--------------------
Sharon Meets With Settlers From the Gaza Strip
--------------------

Facing evacuation, the Jewish families propose relocating as a group to a seaside nature reserve. Environmentalists voice opposition to the plan.

By Ken Ellingwood
Times Staff Writer

April 6 2005

JERUSALEM; Seeking to defuse tensions over his plan to withdraw Israelis from the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Tuesday met for the first time in months with representatives of the Jewish settlements that are to be emptied.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,4268199.story

For Palestinians, transfer of power coming too slowly
Bethlehem is one of five West Bank cities expected to be handed over by
Israel. By Ben Lynfield
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0407/p07s02-wome.html?s=hns

Israeli troops beat Palestinian police:

Four Palestinian policemen have been beaten and detained by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank town of Hebron.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/205...EA794BF3CE6.htm

http://snipurl.com/duz8

Israel ignores US reproach over settlement expansion :

The planned expansion conflicts with international law that regards all settlements as illegal and also contradicts the US view that settlements should not be enlarged
http://snipurl.com/duza

‘Israel must remain Jewish’:

Security officials suggest drafting law to toughen conditions under which Palestinians may obtain Israeli citizenship; according to estimates, Arab-Israeli minority to reach 40 percent by 2020
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLa...3068007,00.html

http://snipurl.com/duzb

Is Israel a safe haven for Jews?:

The Australian court determined that it could not “offload its responsibilities” to protect them by arguing Israel was a ‘safe third country’ on the basis of the so-called law of return or ‘Aliyah’.
http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article3737.shtml

Backlash yields tense times for Syrian workers in Lebanon
They have born the brunt of the anger sparked by the killing of former
prime minister Rafik Hariri. By Nicholas Blanford
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0408/p04s02-wome.html?s=hns

Israeli President Greets Syrian, Iranian Leaders at Pope's Funeral

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CBD61A:2F72C9D

Syria is officially at war with Israel and Iran does not recognize
Jewish state

Moshe KatsavIsraeli President Moshe Katsav has shaken hands with
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as both attended the funeral of Pope
John Paul II in Rome.

Israel Radio reports Iranian-born President Katsav also spoke in his
native Farsi with Iranian President Mohammad Khatami. The radio says
the two spoke about the Iranian town where they were both born.

Syria is officially at war with Israel and Iran does not recognize the
Jewish state.

Israel Radio says after the funeral, the Syrian leader approached the
Israeli president for a second time and again shook his hand. Syria
has recently made peace overtures to Israel, but Israeli officials
have demanded that Syria first pull out of Lebanon and stop its
support of radical Palestinian groups.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

High alert on the Temple Mount:

The Shin Bet security service has indications that Jews are planning to carry out a terror attack on the Temple Mount.
http://snipurl.com/dwjh

Palestinians say truce over if mosques attacked:

Leading Palestinian militant groups on Friday vowed renewed attacks on Israelis if Jewish ultra-nationalists enter a sensitive Jerusalem shrine from which Israeli police intend to bar them this weekend.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L08683866.htm

Hezbollah to drop arms if Israel quits Shebaa :

Hezbollah would be prepared to discuss conditional disarmament if Israel withdrew from a disputed border area, the Lebanese guerrilla group's deputy leader said in a British newspaper interview on Friday.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/562751.html

Racism by Any Other Name:

Israel Makes It Harder for Non-Jews to Become Citizens
http://www.counterpunch.com/laor04072005.html

Sharon Visits U.S. as Israel Plans Gaza Exit

By Glenn Kessler

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrives Monday at President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Tex., for his 11th meeting with the president in four years, a coveted invitation that is intended to reward Sharon for taking the politically difficult step of ousting Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Israeli Police Block Jewish March on Disputed Holy Site

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CC4656:2F72C9D

Police prevents right-wing Jewish extremists from entering Al-Aqsa
Mosque compound

At the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Israeli police arrest an
ultra-Orthodox Israeli

Israeli police have prevented right-wing Jewish extremists from
staging a rally at a disputed holy site in Jerusalem.

