OLMERT BUSH NO NUKES IRAN

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Thousands Lose Power In Northwest Storms. 3-South-west Qld cleans up after dust storms. 4-Lull before the storms . 5-Wildfire burns 290 acres, briefly threatens homes. 6-City electors more or less stand pat; Pink elected in race that sees only one incumbent fall. 7-Hamas okays peace talks, but won't accept Israel. 8-Vatican encourages NKorea denuclearization. 9-A religious Iranian bomb. 10-Israel will not tolerate a nuclear Iran: Olmert. 11-Academic set for Palestinian unity leadership. 12-Shabak Chief Warns - Again - of Gaza-Initiated War. 13-Olmert and Bush Agree: No Nukes for Iran.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)

Update time = Tue Nov 14 11:30:50 AM EDT

NOV 14,2006
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 6.0 BANDA SEA
MAP 3.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 MORO GULF, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 2.9 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.8 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.4 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.1 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 MINDORO, PHILIPPINES

NOV 13,2006
MAP 3.4 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 6.0 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 4.7 FIJI REGION
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 SOUTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.0 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.9 UTAH
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.7 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 6.8 SANTIAGO DEL ESTERO, ARGENTINA

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Thousands Lose Power In Northwest Storms
November 13, 2006

PORTLAND -- Strong winds knocked out power to thousands of homes and businesses in the Portland, Oregon, area.

Weather stations along the Oregon Coast reported sustained winds of 60 mph Sunday, with even stronger gusts in many places.There was one report of a gust to 102 mph.The Tillamook County sheriff's office said there are many reports of downed trees and power lines.

Meantime, the mountains across much of the Pacific Northwest have gotten a lot of snow.As of midday Sunday, up to a foot had fallen in some parts of the Cascades, with another eight to 14 inches expected overnight, followed by six to 12 more inches Monday.The Associated Press.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006. 10:50am (AEDT)
South-west Qld cleans up after dust storms

Much of south-west Queensland is cleaning-up this morning after dust storms blanketed the region yesterday.Police say dust was reported from Charleville, west to Windorah, Bedourie and Birdsville, significantly reducing visibility. Weather bureau spokesman Brendan Bradford says there will be more dust storms today, but not with yesterday's intensity.At this stage the forecast is for fresh and gusty south-westerlies this morning, they could raise a bit of dust again during today and also on Wednesday through the channel country, he said. Not too much activity dust-wise through the Maranoa and Warrego district today, but as south-westerly winds develop again tomorrow we could see some more areas of raised dust.

Lull before the storms John Desjardins, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Tue Nov 14, 6:49 AM ET

West

Snow and wind will plaster the Rocky Mountains today as a powerful storm system works its way across the country. Winter storm warnings are in effect for the central Rockies as one to two feet of snow are possible across the mountains of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado. In addition to the snow, look out for some very strong winds. Gusts of 50, 60, even 70 mph are possible today, with the strongest winds along the ridge tops.

The Pacific Northwest will finally get a break from wet weather today. Although skies will be mostly cloudy, no rain is expected for Washington and Oregon. Unfortunately, another storm system will impact the region on Wednesday. After a showery day on Monday, northern and central California will see more sun today. Sunny conditions will persist for Southern California and the Southwest as well. Highs for most of the region will be slightly cooler than average. Look for 30s and 40s from the Rockies through the Great Basin. Sixties will be widespread across the valleys of California, with 70s and even 80s for the Southwest.

South

Mostly sunny skies will prevail for the Southeast for at least one more day. Mild temperatures in the 60s and 70s will be commonplace from the Carolinas through Florida. Sunny conditions will also be widespread across the southern Plains. Expect 70s and 80s across most of Texas, with 60s in Oklahoma. In between these two regions, some inclement weather is expected. The day will start out on a good note, but showers and thunderstorms will begin to develop later today in parts of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Some of the storms could be strong to severe overnight. A strong storm system will deliver widespread heavy rain and possibly severe weather too the Southeast on Wednesday. Damaging winds could be widespread from Mississippi to southern Georgia, with the threat of tornadoes along toe Gulf Coast. Some areas could see three to five inches of rain.

