diplomacy to combat Iran, Goldstone Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asked Diaspora Affairs and Information Minister Yuli Edelstein to join an initiative to combat threats to Israel using public diplomacy.