Thousands of Israeli police encircled Jerusalem's Old City Sunday,
stopping cars and setting up roadblocks to prevent an ultranationalist
group from entering a disputed holy site.

Authorities say police arrested at least a dozen Israeli right-wing
activists, including the leader of an ultranationalist group, Revava.

The group planned to lead thousands of activists into the Al-Aqsa
Mosque compound Sunday. The hilltop compound is the most hotly
contested site in Jerusalem, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary
and to Jews as the Temple Mount.

Palestinian militants have warned of an uprising if the Jews try to
enter the site.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

Sharon Heads to US for Meeting with Bush

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CC4657:2F72C9D

Israeli PM, President Bush are expected to discuss Israel's
controversial plan to expand some settlements in West Bank 

Ariel Sharon (File photo)Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon headed to
the United States Sunday for a summit with President Bush to discuss
Israel's planned pull out from the Gaza Strip.

The two leaders will begin talks Monday at the president's ranch in
Crawford, Texas, in the southern United States.

Mr. Sharon and Mr. Bush are expected to discuss Israel's controversial
plan to expand some settlements in the West Bank.

Israel has insisted it has the right to continue to expand the
settlements. Washington opposes any further construction there, saying
it threatens peace with the Palestinians and violates the
internationally backed "road map" peace plan.

President Bush and Prime Minister Sharon are also expected to discuss
issues holding up a peace deal with the Palestinians, and recent
developments in the Middle East.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

--------------------
Israeli Police Head Off Small Rally by Jewish Group at Temple Mount
--------------------

Protest against the Gaza pullout is blocked from the disputed Jerusalem holy site; 31 are arrested.

By Ken Ellingwood
Times Staff Writer

April 11 2005

JERUSALEM; With a big show of force around a disputed holy site, Israeli police Sunday blocked a small rally by right-wing Jews that officials had feared might ignite a new round of bloodshed.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

Bush, Sharon Discuss Settlements and Gaza Pull Out

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CCB29B:2F72C9D

President Bush hosts Israeli PM Sharon  at his Texas ranch in a
meeting expected to discuss Israel's controversial plan to build
more than 3,500 new homes in occupied West Bank

Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon arrives in the United States for
his meeting Monday with President BushPresident Bush says the
international community has a great opportunity to help a democratic
Palestinian state begin to grow in Gaza.

He says he and Prime Minister Sharon will discuss the Israeli plan to
remove settlements from Gaza during Monday's talks at the Bush ranch
in nearby Prairie Chapel, which will be their 11th meeting since the
president took office.

Mr. Bush told reporters last week that he will speak with Prime
Minister Sharon about the need to continue working with Palestinian
leader Mahmoud Abbas as part of an international effort to ensure that
the government that emerges in Gaza is better able to speak to the
hopes of the people who live there. "I firmly believe that Ariel
Sharon wants to have a peaceful partner, wants there to be a democracy
in the Palestinian Territories. And I believe President Abbas wants
the same thing. And there is a lot of hard work to be done, but we are
making progress," he said.

President Bush says making progress means more than bringing security
to Gaza. It means international support for economic development for
the Palestinians, which, he says, will make success on the West Bank
easier as well.

One of the biggest issues facing the two sides in Gaza is the planned
withdrawal of Israeli settlements there, which could cost more than
one-and-a-half billion dollars in compensation for settlers and in
military costs to forcibly remove those who refuse to leave.

President Bush says the best way forward remains the road map to
peace, a plan drawn up by the United States, the European Union, the
United Nations and Russia and leading toward the creation of an
independent Palestinian state.

But Prime Minister Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza was a
unilateral decision outside the road map, raising concerns among
Palestinians that the Israeli leader still intends to expand Israeli
settlements elsewhere, including the West Bank.

