Israel News 28/08/2008

Following Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declaration on Tuesday that Moscow would recognize two Rebel territories in Georgia as independent states, Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili called Russia’s recognition illegal. Georgia and Russia fought a brief war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia earlier this month after Georgia sent in troops to try to retake the province by force. Russia responded by a massive counterattack by land, sea and air, brutally defeating Georgian forces.08/27/08

Israel on Saturday decided to permit two Free Gaza boats containing 46 foreign activists including the sister in law of former Prime Minister Tony Blair to enter Gaza waters on Saturday after a two day voyage from Cyprus. Despite earlier belief that Israel would bar their entry, calling the activists plans to break the Gaza siege as provocation, consultations at a high government level supported allowing them to enter Gaza’s territorial waters.08/23/08

Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Russia on Thursday for a two-day visit during which he is seeking to purchase advanced weaponry from Moscow including the Pantsyr-S1 Air Defense Missile system, the BUK-M1 surface-to-air medium-range missile system and the sophisticated S-300 long range anti-aircraft missile system already purchased by Iran. The new Russo-Syrian military cooperation comes in face of the recent US-Poland missile deal which positions NATO missile systems on Russia’s western front. 08/21/08

The Counter Terrorism Bureau issued a rare world wide travel advisory on Wednesday warning of possible attempts by Hizbullah to kidnap Israelis abroad, in revenge for the assassination of Imad Mugniyah in Damascus in February this year. Syrian President Bashar Assad embarked on a two day visit to Moscow where he hopes to expand military ties with Russia. A leading item on Assad's shopping list is thought to be the sophisticated S-300 long range anti-aircraft missile system. 08/21/08

With Musharraf stepping down under a cloud in Pakistan and Putin being seen as the hand behind Moscow’s military move in Georgia, some analysts now question Bush’s brand of personal diplomacy. In the case of Georgia the White House has been working in multilateral channels. But NATO ministers, meeting in Brussels, said NATO is freezing contacts with Moscow until all Russian forces are out of the Black sea state. While the U.S. led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have shown some of the consequences of military action, the coming days may offer a reminder about the price of diplomacy. 08/20/08

When observing the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, one almost had the impression that the world had united into one huge celebration of athletics and humanity - perhaps signaling the dawning of a new era for the many nations of the world. Yet, in the end, it seems that beyond the precious few gold medals awarded to the greatest athletes of the world, the world will remember August 2008 not as a time of world unity, but as a time of global geopolitical turmoil and world conflict. 08/20/08

The Bahai Gardens – one of Israel’s most beautiful and defining landmarks located in the northern city of Haifa was recently included in the prestigious list of World Heritage Sites by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The declaration, which took place in Quebec, Canada and included 26 other sites around the world, was welcomed in Israel where many hope it would help promote tourism and raise awareness about the Bahai religion throughout the world. 08/19/08

A day after Iran claimed it had successfuly test launched a rocket capable of carrying a sattelite into outer space, the head of the Iranian space agency announced that Iran is ready to help all friendly Moslem nations to launch sattelites into outer space and intends to build additional satellites and launch them into orbit by 2010. 08/18/08

Iran is prepared to help friendly Moslem nations launch satellites into outer space, Iranian Space Agency head Reza Taghipour said Monday.The Iranian news agency announced on Sunday that the Islamic Republic conducted a successful test launch of a home made rocket carrying a dummy satellite into space, paving the way for launching an Iranian satellite into orbit in the future. A statement released by the IRNA news agency on Sunday declared that the launching was conducted in the presence of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday.08/18/08

Iran says it has increased the range of its warplanes, allowing them to fly as far as Israel and back without refueling. Iranian state TV quoted on Sunday its Air Force chief General Ahmad Mighani as saying Iranian warplanes can now fly 3,000 kilometers without refueling.08/17/08

In response to the recent agreement signed by Poland allowing the deployment of US missile defense shield systems on its soil, Russia is considering arming its Baltic fleet with nuclear warheads, for the first time since the cold war.08/17/08

A day after his Georgian counterpart, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a cease fire agreement on Saturday, but on the ground a very different scene was unfolding, with Russian troops blowing up a railway bridge outside of Tbilisi, and there were reports that Russian forces had taken over additional towns in Georgia. Reports claimed Russian troops were looting towns and villages. 08/16/08

Israel continues to maintain that UNIFIL countries choose to ignore the evidence of Hizbullah smuggling because it does not want to confront them. At a recent meeting Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak both told UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that action must be taken against Hizbullah’s violations of the resolution, adding that Israel cannot accept the flood of weapons being smuggled to Hizbullah. 08/15/08

Russian forces have "changed their mind" about leaving the flashpoint Georgian town of Gori and are not withdrawing, a Georgian interior ministry spokesman said Thursday a day aftert Georgian President Saakashvilli said troops were advancing towards Tbilsi. -- claims Moscow said were not true.In Washington, President Bush ordered Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Tbilisi to show what he called "unwavering" U.S. support for the former Soviet republic.08/14/08

Four Israeli journalists, including reporters from Haaretz, Channel Two and Y-net, were robbed at gunpoint by Russian soldiers in the Georgian city of Gori on Thursday. 08/14/08