Northeast

Another gloomy day can be expected across the Northeast, particularly New England. As a slow moving storms treks northward, rain will be abundant across eastern New England.

Some area could pick up an inch of rain. Clouds will be widespread across Upstate New York, Pennsylvania and the Virginias. Precipitation will be more in the form of widely scattered showers. High temperatures will continue to be mild, with 50s across New England any many interior locations. Highs in the 60s and 70s will
stretch from the New York metro area through Virginia. Although Wednesday looks to be a quieter weather day, another strong storm will impact the region on Thursday.

Midwest

Clouds will pass through the Midwest on Tuesday, but most of the area will be rain-free. A few peaks of sun are possible this afternoon across the western Great Lakes and Ohio Valley.

Showers will develop by this afternoon across the central Plains. Additionally, gusty winds will emerge into Kansas and Oklahoma later today. Highs will be in the 30s and 40s from the Dakotas through much of Ohio, with 50s for the southern Ohio Valley and Missouri Valley. A potent rain and wind storm is in store for the Midwest on Wednesday.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Wildfire burns 290 acres, briefly threatens homes
By: The Californian (Nov 13,06)

Firefighters were struggling on Monday to tame a wind-driven wildfire that has charred dense brush and trees in the hills east of Los Angeles and briefly threatened hundreds of homes.Officials expected containment of the blaze, which had burned 290 acres, or almost half a square mile, by Monday evening. The cause was still under investigation.It's a very long, skinny fire, said Fire Capt. Julie Hutchinson of the California Department of Forestry. Right now the wind is our biggest obstacle. We don't need any huge gusts in either direction.Flames were dangerously close to hundreds of homes Sunday night, prompting a voluntary evacuation. The warnings were lifted by early Monday.

Hutchinson said firefighters using bulldozers were working to dig a line around the fire. Winds were blowing about 7 mph to 10 mph and temperatures that cooled into the 40s overnight helped firefighters get a handle on the blaze.The weather is cooperating with us, fire spokeswoman Cheri Peterson said.The fire in Lake Elsinore, about 75 miles east of Los Angeles, was the latest in a series of major Southern California wildfires in recent months. The fire was 40 miles from the site of last month's arson-sparked blaze that killed five firefighters and destroyed 34 homes.

City electors more or less stand pat; Pink elected in race that sees only one incumbent fall JIM ALGIE ,Local News - Tuesday, November 14, 2006 Updated @ 8:45:59 AM

Owen Sound electors stayed mainly with the council they know in a relatively light turnout in municipal voting Monday. Both Mayor Ruth Lovell and city/county councillor Arlene Wright were acclaimed to office. That left voters to sort out seven remaining council positions with a field of candidates that included seven members of the current council and three newcomers. All but one incumbent councillor was returned. With all 69 polls in, Jim McManaman led with 4,633 votes, ahead of Deb Haswell, with 4,234 votes.

Incumbent councillor Gary Levine stood eighth behind newcomer Tom Pink in the race for the final council position. Pink had 3,005 votes to Levine's total was 2,767. David Adair was third in the popular vote with 3,539. Peter Lemon was fourth with 3,434 votes. Bill Twaddle and John Christie placed fifth and sixth with 3,194 and 3,190 votes, respectively.Brent Jeffries and Kevin Dandeno stood ninth and tenth, respectively. Jeffries received 2,333 votes; Dandeno, 2,000.