President Bush said he will make clear to the prime minister that that
is not part of the peace plan. "Our position is very clear, that the
road map is important. And the road map calls for no expansion of the
settlements," he said.

Prime Minister Sharon is facing some domestic opposition to his
planned pull-out from Gaza and is hoping to keep some settlements in
the West Bank as part of a final peace deal.

Palestinian negotiators say Israel must return all occupied lands and
are wary of moving forward to an interim Palestinian state that does
not include all of the West Bank for fear that that arrangement might
end up being the final demarcation.

Syria completes troop pullout:

At the weekend, the final large detachments of Syrian heavy armoured divisions were pulling back across the border from their positions in the eastern Bekaa Valley, so bringing to a close almost 30 years of Syrian military presence.
http://snipurl.com/dy9d

Sharon: Atmosphere in Israel looks like eve of civil war :

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, in an interview broadcast by NBC News on Monday, spoke of the growing threat of violence by extreme-right Jewish activists in Israel ahead of the disengagement plan.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/563286.html

Shin Beth chief warns of new intifada:

The outgoing chief of Israel's main domestic security Shin Beth agency has warned that a third intifada or uprising is in the offing and that violence on a large scale could break out in months.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A9F...20460B31560.htm

http://snipurl.com/dya9

Israeli occupation forces raid Nablus:

The troops have begun to demolish a house, a Palestinian official told Aljazeera. The troops also told reporters to leave the area.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/BDE...9D5D4CC4B8F.htm

http://snipurl.com/dyab

--------------------
Bush, Sharon Clash Openly
--------------------

The leaders, meeting in Texas, disagree on the future of West Bank settlements under the Mideast peace plan. Both are under pressure.

By Peter Wallsten and Tyler Marshall
Times Staff Writers

April 12 2005

CRAWFORD, Texas; President Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon differed strongly and publicly Monday over the future of West Bank settlements under the U.S.-backed peace plan, underscoring the fragile nature of negotiations to end the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/f...lines-frontpage

--------------------
30 Held in Investigation of Bazaar Bombing
--------------------

From Times Wire Reports

April 12 2005

Egyptian police have detained 30 people in connection with last week's deadly bombing of a Cairo tourist bazaar, including the suspected bomber's mother, three brothers and 16 other relatives, prosecutors said.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

--------------------
Hezbollah Sends Spy Drone Over Israel
--------------------

From Times Wire Reports

April 12 2005

The militant group Hezbollah flew a spy drone over northern Israel, saying it was in retaliation for Israel's flights over Lebanon.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

Bush Rejects New Settlements in West Bank

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CCF3DA:2F72C9D

President says Israel must abide by international peace plan known as
the road map, which prohibits construction of new settlements

Israeli PM Sharon (left) and President BushPresident Bush says Israel
should not build new settlements in the West Bank. Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon met with President Bush at his ranch in Texas.

The President says Israel must abide by an international peace plan
known as the road map, which prohibits the construction of new
settlements. "I've been very clear. Israel has an obligation under the
road map. That is no expansion of settlements," he said.

Prime Minister Sharon is planning to start withdrawing more than 8,000
Israelis from Gaza and parts of the West Bank in July.

While that plan would close all 21 Israeli settlements in Gaza and
four of the 120 settlements in the West Bank, Mr. Sharon has also
approved plans to build more than three-thousand new housing units in
a West Bank settlement east of Jerusalem.

But the United States has objected to the Israeli plan to build the
additional homes in the West Bank settlement of Maaleh Adumim.

Speaking to reporters after their meeting at the Bush ranch in the
nearby town of Prairie Chapel, Prime Minister Sharon said he was not
disappointed by the president's opposition to new Israeli settlements
in the West Bank.

He told Mr. Bush that Israel will meet all its obligations under the
peace plan regarding settlements and will remove unauthorized
outposts.

