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Abbas Calls for Early Palestinian Elections
by Wafa Amr and Mohammed Assadi
 President Mahmoud Abbas called on Saturday for Palestinian elections, throwing down the gauntlet to his Hamas rivals after days of factional violence that has sparked fears of civil war. British Prime Minister Tony Blair urged foreign governments to support Abbas while the United States said it hoped elections would enable peace talks with Israel to resume. "I have decided to call for presidential and parliamentary elections....The crisis is getting worse," Abbas said in a speech broadcast live on Palestine TV. (Reuters)
New UN Chief Denounces Iran on Holocaust Denial, Israel
by Evelyn Leopold
 Incoming UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told Iran on Thursday it was unacceptable to deny the Holocaust or call for Israel to be wiped off the map. "Denying historical facts especially on such an important subject as the Holocaust is just not acceptable," Ban said. "Nor is it acceptable to call for the elimination of states or people." (Reuters)
Bolton, Jewish Groups Call for Iran Leader Charges
by Michelle Nichols
 Outgoing U.S. UN Ambassador John Bolton and former diplomats from Israel and Canada, at a Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations symposium on Thursday, called on the UN to charge Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad with inciting genocide for calling for the destruction of Israel. Ahmadinejad should also be charged at the International Court of Criminal Justice for his threats against the U.S., and for instigating discrimination against Christians and Jews, the group said. "It's important that if we are in this stage where we're being given early warning, unambiguously, on what his intentions are, then it's time to take action," Bolton said. (Reuters)
See also Symposium Video: Bring Ahmadinejad to Justice for Incitement to Genocide (One Jerusalem)
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Violence Builds Between Palestinian Factions
by Scott Wilson
 Rival Palestinian factions exchanged gunfire Friday in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, leaving more than 30 people wounded, as leaders from both parties warned of an escalation that could push the territories toward a deeper conflict. The secular Fatah and Islamic Hamas movements, each with an armed wing, have been engaged in a political struggle for much of the year, but the latest unrest has been more brazen and regular than previous confrontations. "What we are seeing is the beginning of an ugly civil war," Fatah lawmaker Saeb Erekat told reporters in Ramallah. (Washington Post)
Brandeis: Carter Book Won't Stir Debate
by Farah Stockman and Marcella Bombardieri
  It seemed like a good idea at the time: Have former president Jimmy Carter talk about his controversial new book "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid" at Brandeis University. Brandeis president Jehuda Reinharz said he agreed to invite Carter last month, if Carter were willing to debate one of his most outspoken critics, Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz (pictured left). Carter, president from 1977-1981, vehemently rejected the idea. "I don't want to have a conversation even indirectly with Dershowitz," Carter said. "There is no need to for me to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine." (Boston Globe)
Israel Supreme Court: Targeted Killings of Terrorists Is Legal
by Dan Izenberg
 A panel of three Israeli High Court of Justice judges ruled unanimously Thursday against a petition asking it to declare that the policy of targeted killings of terrorists was illegal. The court determined that those who were on their way to commit an attack against the IDF or civilians or had planned an attack or were in between carrying out a series of attacks were fair targets. (Jerusalem Post)
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