The prospect of significant new development and associated services are the major challenges facing council in the four-year term ahead, Lovell said in an election wrap-up interview. There is no question that Owen Sound and this area is being discovered, Lovell said, citing a growing list of confirmed and expected residential and commercial projects for the city. Before it was quite a well-kept secret.We were so off the beaten track that people didn't tend to come here. The pressure of development in southern Ontario combined with the rising regional economy of Grey and Bruce counties have begun to make themselves felt in the pace of local growth. The city faces decisions about how to provide services for that growth. In 2005, the city cooperated with Meaford in a $2.5 million project to expand Owen Sound water treatment facilities to serve Meaford residents in the Leith area.

In late September, city council approved a $730,000 expansion of municipal water and sewer service to the city's eastern boundary for a new home building centre now under construction. The city has also commissioned a detailed engineering study of servicing needs for vacant land near the Grey Bruce Health Services hospital. Key projects include costly improvements to waste water treatment and new municipal water and drainage services for growth in eastern Owen Sound. A consultant's report for the city's draft recreational master plan recently recommended construction of a $18-million recreation centre at Victoria Park complete with seniors meeting rooms, swimming facilities and a third ice arena. Waste water treatment alone could cost at least $30 million, Lovell said. It's a huge investment but it's the sort of investment that a city has to make, she said. Successive councils have been building for the change with gradual capital improvements to underground piping in recent years and annual allocations of reserve funds which should help with associated financing.

The project is designed to reduce pollution by boosting city sewage treatment from primary to secondary levels. It will require a number of upgrades and important council decisions not only about finances but about the location and aesthetics of waste water treatment facilities, currently on the east shore of the city's harbour north of the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. We have to decide whether you leave it where it is or whether you move it to another location, for example, the industrial park, whether that's financially feasible. If it's waterfront, how do you got about making it as inoffensive as possible? City planning officials have firm applications for five residential developments including at least 346 units of housing. They include a new three-storey, 122-unit development by Spectrum Seniors Housing Development LP which has begun construction on the city's east side. In early October, city officials completed the sale of a 6.4 hectare stretch of former industrial land on the city's east harbour to Mississauga-based developer, The Devco Group. It clears the way for residential development expected to begin in 2007 with a 100-unit water-view condominium. In late October, Grey-Bruce Health Unit officials kicked off construction of a $15 million office building on the east harbour.

I think it's going to be very challenging, Wright said Monday of the term ahead. Increased traffic alone brings implications for annual maintenance costs in the city, she said.Our roads were not built to carry the traffic that they're carrying, Wright said. We have to make sure we don't let our roads go just for the sake of new stuff. As one of two city representatives with Lovell on Grey County council, Wright hopes to develop a regional approach to solid waste management. A city owned landfill site closed in 2005 and has forced Owen Sound and Meaford, which also used the site, now ship garbage for disposal in Michigan. However, a recent deal between Ontario and Michigan officials limits the life of those arrangements to four years. The city has begun examining its options but Wright maintains the best solution lies in cooperation with other area municipalities. It's not the only area for cooperative ventures, she said.This is a community that does not stop at the limits of the city, Wright said. In order to expand, we're going to have to work very hard to get along with our neighbours .I don't think they're going to willingly give us land. I think we're going to have to do a lot of tough negotiations, she said.

2006-2010 OWEN SOUND ELECTION RESULTS. (OFFICIAL RESULTS)

TOP 7 ARE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR 4 YEARS.

MAYOR - RUTH LOVELL ( ACCLAIMED )

Arlene Wright (acclaimed) but (LUKEWARM)

1-Jim Mcmanaman 4,633
2-Deborah Haswell 4,234 (LUKEWARM)
3-David Adair 3,593 (LUKEWARM)
4-Peter Lemon 3,434
5-Bill Twaddle 3,194
6-John Christie 3,190
7-Tom Pink 3,005

THE REMAINING MEMBERS INVOLVED

8-Gary Levine 2,767
9-Brent Jeffries 2,337
10-Kevin Dandeno 2,000

Hamas okays peace talks, but won't accept Israel
Source: The Jerusalem Post,November 13, 2006

Hamas Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar told the Arab League on Sunday that his government will endorse an international peace conference based on a 2002 plan calling for Israel's surrender of all Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem.