But as for the largest Israeli settlements already in the West Bank,
Prime Minister Sharon says those will forever remain part of Israel.
"It is the Israeli position that the major Israeli population centers
will remain in Israel's hands under any future final status agreement,
with all related consequences," he said.

President Bush continues to support that position, as he did one year
ago when he endorsed the prime minister's plan for pulling out of
Gaza. He says existing population centers must be taken into account
in talks on the final dividing line between two independent states.
"New realities on the ground make it unrealistic to expect that the
outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete
return to the armistice lines of 1949. It is realistic to expect that
any final status agreement will be achieved only on the basis of
mutually agreed changes that reflect these realities. That's the
American view," he said.

Prime Minister Sharon is counting on that U.S. support to help
convince Israeli critics that his planned withdrawal from Gaza and
northern areas of the West Bank does not mean the end of all Israeli
settlements in the West Bank.

Some settlers have become increasingly vocal in their opposition to
the prime minister's plan. For the first time, Mr. Sharon told NBC
news, he has increased his own personal security because of Israeli
threats. "There is an atmosphere of civil war, but I am fully
convinced that I will make every effort to avoid that, and I am sure
that we will be able to implement the disengagement plan with all its
difficulties quietly and peacefully," he said.

President Bush praised the Israeli leader for what he calls his
"courageous initiative" to pull out of Gaza and part of the West Bank.

Mr. Bush says there is a new opportunity for peace in the Middle East
following the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and the
election of a new leader, Mahmoud Abbas. President Bush, who never met
with Mr. Arafat, has invited Mr. Abbas to the United States for talks.
No date has been set.

http://au.biz.yahoo.com/050412/21/428j.html

Security Intelligence Technologies Inc. Sells Bomb Jamming System for $140,000 and Signs Two Year Distribution Agreement with Jordan

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americ...sp?story=628584

Bush calls for halt to new settlements as Sharon warns of 'civil war' in Israel

Democracy and the Palestine Issue: A Lesson from Tunisia Khaled Hroub
Unless Washington vaults Palestine to the top of its agenda, Arab regimes will continue to try to use normalization with Israel as a way to soften U.S. pressure for reforms, according to the director of the Cambridge Arab Media Project.

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publicati...16773#democracy

Lebanon: Elections Endangered Walid Choucair
The opposition's insistence on investigating the Hariri assassination, in addition to pro-Syrian forces' attempt to improve their electoral chances, increase the likelihood that parliamentary elections scheduled for May will be postponed, according to Al Hayat's Beirut bureau chief.

http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publicati...d=16773#lebanon

Summertime in Gaza
With an election scheduled in the Palestinian Authority and
Israel planning to withdraw from Gaza, this will be a July
to remember in the Middle East.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/13/opinion/....html?th&emc=th

Lebanon PM Resigns:

Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister quit on Wednesday, abandoning efforts to form a government to lead the country to general elections, but said there was still time to hold the poll on time in May.
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=666578

US Calls Karami Resignation a Political Opportunity for Lebanon

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CDBFD5:2F72C9D

Despite news reports casting the Karami resignation as a setback, the
Bush administration says the turn of events presents a new chance for
progress

Omar Karami The United States Wednesday said the resignation of
pro-Syrian Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Omar Karami is an
opportunity for Lebanon to move forward toward a new government and
elections. It says the political impasse in Beirut is no excuse for
delaying elections and a Syrian troop withdrawal.

U.S. officials have been watching the weeks-long political crisis in
Lebanon with increasing anxiety.

And despite news reports casting the Karami resignation as a setback,
the Bush administration says the turn of events presents a new chance
for progress.

Mr. Karami, who first resigned in February amid anti-Syrian
demonstrations, announced in Beirut Wednesday he was stepping aside
again after efforts to name a cabinet reached a dead end.

In a written statement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the
departure of Mr. Karami, a veteran pro-Syrian politician, presents an
opportunity to move forward.

