Geopolitics Weekly

"But who pays the penance? The penance is being paid by the Arabs, by the Palestinians. I once met a German ambassador who said Germany is guilty of two wrongs. One was what they did to the Jews. And now the suffering of the Palestinians."

Lebanese prime minister-designate Saad Hariri said on Wednesday Hezbollah will be part of the next cabinet "whether Israel likes it or not," as his bid to form a government entered its eight week."The national unity government will include the (ruling) March 14 alliance, and I also want to assure the Israeli enemy that Hezbollah will be in this government whether it likes it or not because Lebanon's interests require all parties be involved in this cabinet," Hariri said at an Iftar feast to break the Ramadan fast on Tuesday night.

Earlier this month, Israel warned that the Lebanese government as a whole would be blamed for any attack from its territory if the Shiite militant group were part of the new government."If Hezbollah joins the government it will be clear that the Lebanese government will be held responsible for any attack coming from its territory against Israel," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Moving to avoid a rift with Moscow, Barack Obama has "all but abandoned" plans to locate parts of a controversial US missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, a leading Polish newspaper claimed yesterday. The Warsaw daily Gazeta Wyborcza said that the Pentagon has been asked to explore switching planned interceptor rocket sites from the two east European states to Israel, Turkey, the Balkans or to mobile launchers on warships

Controversy erupted earlier this year when rumours surfaced of a secret letter written by Mr Obama to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev allegedly hinting that the White House would back away if Russia offered help on reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions.

The son of Colonel Gaddafi today claimed Libya's original prisoner transfer deal with the UK had targeted the Lockerbie bomber and was directly linked to talks on trade and oil. But, in an interview with The Herald newspaper, Saif al-Islam al-Gaddafi denied it had anything to do with the eventual release last week of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi. Speaking at his home near Tripoli Saif Gaddafi said the "deal in the desert" more than two years ago - which saw an agreement signed between Tony Blair and Libya allowing prisoner transfers - specifically targeted Megrahi.

Yesterday pressure increased on Mr Brown to disclose details of trade deals negotiated with Libya after it emerged that three ministers visited the country in the 15 months leading up to the release of Megrahi. Lord Jones, then trade minister, travelled to Libya in May last year to speak to business representatives, the Cabinet Office confirmed. Former health minister Dawn Primarolo conducted talks with the Libyan prime minister last November, and Bill Rammell, then Foreign Office minister, held discussions with his Libyan counterparts in February. Home Secretary Alan Johnson also met Libyan health ministers at the World Health Assembly in Geneva last year when he was health secretary.

Saif Gaddafi told The Herald he denied there had been a quid pro quo and said his comments had been misunderstood partly because people do not understand the difference between the PTA and compassionate release. He said: "This (the PTA) was one animal and the other was the compassionate release. They are two completely different animals. The Scottish authorities rejected the PTA." Saif Gaddafi said the prisoner transfer agreement in Megrahi's case was "meaningless". "He was released for completely different reasons," he added.

Its leader, Yukio Hatoyama, has quietly modified early promises to end Japan's "subservience" to US foreign policy, but he remains committed to enhancing his country's Asian identity through closer ties with China and South Korea.And while he has yet to augment his antipathy to US-led "market fundamentalism" with a clear alternative, the ambiguity that is the luxury of opposition parties looks certain to keep him safe until after the election.

Late last month, the Ukrainian police briefly detained Russian military personnel who were driving truckloads of missiles through this port city, as if they were smugglers who had come ashore with a haul of contraband. Local officials, it seemed, were seeking to make clear that this was no longer friendly terrain.

President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia denounced Ukraine this month for “anti-Russian” policies, citing in particular its “incessant attempts” to harass Russia’s naval base in Sevastopol. Mr. Medvedev condemned Ukraine’s bid for NATO membership and its support for Georgia, and said he would not send an ambassador to Ukraine.

The Ukrainians have not only briefly detained Russian military personnel transporting missiles on several occasions this summer. They also expelled a Russian diplomat who oversees naval issues and barred officers from the F.S.B., the Russian successor to the K.G.B., from working in Sevastopol.

A top Saudi official and member of the royal family survived an assassination attempt at his palace in Jeddah, according to the Royal Court. Prince Muhammad bin Nayef

Yesha Council Chairman Dani Dayan wrote a letter to the IDF's Central Command in which he claims that the evacuation of West Bank outposts constitutes "collective punishment" of settlers for their violent acts against Palestinians.  

Recently the tendency of settlers to commit violent acts against Palestinians for every outpost evacuated has been labeled a "price tag" policy. Dayan claims the state's policy is no better.  "This is the destruction of structures in the guise of law enforcement – instead of investigating, making arrests, and trying those involved in the violence," he told Ynet. "This policy is ethically no better than the 'price tag' policy."

"The destruction of outposts is no different from attacks on Palestinians and the destruction of their property by settlers," Dayan wrote in his letter to Central Command chief Gadi Shamni.  

A group of 71 senators that includes senior leaders from both parties sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Monday to press Arab states to recommit to peace with Israel.The effort, led by Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Jim Risch (R-Idaho), is being promoted and circulated by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and comes two months after Obama’s June 4 speech in Cairo.

Including signatures by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), the letter essentially states that Israel’s efforts toward peace are not being met with equal efforts by Arab states. A similar, bipartisan letter was sent by 226 House members last week to Saudi Arabia, calling on that country’s leaders to deepen their commitment to peace with Israel.

The Bayh-Risch letter also defends Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying the leader has endorsed the idea of a so-called “two-state solution” and wants to resume peace talks, and that Israeli officials have been working to improve life in Palestinian territories.“These actions have demonstrated that Israel is willing to back up its words with concrete actions, even in the face of continuing threats to its security,” the letter reads. “We encourage Arab leaders to take similar tangible steps to demonstrate their commitment to the peace process.”