Saturday, August 11, 2007

The Middle East in Focus

This week, for all the headlines cited below, please join us in proclaiming THIS DECREE:

"All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal." (Psalm 119:160)

1. Hamas forces paid with tax money transferred by Israel - Ha'aretz
..New Hamas security recruits taking part in a training exercise at a compound in Gaza City on Tuesday. (AP)

Despite Israel's objection, the Palestinian Authority's Finance Ministry has recently paid several Hamas operatives' salaries with money Israel transferred to the PA, Palestinian media sources revealed yesterday.

2. Palestinians seek U.S. funds for training base in Bethlehem - World Tribune

Palestinian sources said the PA has submitted a request for the United States to finance and construct a training base for Palestinian security forces in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, located south of Jerusalem. The sources said the PA request envisioned the base as being large enough to accommodate training by police, the National Security Forces and Presidential Guard.

3. Gaza faces economic disaster if blockade continues - Ynet News

The Gaza Strip will soon become entirely dependent on foreign aid and face "disastrous consequences" if the Hamas-run territory remains sealed off, the UN cautioned on Thursday, while a Palestinian business group warned that at least 120,000 more Gazans could lose their jobs.

4. IDF says ready to battle Hamas at sea - Ynet News

"The new situation in the Gaza Strip obligates us to act differently at sea. There are threats that did not exist in the past. We recognize this, and are ready in accordance," a military source said Thursday night, responding to the report that Hamas had established a naval force in Gaza.