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The Case for Israel's Strike on Syria
by Martha Raddatz
 Israeli officials believed that a target their forces bombed inside Syria last month was a nuclear facility, because they had detailed photographs taken by a possible spy inside the complex. ABC News has learned of the apparent mole and other dramatic and secret details about the events leading up to the airstrike, plus the evidence that supported it. A senior U.S. official told ABC News the Israelis first discovered a suspected Syrian nuclear facility early in the summer, and the Mossad - Israel's intelligence agency - managed to either co-opt one of the facility's workers or to insert a spy posing as an employee. As a result, the Israelis obtained many detailed pictures of the facility from the ground. (ABC News)
See also Syrians Disassembling Ruins at Site Bombed by Israel - Robin Wright and Joby Warrick (Washington Post)
Barak Heads to U.S. to Promote Israel Rocket Defence
by Dan Williams
  Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak headed to the United States last week to promote joint anti-missile projects that Israel considers a prerequisite for any future handover of the West Bank to the Palestinians. Barak's talks in Washington will help set the stage for next month's conference on Palestinian statehood, called by President George W. Bush's administration in the hope of containing Iranian-backed Hamas Islamists after their Gaza Strip takeover in June. The Pentagon is partner in Israel's Arrow II, a system designed to intercept ballistic missiles of the kind deployed by Iran and Syria. Israeli and American engineers are working on a parallel project, David's Sling, to tackle guerrilla rockets. (Reuters)
See also Israel and U.S. Agree: No Withdrawals Without Missile Defense - Eli Lake (New York Sun)
Iran Deeply Involved in 2006 Lebanon-Israel War
  Iranian journalist Ali Norizadeh has reported that, according to a senior official in the office of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a delegation of senior Iranian officials, headed by Expediency Council chairman and former IRGC commander Mohsen Rezai, had been in Lebanon throughout the 2006 Lebanon war and had supervised Hizbullah's operations. Other delegation members were IRGC Al-Quds Forces commander Qassem Suleimani, former IRGC deputy commander Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, and IRGC land forces commander Ahmad Kazemi, the London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reported last week. (MEMRI)
See also Hizbullah Weapons from Iran on Display (YouTube)
See also Hizbullah Returning to South Lebanon - Georges Malbrunot (Le Figaro-France)
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Israel, Hizbullah Conduct First Swap Since 2006 War; Report: Israel Received Info on Ron Arad
  Israel and Hizbullah carried out their first swap since the Second Lebanon War last week, with Israel releasing a mentally ill Hizbullah guerrilla and the bodies of two others in exchange for the body of an Israeli civilian. Sources in the Prime Minister's Bureau said Israel also received information regarding a separate issue, and that the information would be examined in the coming days. (Ha'aretz)
Some Palestinians Prefer Life in Israel
by Mark Mackinnon
Those Palestinians who live in the neighborhoods Mr. Olmert spoke of handing over are nonetheless worried that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who is seen as weak and desperate for an achievement after losing control of the Gaza Strip to the Islamist Hamas movement, will accept the offer. They dislike the idea of their neighborhoods, which are generally more prosperous than other parts of the West Bank, being absorbed into the chaotic Palestinian territories. Mr. Gheit, with two posters of "the martyr Saddam Hussein" hanging over his cash register, can hardly be called an admirer of the Jewish state. But he says that an already difficult life would get worse if those living in Ras Hamis and the adjoining Shuafat refugee camp were suddenly no longer able to work in Israel, or use its publicly funded health system. (Globe and Mail)
Israeli-Palestinian Joint Declaration to Mention Core Issues But Offer No Solutions
by Barak Ravid and Avi Issacharoff
Israel is prepared to make a joint declaration with the Palestinians at the international peace conference scheduled to take place next month in Annapolis that will address the core issues of Jerusalem, refugees and permanent borders, a senior Israeli government official said last week. The source said that Secretary of State Rice had reached an agreement with the Palestinians stating that "the declaration will address all core issues and point to certain avenues to be pursued through negotiation." However, the declaration will not offer solutions to any of the core issues. Palestinian sources also said that Israel will not have the so-called "Right of Return" mentioned in the document. In addition, Rice reportedly told the Palestinians that Israel will not commit to a timetable for negotiations. (Ha'aretz)
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