She said the United States urges that the will of the Lebanese people
be respected and that a new government be formed as quickly as
possible and that parliamentary elections be held as planned by the
end of May.

Ms. Rice said that further delays are unnecessary and that Lebanon
must be allowed to determine its own future, free of intimidation and
all foreign influence.

Officials here have suggested that Syria, which retains heavy
influence in Beirut despite its partial troop pullout, might be
manipulating the crisis to try to delay the elections and renege on
its promise to finish its withdrawal before the vote.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher said it
is clearly possible to form a new government and hold the election on
time, and the Syrians should complete the withdrawal of all troops and
intelligence agents immediately:

"We want to see the elections take place by the end of May as they
were planned,” he said.  “We want to see first of all, the first
condition for that to happen, is for the Syrians to get out right
away, to make sure that the Lebanese people can have a free and fair
election. We want to see that happen, we want to see elections on
time, and I think the point is that there's no reason to wait. They
shouldn't use the inability of one person to form a cabinet to be an
excuse to delay or prevaricate."

Mr. Boucher said the United States believes that last year's U.N.
Security Council Resolution 15-59, calling for the withdrawal of all
foreign forces from Lebanon, applies also to Iran, which has
maintained a presence of its Revolutionary Guards in that country for
two decades.

A senior diplomat who spoke to reporters here confirmed a Washington
Post report Wednesday that quoted U.S. and European officials as
saying Iran has withdrawn the vast majority of those elite troops in
recent years.

The diplomat said the newspaper account, that the Iranian troop
presence now numbers only between 15 and 50 personnel, is more or less
correct.

However, he said Iranian influence in Lebanon is not just a function
of numbers, and that Tehran continues to lend material and political
support to terrorist groups that operate there.

Arab Slain by Israeli Troops; Abbas Calls It Truce Violation
By GREG MYRE
Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militant in Nablus, and
the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, called it a "serious
violation" of a two-month-old truce.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/15/internat....html?th&emc=th

Does Israel want Arab democracy?
By Jeff Jacoby

In Crawford, Bush loyally described Sharon's plan as ''courageous,"
but he must know that it is nothing of the sort. It is a blow to
Israeli democracy no less than to Arab democracy, and a blow to the
cause of Middle East freedom for which the United States is
sacrificing so much

http://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby041505.php3

--------------------
Lebanon Has New Premier
--------------------

Trying to break the impasse, the president appoints a moderate who is supported by opposition as well as pro-Syria lawmakers.

From Associated Press

April 16 2005

BEIRUT; Lebanon's president on Friday named moderate pro-Syria lawmaker Najib Mikati prime minister, breaking a political deadlock and reviving chances of a parliamentary election next month.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world

Across Middle East, a New Power Rises

By Scott Wilson and Daniel Williams

The prospect of sectarian violence still shadows Lebanon, and crackdowns against dissent threaten reform movements in Egypt. But across the region, political reformers are benefiting from the unifying forces of technology and mass media.

To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...er=emailarticle

Apartheid Wall and Settlements - On The Ground Realaties:

Israeli peace activist and documentary producer Jeff Halper, addresses the current situation. Using charts and maps he delves into what it is that Sharon has actually been up to, why, and how this determines the solutions to the conflict that are now possible. You are going to be surprised by what he says.

This is a must watch. Real Video
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8565.htm

http://snipurl.com/e2k6

Uri Avnery: The Hundred Days of Abu Mazen :

Bush needs Abu Mazen no less than Abu Mazen needs Bush. The American president must prove to his public that his military adventures have created a new, free and democratic Middle East.
http://www.amin.org/eng/uri_avnery/2005/apr16.html

http://snipurl.com/e2k7

Egyptian MPs Sue Sharon:

Members of the Egyptian Parliament filed on Wednesday a lawsuit against Israel and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon demanding compensation for the killings and torture of thousands of Egyptian prisoners of war during the 1956 and 1967 wars.
http://snipurl.com/e2k8