Israel's acceptance of those terms is supposed to be met by regional acceptance of the Jewish state and a normalization of ties with it.However, earlier in the day, Zahar revealed that even if Israel bowed to current Arab demands, Hamas would never recognize its right to exist. The best Israel could hope for from Hamas would be a long-term truce, Zahar told the London-based Arabic newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat.Zahar said Hamas' goal remains the complete removal of the Jewish state.

Despite the sinister revelation, many Western governments were expected to quickly jump on the opportunity to strong-arm Israel into talks that would provide Hamas and its allies with a commanding base from which to relaunch their campaign of violence once the proposed truce expired.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

JOEL 2:20,30-31
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Vatican encourages NKorea denuclearization Mon Nov 13, 7:14 AM ET

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is encouraging negotiations to obtain the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, Pope Benedict XVI said Monday. In a speech to the new Japanese ambassador to the Vatican, Benedict referred to the crisis over North Korea's nuclear program.He said that the Holy See encourages bilateral or multilateral negotiations, convinced that the solution must be sought through peaceful means and in respect for agreements taken by all sides to obtain the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.More than ever, the search for peace among nations must be a priority in international relations, Benedict said in his speech, delivered in French. The crises which the world knows cannot find definitive solutions through violence on the contrary, they are resolved through peaceful means in respect for agreements.

The pope said he strongly urges the international community to pursue and intensify its humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable populations, notably in North Korea.The secretive, Communist nation has suffered in recent years from food shortages.Tensions have been running high in the region since North Korea announced it had conducted a nuclear test on Oct. 9.South Korea balked Monday at participating in a U.S.-led plan that foresees intercepting North Korean ships suspected of carrying arms cargo as part of sanctions on Pyongyang for conducting the test.Late last month, North Korea agreed to end an 11-month boycott of international talks with the United States and four neighbors China, Russia, South Korea and Japan.

Nov. 13, 2006 21:54
A religious Iranian bomb,By DANIEL DORON

The leaders of Iran, the ayatollahs, keep threatening that Israel, the Little Satan, and its master, the Great Satan, America , will be vanquished before long (three to five years?) by a triumphalist, nuclear-armed Islam determined to establish Allah's rule even at the cost of martyrdom. Yet the world does not seem too exercised. In fact Russia and China lend Iran a helping hand.

How serious is this threat, and, if it is serious, how to face it? At least part of the answer to these questions may involve factors, religious, nationalist and economic, that are not commonly discussed. Living in a secular culture, most of us underestimate the determination of true believers. We forget that only recently a relatively civilized Europe was engaged for centuries in the most bloody religious - and then ideological - wars. So we do not fully appreciate how martyrdom-seeking fanatics may take extraordinary risks and ignore the restraints that a balance of terror imposed on atomic confrontations in the past.

ESTABLISHING Muhammad's law by the sword, a basic duty for many Islamists (the Islamic empire stretching from ocean to ocean was not won, remember, by turning the other cheek), demands that Shi'ite Iran not only vanquish the Dar El-Harb (House of War) of Christendom, but also the intolerable Sunni heresy. The ayatollahs are therefore cleverly leveraging their war against Christianity and Judaism to also undermine, and eventually vanquish, Sunni regimes.

For Jihadist Shi'ites, Sunni control of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, by their most extreme sect, the Wahhabists, must be as outrageous as was the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem to the Crusaders. They must fervently feel that Saudi occupation has to be destroyed and replaced by Shi'ite rule.

