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Bush Assures Israel Iran Seen as Threat
by Barry Schweid
 Visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will return to his country with reassurances from the Bush administration that it is not backing down from its view that Iran and its nuclear program are a world threat. With Olmert at his side following a White House meeting Monday, Bush told reporters that a nuclear-armed Iran not only would threaten Israel but loom as an "incredibly destabilizing" threat to the region and the world. (AP/Forbes)
Rice: Israel-Palestinian Issue and Iraq Unrelated
 U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there was no connection between the dead end in the Israeli-Palesinian conflict and the goings-on in Iraq, Israel Radio reported Wednesday. Rice rejected the words of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said Tuesday that progress in the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians would help stabilize the situation in Iraq. Rice also rejected proposals to promote talks with Syria and Iran. (Jerusalem Post)
IDF: Hizballah Units Returning to Border
by Yaakov Katz
 Three months after a UN-brokered cease-fire ended Israel's war in Lebanon, IDF officers said Tuesday that Hizballah gunmen disguised as civilians were back on the border and collecting intelligence on IDF positions. "They [Hizballah] are still there," an officer in the Northern Command said. "We are watching them and they are watching us. They cannot operate freely like they used to," the officer said. "There is UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces there and this does complicate things for them." (Jerusalem Post)
Islamic Fanatics "Grooming Students at 25 British Universities"
by Graeme Paton
 Prof Anthony Glees, the director of Brunel University's centre for intelligence and security studies, warned that more than 25 British campuses had been infiltrated by fanatics recruiting for so-called jihad. His comments came as the British Department for Education urged lecturers to be on the look out for impressionable youngsters who could fall under the influence of radical preachers. In a 20-page report the department warns of "serious, but not widespread, Islamic extremist activity in higher education institutions." (Telegraph-UK)
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Olmert Urges Arab Moderates to Unite Against Iran
by Jeffrey Heller
 Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on Tuesday for moderate Arab countries to unite against Iran and said the world must not wait any longer to thwart its nuclear ambitions. "We have reached the pivotal moment of truth regarding Iran," Olmert told the General Assembly of the United Jewish Communities of North America in Los Angeles. "If Iran achieves the ability to produce nuclear weapons, as we know it is seeking to do, we will enter a new era of instability unlike any the world has ever seen," he said. "We cannot afford to wait." Israel "cannot tolerate those who challenge" its right to exist while actively seeking to develop "catastrophic weapons." (Reuters) View video.
U.S. Plays Down Hopes for New Palestinian Government
 U.S. officials played down the chances of a major shift in U.S. policy if the ruling Hamas group holds a large number of cabinet seats in a new Palestinian unity government, Western diplomats said on Wednesday. At a meeting in Cairo of the Quartet of Middle East mediators, the U.S. delegation said it was concerned Hamas would continue to play a leading role in a new government and would prevent it from meeting the Quartet's demands that it recognize Israel, renounce violence, and abide by interim peace deals. (Reuters)
Iranian Paper: Great War to Wipe Out Israel Coming
by Yaakov Lappin
Iranian newspapers Kehyan and and Resalat have urged Muslims around the world to prepare for a 'great war' to destroy the State of Israel. The newspapers published the editorials, translated by MEMRI, the Middle East translation service, to mark 'Quds' day on October 20, an Iranian 'holiday' calling for the "liberation" of Jerusalem and war against Israel. (Ynet News)
See also Iran Gave $120 Million to Hamas Government
Iran has donated $120 million to the Palestinian Hamas-led government and has said it is ready to give more. (Reuters/San Diego Union Tribune)
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