Tehran says Israel in no position to threaten action against Iran :

Iran on Sunday rejected calls by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for an international coalition against Iran, saying Israel was not in a position to threaten Iran.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/565969.html

http://snipurl.com/e2ka

A wall's a wall :

The US president knew very well that he had to go through the exercise of publicly admonishing Sharon while being fully aware that Israel does only what it wants and would brush aside American pressure — if there indeed such a thing — and go about its way.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article8563.htm

http://snipurl.com/e2k5

Israel Accelerates Plans for Gaza Pullout

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CEE040:2F72C9D

Military sources say they are prepared for a situation in which
thousands of settlers clash with soldiers and police Israel is
accelerating plans for its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, despite
fierce opposition from Jewish settlers.

Armed Jewish settlers dance during a gathering The Israeli Cabinet has
approved construction of 150 temporary homes for Jewish settlers
slated for evacuation from the Gaza Strip this summer. The move
underscores a problem facing many of the 8,000 Jews in Gaza - they
have no place to go. Gaza settler Rachel Sapperstein says Israelis are
becoming refugees in the Jewish homeland.

"The people here are against it, to dump us in any kind of a prison
camp, in a refugee camp," she said.

The Cabinet decision was announced as Israeli security forces held
their first exercise on evacuating the Gaza settlers. Military sources
say they prepared for a situation in which thousands of settlers clash
with soldiers and police. Ms. Sapperstein told Israel Radio that the
settlers will resist until the bitter end.

"We want to stay home," she said. "We have become a symbol for all of
Israel, of resistance against the ethnic cleansing of Jews from this
area."

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas says he wants to coordinate the Gaza
pullout with Israel. But the Israelis are reluctant, saying that Mr.
Abbas has failed to crack down on militant groups, as demanded by the
internationally-backed "Roadmap" peace plan. The challenges facing Mr.
Abbas were evident in the West Bank town of Jenin, where about 40
Palestinian gunmen held an angry protest.

Pressing a demand for government jobs, the militants fired in the air,
threatened to kill Palestinian parliamentarians and shut down a
government building. Mr. Abbas has vowed to restore law and order, but
he seems powerless against the armed gangs that rule the streets.

Bush vs. democracy
By Caroline B. Glick

As irony would have it, democracy is now the biggest threat facing
the so-called peace process between the Palestinian Authority and
Israel.

http://jewishworldreview.com/0405/glick041805.php3

Israel, on Its Own, Is Shaping the Borders of the West Bank
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Israel under Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is unilaterally
moving to define its future borders with a Palestinian
state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/19/internat....html?th&emc=th

Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Picks Cabinet

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CF8363:2F72C9D

Najib Mikati says new government will be a short-term administration,
destined to supervise parliamentary elections

Najib Mikati Lebanon's Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati announced
he has succeeded in forming a new government, after a month and a half
of political wrangling by pro-Syrian and opposition politicians. 

Lebanon's fledgling Prime Minister Najib Mikati made the
eagerly-waited announcement that he had put together a new government
at the presidential palace.

The government, with those named today, he insisted, will be a
short-term administration, destined to supervise parliamentary
elections, quickly, and within the constitutional time frame, "God
willing," as he put it.

Mr. Mikati denied that there had been a tug-of-war between Lebanon's
opposition movement and pro-Syrian politicians, in choosing his
ministers.

Just 14 ministers make up the new government, which has
representatives from Lebanon's major religious communities.  The
previous government of out-going Prime Minister Omar Karami was nearly
double its size, with more than 30 ministers.

The Beirut press says opposition and pro-Syrian leaders had
compromised in order to avoid further political and economic turmoil.

Christian opposition leader Dory Chamoun expressed some displeasure,
noting that the new government was made up completely of loyalist, or
pro-Syrian politicians:

"It is mostly a loyalist composition, in other words, most of the guys
inside are all of the loyalist camp, said Mr. Chamoun.  “None of
them are from the opposition."

