[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 01/30/08: World News From The Middle East

Presenter, Man # 1
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas said that the Palestinian National Authority is ready to take over the responsibility of running the crossing points in Gaza according to what was specified in international treaties, especially the five way agreement which included the US, the European Union and Egypt.

Presenter, Woman # 1
Abbas made these statements after meeting with the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in Cairo. Cairo is hosting talks to resolve the problem of the Gaza’s crossing points. These talks will include a meeting between the Egyptian leadership and Hamas’ delegation headed by Khaled Mishal.

Reporter, Man # 2
This time, the Palestinians are going to Cairo but only after completing the necessary visa requirements. They are trying to resolve difficult problems the latest of which is the problem of Rafah crossing. This crossing between Gaza and Egypt was the only exit for hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents, but now it has been transformed into a problem that Egypt must help resolve. Hamas believes that the current circumstances make it necessary to make certain demands. It insists on controlling the Rafah crossing and stresses that its ousted government is legitimate.

Guest, Man # 3 Al Zahhar
What happened at the borders between the US and Egypt reflect the amount of pressure that our Palestinian people are being subjected to. As the legitimately elected officials we must take a position.

Reporter, Man # 2
What Al Zahar views as legitimate, the Palestinian Authority and its president view as a coup.
Abbas insists that what happened in Gaza was a coup and demands Hamas to reverse it. He also said that it must respect already signed agreements pertaining to the crossing points.

Guest, Man # 4 Abbas
We said that we are ready to take over the crossing points on the condition that the international agreement which we call the five way agreement be enforced. This agreement was signed by us, Egypt, Israel, the US and the European Union.

Reporter, Man # 2
Many believe that the destruction of the wall separating Gaza from Egypt which was done by the residents of Gaza who suffer a humanitarian catastrophe has become a source of another conflict between Fatah and Hamas. This conflict over who will control the Rafah crossing is becoming more heated day after day and it has been thrown into Cairo’s lap. The Egyptian president vowed that he will not allow Gaza residents to starve under any circumstances, but he also called on conflicting Palestinian parties to hold a dialogue in order to resolve their differences so Cairo and Gaza can be spared the negative consequences of this crisis. However, the two Palestinian sides still insist on their previous positions which may push Cairo to take undesirable measures.
Allowing Hamas to take over Rafah crossing legitimizes its control over Gaza. More importantly it means that Gaza in effect is no longer part of the so called Common Tariff agreement which applies to Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank. In other words, this means that Gaza is politically separated from Ramallah. Perhaps Egypt will be forced to fill the vacuum by administrating Gaza like it used to do at one point. Supporting the Palestinian Authority demands to run Rafah crossing which is rejected by Hamas will subject Gaza’s residents to a humanitarian catastrophe. Cairo refuses to do so which may force it to intervene in ways that may violate international and regional agreements especially the Camp David peace agreement that was signed with Israel. It seems that the only way out of this crisis is to resolve the internal Palestinian conflict.

Presenter, Woman # 1
The United Nations Security Council has abandoned efforts to adopt a statement on the crisis in the Gaza Strip, caused by the Israeli blockade, after the US rejected the amendments that were introduced by Libya, stressing the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Presenter, Man # 1
US deputy ambassador, Alejandro Wolff, said that Washington is concerned with what he called the “terrorist rockets” that have been launched from Gaza against Isrealis.

Reporter, Man #1
The Arab groups at the UN proposed a non-binding draft statement expressing concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and demanded Israel to end the blockade. Washington rejected the draft statement although it was non binding; it only had moral significance. The Arab group at the UN headed by Libya tried to generate support for the non-binding draft statement by introducing many amendments, hoping that it would pass. Despite all of this the draft statement did not pass, rather the Security Council announced that it has abandoned efforts to adopt the draft statement and that it no longer wants to discuss the blockade on Gaza.

Guest, Man # 3 Alejandro Wolff, the US deputy ambassador,
Some amendments were introduced by the Libyans. We met with them and discussed the draft statement. We concluded that we can’t reach an agreement. We still believe that it is imperative not to equate acts of self-defense with terrorist rocket attacks.

Guest, Man # 4
We feel bitterness and resentment because the Security Council could not stand up to its responsibility.

Reporter, Man # 2
It seems that the Arab group went to the Security Council because they wanted to give the benefit of the doubt. This time they were also betting that president Bush who visited the region this month will not disappoint them especially after he intervened in all of their affairs, big and small, during his visit. The Arab disappointment at the Security Council will be added to many other disappoints that started more than half a century ago. It seems that these disappointments are the result of imbalance of power which the Arab countries can’t seem to change.
Political observers believe that this is the main reason why Arabs have failed to break the blockade on Gaza’s residents. The only thing that was done in the Arab Foreign Ministers Summit in Cairo was raising awareness to the acute humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.
Guest, Man # 5 Omra Musa It is important to end the blockade. This must be done immediately.
This is a very important issue. We should not return the situation in Gaza to the way it used to be; it was a prison. The borders with Egypt are now open.

