Thursday, December 06, 2012

12/6/12

* Kedar: Israel 'Knows How to Deal With Syrian Chemical Threat' As the Syria raises the stakes over its chemical weapons, an Israeli military intelligence expert says measures are being taken to minimize the threat.

* 'West using WMD fears as pretext for intervention' Western powers are whipping up fears of a fateful move to the use of chemical weapons in Syria's civil war.

* Hamas to create first Palestinian Defense Ministry Hamas is about to establish its own "Defense Ministry" in the Gaza Strip as part of lessons drawn from Operation Pillar of Defense.

* PA, Jordan to launch talks on political cooperation The Palestinian Authority and Jordan agreed Thursday to launch talks to discuss economic and political cooperation between the two sides.

* IDF: Arab Rioting More Since 'Pillar of Defense' A violent face-off developed Thursday afternoon between IDF soldiers and Arabs in Hevron.

* Jordan reportedly drops out of Dead Sea canal project Jordan has said it cannot foot the bill for its part in a hydroelectric and water desalination plan to run a canal from the Red Sea down to the Dead Sea.

* Despite souring relations with Israel, Europe not about to boycott settlement goods, sources predict Sources in the European Union on Thursday played down a report in the Hebrew daily Maariv that Europe was seeking to pass a series of harsh sanctions against Israel.

* Egypt army erects barriers at Cairo presidential palace The Egyptian army has set up barricades outside the presidential palace, after ordering protesters to leave the area.

* Suomi satellite pictures Earth in black VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) can discern a range of phenomena of interest to weather forecasters - cloud, snow, fog, etc - even when the satellite is on the dark side of the Earth.

* 'We agreed that we disagree' on settlement expansion, Merkel says after meeting with PM Coming out of a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she and Netanyahu had "agreed to disagree" on the issue of West Bank settlements.