Despite some reservations, Mr. Chamoun added that the opposition would
be satisfied if the government fulfilled its obligations to hold
parliamentary elections this May.

"As I said, it does not make much difference how you scratch your ear,
as long as you scratch it," he added.

The new Lebanese government's first task will be to propose an
electoral law to parliament, dividing the country into electoral
districts.

Pro-Syrian politicians want large, provincial-sized electoral
districts, to gain more seats in parliament, while Lebanon's
opposition favors smaller voting districts.

According to rules of Lebanon's constitution, parliamentary voting
must begin by the end of May.  Elections are usually staggered
over several weekends to accommodate different regions of the
country.   

Israel Announces Controversial Settlement Expansion

http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=CF8365:2F72C9D

In another development, Israel might postpone its planned pullout from
the Gaza Strip

George W. Bush with Israeli PM Ariel Sharon, left, at joint news
conference Israel plans to build 50 new homes in the West Bank
settlement of Elkana. The announcement came just a week after
President Bush met Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and told him that
settlement expansion violates the internationally-backed "road map"
peace plan.

But Mr. Sharon has made no secret of his strategy - to pull out of the
impoverished, overpopulated and violent Gaza Strip, while tightening
Israel's grip on West Bank settlement blocs and attaching them to
Israel.

Zalman Shoval"These settlement blocs will remain under Israel's
control in final, permanent status negotiations," said Israeli
spokesman Zalman Shoval.

The Palestinians are furious.

"I call upon President Bush's direct intervention in order to revoke
these Israeli orders, in order to stop these fait accompli policies
and dictations, in order to give the peace process the chance it
deserves," said Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat. "The choice
at the end of the day is between settlements or peace."

In another development, Israel might delay its Gaza pullout by three
weeks, meaning the evacuation of eight-thousand settlers would begin
in mid-August. The reason for the delay is that the original target
date falls during a three-week mourning period for the destruction of
the two biblical Temples. Since most settlers are observant Jews, they
are not allowed to move during that period, according to Jewish Law.

But for the settlers, it was hardly a concession.

"Putting it off for three weeks does not stop the edict, it just means
it is going to take place three weeks later, and God willing, it will
never take place," said Rachel Sapperstein, who lives in the Gaza
settlement of Neve Dekalim. "And this is one of the ugliest things
that they could possibly do to us, because they are going to go ahead
with it anyway."

The settlers say expelling Jews during the mourning period would be
more appropriate, because, they say, it is a national disaster they
compare to the destruction of the Temples.

MIDEAST: Israel Faces Signs of 'Civil War'
By Peter Hirschberg
JERUSALEM - Anti-pullout protesters blocked a major highway near Tel Aviv, disrupted an Israeli army graduation ceremony for new officers, and tried to march on a highly sensitive religious site in Jerusalem this week. The three protest actions were launched in just three days by opponents of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank.
http://ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=28328

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Israel to Add to West Bank Settlement
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Coming a week after Sharon's visit to Bush's Texas ranch, the plan to build 50 new homes in Elkana raises eyebrows in Washington.

By Laura King
Times Staff Writer

April 19 2005

JERUSALEM; Brushing aside an explicit U.S. call to refrain from expanding Jewish settlements, Israel on Monday disclosed plans to build 50 new homes in the northern West Bank.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,4558009.story

Insurgents rattle an edgy Yemen
Many worry the fight between government forces and Islamic militants
may spread through the country. By James Brandon
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0420/p06s02-wome.html?s=hns

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Lebanese Prime Minister Forms New Government
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From Reuters

April 20 2005

BEIRUT; Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati formed a new government Tuesday, boosting the chances that a general election can be held on time, and said he would immediately seek the removal of pro-Syria security chiefs.

The complete article can be viewed at:
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...headlines-world