Reporter, Man # 2
This is how the borders between Gaza and Egypt appeared last week. The metal wall collapsed, bringing to mind the big Arab dream that one day borders between all Arab countries will also collapse and that Arab nations will reunite. However this is how the borders look today.
The Egyptian authorities decided to build another barrier between it and Gaza. This led Hamas’ officials to make an alarming statement.

Guest, Man # 6 Hams spokesman
We in the Hamas movement confirm to our Palestinian people, Arab and Muslim nations that an Israeli conspiracy is being hatched with participation of regional players including the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah.

Reporter, Man # 2 mockingly
The Palestinian plight is still being presented at international and Arab arenas, amidst talks about the peace process, the Arab peace initiative and the dream that one day two states will be sleeping in peace side by side.

In the aftermath of the issuing of the Winograd Report, protest vigils are planned calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Olmert. Grassroots groups, including two reservist organizations and members of Ouzi Dian’s Tafid Party plan to stake protests this evening, outside the home of Defense Minister Ehud Barak demanding that he bring down the government by taking the Labor Party out of the coalition. At this hour, reservists and bereaved families have already set up tents outside the home of the Defense Minister and with large screen televisions to watch the press conference at the Jerusalem Convention Center. The Winograd report will affect the image of both the Prime Minister and the army. That seems to be the consensus of military experts who closely examined the Second Lebanon War.

This is more than just a report. This is not only about accusing people. This is a public report that will affect the image of the Prime Minister and also the army in the eye of the public.

There are probably two major issues that will be dealt in the final report. One would be the way the army, the Israeli army has absolutely failed in stopping the Katusha rockets and stopping Hezbollah from shooting rockets for more than four weeks at the Israeli population in the northern part of the country. The other would be crucial events in the last 60 hours of the war. The Prime Minister’s decision to send in the ground troops after it was already clear that the UN Security Council is going to vote on a resolution for a ceasefire in the war.

While Israelis impatiently wait on the verdict of the Winograd Commission on the handling of the Lebanon War, there are others in the region, who are equally interested in the report. Professor Eyal Zisser, Director of the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle East Studies at Tel Aviv University told IBA’s Leah Zinder that Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, is especially interested in the controversy.

Israel is waiting with baited breath for the publication of the Winograd Report and we forget sometimes that the rest of the world is watching too, which includes Hezbollah and its leaders. What do you think they are thinking today as we prepare to hear the report?

They are expecting the report. They need this report, because we tend to forget, after all that the war was not a big success for Israel but it was a catastrophe for Hezbollah and for Lebanon. It was very damaging for them. After a year and a half they start understanding these effects. Hezbollah cannot declare himself victorious and is now defensive in Lebanon and needs this report and is expecting it and probably will use it in Lebanon, and the Arab world.

If the Prime Minister is correct when he says the situation in the north is much better than it was before the war, does this serve as a vindicating factor for him?

I am not sure, I am not sure that the situation is much better, unfortunately, the war was very damaging for Hezbollah. The border is very quiet, that's for sure. But as far as the general situation in Lebanon, Hezbollah is still there. And as far as the threat, Hezbollah is pulling to Israel, I don’t see any change in this respect.

Now another person waiting for the report is Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who of course as we know, was responsible for the IDF withdrawal from Lebanon in the year 2000. In your opinion, did that decision by Barak have a decisive effect on what came afterwards as far as Hezbollah is concerned?

No, I don't think that we should start counting from 2000, I would say '96 maybe or even before when Israel took a strategic decision to ignore the buildup of this arsenal of missiles and military arsenal by Hezbollah. This was the decision or the point we should mention. We can compare the situation in Lebanon to the situation nowadays in Gaza. It’s the same. I mean I’m sure that in a matter of a few years, we will face the same dilemma we are facing in Lebanon in Gaza as well.

The future of Gaza’s breached border with Egypt and who should remain in control of it, is under discussion in Cairo. But it appears a quick resolution to that dispute may be off the cards. The Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is holding separate talks with his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas delegates. Hamas is insisting it wants a share in controlling the border crossings, but Abbas is refusing to speak them, saying that they must first give up control of the Gaza Strip. He added that all previous agreement with Israel over who controls Gaza’s borders must remain in place.

We cannot accept any new agreements. We adhere to the existing international agreements as concluded between us, the Palestinian Authority, and the other four sides, including Egypt. Unless Hamas backs down on their suppressive acts, accept the international resolution and accept early elections, dialogue with them will be pointless.