But there are other, national and economic, reasons why the ayatollahs seek the destruction of Saudi Arabia, an ally of The Great Satan. A proud and racist (Aryan) nation, the Iranians have probably not forgotten nor forgiven Saudi support - and perhaps instigation - of Saddam Hussein's bloody war against them. It took decades, but the Iranians avenged America for deposing Muhammad Mossadeq's nationalist government. They killed hundreds of marines, kidnapped, tortured and brutally executed CIA operatives; they took American diplomats hostage and humiliated them. They will do the same, and worse, to the Saudis when they get a chance. AS FOR economics: After having destroyed its prosperous agricultural sector by slapping on price controls that benefited its lower-middle-class supporters (the Bazareens), the ayatollahs have had to spend an annual fortune on the huge welfare system that supports millions of farmers who migrated to city shanty-towns. Welfare, allocated by family size, encouraged a population explosion that more than doubled Iran's population and created a huge burden on the national treasury.

The Iranians, who always pushed for higher oil prices even under the Shah, are now dependent for their survival on high income from oil. Saudi Arabia wants to curb oil prices to avoid development of alternative fuels and sources. Control of oil prices is behind Iran's systematic military preparations to control the gulf's shipping lanes. It was behind the bloody Iraq-Iran war, and it is still a major Iranian objective. It made Iran occupy the islands in the gulf's exit and establish a base in the horn of Africa to stop US reinforcements coming through Suez.

The possession of an atomic bomb will, at a minimum, neutralize Western resistance to Iran's gradual control of the flow and price of oil. Iran could counter any Western intention to intervene militarily against such control by a credible threat to blockade oil shipping or incinerate the gulf's oil fields and vulnerable loading facilities, thus plunging the West into a deadly economic crisis.

The West is not likely to confront a fanatic, nuclear-armed Iran over the price of oil. It will most likely compromise, namely, cave in. Iran will then be able to initiate a huge transfer of wealth that will gradually impoverish and strangulate Western economies and facilitate their peaceful domination by Islam (see what Arab oil money has already achieved in Europe). If an opportunity arises then to demonstrate their determination and supremacy, the ayatollahs will no doubt try to annihilate Israel.

MEANWHILE, the Iranians cleverly exploit Arab, especially Saudi, hatred against the West and Israel, not only to distract attention from their ultimate goals but to actually assist them, as in Iraq, to gather jihad under the Shi'ite flag. Their sponsorship of worldwide terrorism, their undermining of any possible settlement of the Palestinian issue helps them rile up and distract Arab Sunni masses.

They hope that, eventually, when the tsunami of Muslim anger finally breaks its bounds, as they predict, it will also sweep away corrupt Sunni Arab regimes and replace them and their by-then discredited dispensation, by a purer and triumphant Shi'ism. This is an argument I made as long ago as the early 1990s (in The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times and The Jerusalem Post).

A strict oil blockade then, resulting in a severe cut in income, could have undermined the stability of the ayatollahs' regime, dependent on huge welfare payments. It would also have denied them the means for their costly atomic program. Today it may be too late. However, it may still be worthwhile to test how the ayatollahs' welfare- and military-dependent regime copes with a severe drop in oil income.Otherwise, military action seems the only alternative.

Israel will not tolerate a nuclear Iran: Olmert Mon Nov 13, 8:56 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Israel will not accept a nuclear Iran, visiting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told US television, but while not ruling out military action, said he hoped diplomacy would dissuade Tehran from pursuing its nuclear program. We will not tolerate the possession of nuclear weapons by Iran, Olmert told NBC television's Today Show program, ahead of talks with President George W. Bush on Iran's nuclear ambitions and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Asked whether his country was considering a preemptive strike targeting Tehran's nuclear facilities, Olmert answered: I hope we don't have to reach that stage.But the Israel leader said his first choice is a negotiated resolution.

Every compromise that will stop Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities, which will be acceptable to President Bush, would be acceptable to me.

Olmert added that he was not seeking Washington's protection from Tehran.I am not coming to the United States to ask America to save Israel, he said, saying his country had drawn the lessons of the Holocaust and World War II.In the 20th century someone said, I will liquidate a nation of people.' And somehow the whole world heard it, may have understood it, but didn't do much to prevent it.Now we have the president of Iran speaking on every international platform that the purpose of his efforts is to ultimately wipe Israel off the map, Olmert said.I am not looking for wars or confrontations. I am looking for the outcome, he said, adding that in his view the only result that matters is whether it will succeed to stop Iran from possessing nuclear weapons.