In around 2 hours the Winograd Commission will issue its much anticipated report on Israel’s war with Hezbollah in Lebanon. Critics are hoping that the findings will force Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down, but he’s vowed to hang on to his job. The Israeli-Hezbollah war lasted 34 days. It ended in August 2006 with a UN brokered ceasefire, but for many Israelis it was seen as a total disaster. The army failed to achieve its goals, mainly returning two captured Israeli soldiers and significantly wiping out Hezbollah’s forces. In the aftermath of the war, Olmert gave into pressure and appointed an internal committee to investigate the performance of the government and the army. So far, the Army’s Chief of Staff and the Defense Minister have both been forced to step down. From Jerusalem, David Chater reports.

Winograd has already given the Israeli Prime Minster many sleepless nights, but Ehud Olmert has proved a master of the political arts of cunning. Surviving the scathing criticism of the committee’s interim report last year, which his enemies said should have left him a dead man walking. Two scouts have already been taken, the former Minister of Defense during the Second Lebanon War and the Israeli Army’s Chief of Staff, who started the process of reforms after the hard lessons learned. That has helped the sting of the final report. This time the committee is expected to focus on the war's final battle when ground troops were sent deep inside of Lebanon just as the UN Security Council was drafting the resolution for a cease-fire. A battle, which led to the deaths of 33 Israeli soldiers. Olmerts doctors of spin have already been at work, leaking classified portions of his testimony to the committee, and some members are reported to have praised the Prime Minister’s decision to launch the assault, saying that it guaranteed the presence of a muscular multi-national force in southern Lebanon and the withdrawal of Hezbollah from Israel’s northern border. But Israel’s Ambassador to the United States at the time, says that was not the case. He admits though, Ehud Olmert, looks like surviving Winograd.

Very smartly, I think that the Prime Minister's office built up the expectation for a very harsh report. So, if it will be a little bit less than harsh or with a few kind words to him, this will be deemed as great support or endorsement. So, I think there will be a few days of media onslaught, he will get into the bunker and will come out of it almost unscathed as he is now.

Protests by bereaved families that lost loved ones in the war have largely failed to build up any momentum amongst the Israeli public that could seriously undermine the Prime Minster. The Annapolis process has also handed Ehud Olmert another lifeline. Ehud Barak’s Labor Party is unlikely to call for early elections post Winograd, not only because it would sabotage any chance of staying on the peace track with the Palestinian President, but also because the opposition Likud Party would be the greatest benefactors, according to opinion polls. David Chater, Al Jazeera, Jerusalem.

PRESENTER, MALE #1
The spokesman for the Iraqi government, Dr. Ali Dabagh, announced that the government is exerting a tremendous amount of efforts to end the suffering of displaced Iraqi families.

PRESENTER, FEMALE #1
Dabagh further said that his government is seeking to maintain security in the local areas where the displaced families used to live in.

REPORTER, FEMALE #2
The return of displaced Iraqi families to their places of origin is a priority issue for the Iraqi government. This news comes in the context of the national reconciliation initiative and comes amidst the relative calm witnessed in and around Baghdad. Meanwhile, the Iraqi government is seeking to strengthen its security measures in hotspot areas. With this, the government is trying to prepare a secure environment that will encourage the displaced families to return safely to their local areas.

GUEST, MALE #2, Dabagh, spokesman for the Iraqi government
The security situation is the most important issue on the government’s agenda. The government is seeking to maintain security, which, in my opinion, is the best solution to the problem of displaced families. We will offer financial aid and provide security to the returnees.

GUEST, MALE #3
The government is doing everything in its power to provide security in the areas where the displaced families used to live in. This will encourage more displaced families to return home.

REPORTER, FEMALE #2
The number of returning families continues to increase due to several factors, which include security, compensation, and moral support.

GUEST, MALE #4
The Baghdad’s Operation Room has adopted new mechanisms, which were approved by the office of the prime minster.With this, we were able to help some displaced families return safely to their local areas. Nearly 3,000 displaced families returned to the area of Kirkh. In addition, more than 4,000 families returned to the area of Abu Safa. These figures are real.

GUEST, MALE #5
We are offering compensation to returning families, and we will help them resettle in their places of origin. We encourage all displaced families to return to their homes and rejoin society. We are also planning to deploy a deterrence military and police force in these areas.

REPORTER, FEMALE #2
The Iraqi government and the Baghdad’s Operation Room are realizing there’s a connection between security and the return of refugees. As the security situation improves, the rate of return among the displaced families also increases. Meanwhile, displaced Iraqi families continue to search for stability, realizing that stability can’t be found anywhere but in their own homes, which they were forced to abandon. Sahar Al-Ibrahimi, Iraqiya, Baghdad.