Monday's summit, which comes six months after Olmert's first meeting with Bush at the White House, has been described by officials in Jerusalem as a down-to-business meeting on Iran.With Tehran continuing to reject international calls to halt its nuclear enrichment efforts, Israel in recent months has moved the Iranian threat to the top of its agenda.Backed by the United States, Israel has said sanctions are necessary following Tehran's failure to suspend uranium enrichment, and has hinted at possible military action against the Islamic republic.This is not an issue of Israel only. It is a moral issue of the whole world and the whole world has to stop it, Olmert said.

Academic set for Palestinian unity leadership
By Donald Macintyre in Jerusalem
Published: 14 November 2006

A US-educated microbiologist who used to be president of Gaza's Islamic University is emerging as a possible candidate to head the national unity government that Palestinian leaders are predicting will replace the current Hamas-dominated cabinet. Mohammed Shabir, 60, is being promoted as a compromise technocrat who could replace the Hamas leader Ishmail Haniyeh as Palestinian Prime Minister. Mr Haniyeh announced on Friday that he was prepared to stand down if he was an obstacle to the lifting of the economic blockade of the Palestinian Authority.But Mr Shabir's appointment will probably only happen after further talks between Hamas and the Fatah opposition on the wider composition of a government, as well as the programme it would adopt. Mr Haniyeh and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, suggested last week that the process could take between two to three weeks.

Israel, which has been withholding $60m (£330m) a month in duties owed to the Palestinians since March, and the international community have insisted that they will only deal with the PA if it recognises Israel, renounces violence and abides by all agreements made by the Fatah-led predecessor authority.

Mr Abbas had indicated on Saturday that the two sides had made great progress on the formation of the unity government which Mr Abbas wants to agree a programme consistent with the prisoners document providing for implicit rather than explicit recognition of Israel.Other candidates for senior ministerial office being seen as potentially acceptable to the international community include Ziad Abu Amr, another Gaza academic and secular politician who is not a Hamas member but who was given backing by the faction in last January's elections.

A possible finance minister could be Salam Fayad, who is favoured by Mr Abbas, has good contacts in the Washington political and banking community, and made serious, if lonely, efforts to regulate inefficiency and corruption in the Fatah-led PA when he held the post before.But the prospects of even forming such a government are closely linked with the question of whether the international community, in particular the US, would re-engage diplomatically and economically with coalition at the head of the PA. While Israel and Fatah have blamed Hamas's hardline exiled leadership for aborting the previous attempt to form a unity government in September, some Palestinian sources also say that an obstacle was the US insistence that nothing short of literal acceptance of the three international conditions would be acceptable.

While the US is watching developments, it is unclear whether it would be ready to soften its stance. Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, said: The issue is not who is sitting in the government but what the government says.Suggesting the new government would be Hamas-lite, a senior Israeli military official said last night that Hamas was building up its military infrastructure and would remain the leading player in Palestinian politics. It will have control of the parliament, control on the ground and [control of the capacity] to make terrorist attacks. It will have influence over every process in the Palestinian arena, the official said.The Arab League said its members had abandoned the US-led boycott of the PA in response to the US veto of a UN resolution condemning Israel's killing of 19 civilians in Beit Hanoun last Wednesday. We decided not to co-operate. There will no longer be an international siege, Bahrain's Foreign Minister, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, said.Although not active in politics, Mohammed Shabir is seen as closer to Hamas than to the other Palestinian factions.

Shabir in brief

* POLITICAL LEANINGS
Although not active in politics, Mohammed Shabir is seen as closer to Hamas than to the other Palestinian factions.