Presenter, FEMALE #1:
Not long ago on this date, Iraqis headed towards the voting booths to choose their first permanent parliament after more than half a century of governments being formed by military coups. More than 12 million Iraqis went to the streets on foot, after cars were banned for fear of explosives, which used to threaten them all the time.

Reporter, FEMALE #2:
Two years have passed since what has been called the Purple Revolution. On this day, more than 12 million Iraqis dipped their fingers in inerasable ink in order to elect their candidates, who remained absent from the political landscape for more than half a century due to the military.

Guest, MALE #1:
Today is the rebirth of Iraq

Presenter, FEMALE, #1
The smuggling of drugs through Yemen has increased dramatically in the past few years.
According to an official census, security forces thwarted 300 drug smuggling attempts in the past 3 years. They recently confiscated 10 tons of hashish, which they burnt in different piles in Sanaa and other areas of Yemen. The details are with Hamed Munassar.

Reporter, MALE, #2
This worrisome scene confirms that Yemen has become a major route for smuggling various drugs to neighboring countries, in spite of efforts to curb these crimes. The increase in drug smuggling is reflected in the rise of drug busts. From 45 drug busts in 2005, to 226 busts in 2007.

Guest, MALE, #3
2,000 Kilometers of our borders are open water, which makes it difficult to control. The water borders are connected to vast deserts which in turn are connected to immense mountains with a rugged terrain. Drug smugglers choose these areas because it’s easier for them.

Reporter, MALE, #2
Most of the drug trafficking occurs in the provinces of Hathramote and Mahrawmareb in the East, and Sa’da and Hajja in the northwest of the country. Several smugglers were arrested in these areas, most of whom were Yemeni nationals. They were either trying to bring in large amounts of drugs through the northern beaches, or trying to take them out through the southern borders with Saudi Arabia.

Guest, MALE, #4
This is neither the first nor the last amount we will confiscate, because drugs smugglers are always on the move…But there are efforts to eliminate this crime.

Guest, FEMALE, #2
I would have liked to see much more participation from donor organizations to support of the efforts made by the country. Yemen’s government’s commitment to end drug trafficking is visible in the way they seize and destroy drugs and prosecute dealers.

Reporter, MALE, #2
This phenomenon raises concerns over the connection between drug smuggling and terrorist operations, smuggling weapons, and money laundering. This is in addition to its social impact on the youth in neighboring countries.

Guest, MALE, #5
Drugs are almost as dangerous as terrorist crimes. For example, 4 to 5 cases resulting in a verdict were brought to the specialized criminal court in the past 2 months.

Reporter, MALE, #2
These images might only be a fraction of the actual quantities of drugs being smuggled to neighboring countries throughout Yemen. Yemen is limited in its abilities to combat this problem, which is not a challenge faced solely by Yemeni society, but also neighboring societies.
Hamed Munassar, al Arabiya, San’aa.

Presenter, MALE #1:
Silence after movement. Calm after activity. This is the state of the Lebanese Presidential Palace known as Baabda Palace. Emile LaHood left two months ago, leaving the presidential seat cold in the heart of the winter. Baabda Palace is waiting for a new resident, who will break its silence once again and revive activity in its corridors and offices--activity, which, these days, has been reduced in order to maintain necessary services in the interest of the presidential office. Elian Shatri from Beirut.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
This is how the Lebanese Presidential Palace in Baabda, in eastern Beirut looked like two months ago. The Lebanese flag waved to the columns in its courtyard. Water filled the fountain declaring life. The honor guards marched at the door of the presidential wing, protecting the palace and its president. However, since the evening of November 23 of last year, the Lebanese flag was taken down, the fountain was shut off and drained of its water. The guards left the doors of the palace. Emptiness, which does not suit this place, has distorted the image of the Presidential headquarters. The doors are locked on all sides of the palace. Alone, this statue embodies the state of this palace and the country. A body without a head is like a country without a president.

Guest, MALE #2:
We felt the huge emptiness at the presidential level more because we are geographically living in an area that is supposedly the most distinguished and important place in Lebanon.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
Emptiness in the presidential wing does not mean emptiness in administrative, organizational and security affairs. Lieutenants in the presidential guard still stay up at night to secure the palace and its surroundings. The five departments of the general administration of the presidential office and the more than 100 employees still work as usual in the staff building.
However….

Guest, MALE #3:
We don’t have a person to work for. We don’t have a person to direct us, ask us for things and give us information.

Reporter, FEMALE #1:
Sadness is the story of this palace, which is empty of its main resident. The palace corners await its visitors. The lights are off. And after 14 initiatives failed to result in the election of someone to fill the palace seat, the seat remains empty. This emptiness is sad. What’s worse is this sadness may be prolonged. Elian Shater. Dubai TV. Baabda. East Beirut.