* ACADEMIC RECORD
Graduated in pharmacy at the University of Alexandria in 1968 and took a PhD at the University of West Virginia. He is seen as having successfully built up the Islamic University.

* WORLD VIEW
Told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz yesterday that he has no problem with any party. He said he would not answer questions about his views on Israel before being named to the post, but added he would act realistically.

Shabak Chief Warns - Again - of Gaza-Initiated War
By Hillel Fendel (INN)

Yuval Diskin, head of the GSS, tells Knesset Members yet again that Israel faces a massive military offensive initiated by increasingly- armed Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.Appearing this morning (Tuesday) before the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Diskin said that the terrorists in Gaza are preparing and arming themselves for the coming clash. The extremist factions in particular are strengthening themselves, he said.Diskin told the MKs that the terrorists in Gaza are carefully studying the lessons of the recent war in Lebanon, and are receiving mass quantities of weapons smuggled in from Egypt. He added that terror experts
are also making their way into Gaza in various clandestine ways, as part of the preparations for the frontal clash with the IDF.

The General Security Service chief said that Israel will be left with no choice but to preempt the attack with a large, comprehensive offensive in Gaza. He added, however, that now is not the time for an offensive. Instead, he proposed that Israel enable Fatah to be strengthened at the expense of Hamas.Diskin has long painted a grim picture of the situation in Gaza. He told the same committee this past August, Samaria has become the land of Islamic Jihad following the Disengagement, noting that Judea and Samaria have become much harder to control since four Jewish communities in northern Samaria were destroyed by the Israeli government in 2005. He said that Hizbullah is becoming a greater threat than even Fatah and Hamas within these areas.

A week earlier, the Shabak chief told the government ministers that the intensification of terror infrastructure in Gaza is a strategic problem which, if not treated properly, will result in a situation just like in Lebanon. He said that tons of explosives and hundreds of weapons have been smuggled in recently through the Philadelphi Corridor [on the Gaza-Egyptian border].

In response to Dichter's comments, Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has been asked to initiate a public investigative committee to review the decision-making process that led to the Disengagement from Gaza. An organization named The World Task Force for the Nation and the Land demands an investigation into how such a decision could have been made in the face of strong security warnings and the firing of Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Yaalon, who opposed the plan.

Olmert and Bush Agree: No Nukes for Iran
By Hana Levi Julian (INN)

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert joined with U.S. President George W. Bush Monday night in calling for the international community to isolate Iran until it ends its nuclear development activities. Olmert and Bush met with reporters following their hour-long meeting in Washington Monday night. Both expressed concern about Iran’s nuclear development program.Bush agreed with Israel’s position that Iran is intent on developing a nuclear bomb, regardless of its insistence that it will use the technology for peaceful domestic use. They were also adamant that the Islamic Republic not be allowed to cross the technological threshold that would allow Iranian scientists to build a nuclear weapon.

If Iran has a nuclear weapon, it will be incredibly destabilizing and obviously threatening a strong ally, said Bush, referring to Israel’s fears of an existential threat from the Islamic Republic.

Bush urged the international community to take action. Sanctions threatened by the United Nations Security Council if Iran did not meet its ultimatum to end uranium enrichment by the end of August never materialized after Iran ignored the deadline.If they continue to move forward with the program, said Bush, there has to be a consequence. And a good place to start is working together to isolate the country. And my hope is, is that there are rational people inside the government that recognize isolation is not their country’s interest.

Olmert said earlier during a televised interview that any compromise which will be acceptable to President Bush will be acceptable to me in a bid to stop Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.The talks came in the wake of an election in which the Republican Party took a beating at the polls, losing control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.Despite concerns in the international Jewish community that a Democratic government would be less supportive of Israel, the Prime Minister said he was confident the U.S. would continue to back Israel.In a conversation during the flight to Washington Sunday, Olmert told reporters, Support for Israel traditionally has been bipartisan. I don't see anything changing in the next two years that can alter the balance of feeling towards us.