[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 06/20/08: World News From The Middle East

Presenter, MALE, #1
A court in the UK today rejected the appeal by religious cleric Abu Hamzah al Masri on the court’s decision to extradite him from Britain to the United States. Abu Hamza faces several charges in the US, including attempts of establishing an al Qaeda training camp.

Presenter, FEMALE, #2
According to Lawyers, Al Masri has one more chance to appeal the extradition order by British Interior Minister, Jackie Smith, issued early February.

Reporter, MALE, #2
Will Abu Hamzah al Masri be extradited to the United States or not! The rule by a British court today indicates that he lost his fight against the decision of British interior Minister, Jackie Smith, who ordered his extradition from Britain the United States. But, according to British Law, Abu Hamza might slip from extradition if the decision is appealed in the House of Lords, which is the highest judiciary authority in Britain. If he loses the fight with the House of Lords, and if Britain turns him in to the United States, he will find 11 charges awaiting him. Abu Hamza could be sentenced to one hundred years in prison, on terrorism charges, an attempt to set up a semi-military training camp in the State of Oregon in the US, and helping al Qaeda and the Taliban regime. But even if this former Imam of Finsbury Park Mosque in London slips from being turned in to the United States, a Yemeni demand might be in store for him. Sana” accuses al Masri of plotting and participating in the abduction of 16 western hostages in Yemen in 1998; and killing 4 of them when the Yemeni forces raided a hideout of his followers. There are many contradictions in this man’s biography: Deprived of his Egyptian citizenship by the Egyptian authorities, he arrived in Britain in 1980, where his life was as far as it could have been from religious commitment. He then went to Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, where he lost one of his eyes and one of his hands in an explosion, according to him.
When he first arrived to London, he said that Britain was a paradise in which he could do whatever he wanted. But will Abu Hamzah get what he wants this time from the House of Lords?

Presenter, Woman # 1
In Iran, the Jund Allah group executed the chief of border patrol and his deputy by shooting. According to a spokesman from the group, the execution was in response to the Iranian government’s decision to execute two of the group members last week. The Jund Allah group has threatened to start executing the 14 kidnapped police if the Iranian government refuses to respond to its demands. Al Arabiya obtained video images of the execution in which a masked man read the execution sentence then an unknown person came from the back and shot the two police officers. We apologize for not showing these images because they are too harsh. Abdel Al Rauf, a spokesman of Jund Allah said that his group will kill the rest of the Kidnapped Iranian police if Iran does not release 200 prisoners that have been held in Iran.

Guest, Man # 1
If the government does not release the 200 members of Jund Allah who have been detained in the Zahidan, we will execute the 14 other Iranian soldiers.

Presenter, Man # 2
You demands the release of 200 prisoners of Jund Allah.

Guest, Man # 1
Yes we demand the release of 200 prisoners of Jund Allah who have been detained in Iranian prisons. They are Sunni men.

Presenter, Man # 2
Do you have other demands?

Guest, Man # 1
Our other demands are that the 5 or 6 Sunni religious scholars who also have been detained in Iranian prisons be released as we have said in the past.
Presenter, Woman # 1
Abdel Al Rauf told Al Arabiya that the Jund Allah group executed the two Iranian police officers, saying that the Iranian government did not respond to their demands.

Guest, Man # 1
The resistance forces of the Jund Allah organization attacked an Iranian base and took 16 soldiers hostage. Six were police officers and the rest were soldiers. We released a statement in which we gave the Iranian government two weeks to release 200 Sunni political prisoners from the region of Baluchistan in Iran. However the Iranian government executed two Sunni men from Baluchistan on Monday, just two days after the operation carried out. The first one was Ali Riza Al Braghwi who was executed and crucified in Zahidan, the other one is Muhammad Yones who was also executed and crucified in the prison of Chabihar city. So we understood that the Iranian government is not willing to negotiate and because of this we executed two Iranian police officers on Tuesday.

Presenter, Woman # 1
Lebanon is not interested in bilateral peace negotiations with Israel. This was the Lebanese official response to Ehud Olmert’s call on Lebanon to enter into negotiations over the occupied Sheba’a farms and other unresolved issues. Although the Lebanese position was clear, there were predictions and news leaks revealing that the US is mediating between the two in order to make peace that would strengthen the Lebanese government and weaken Hezbollah. This is from the perspective of Washington.
We leave you with Fathe Ismael.

Reporter, Man # 1
For Israel, it appears that this is the season of negotiations. After peace negotiations began with Syria through Turky’s mediation and while negotiations are ongoing with the Palestinians, now Lebanon is also invited to enter into negotiations with the Israeli. The invitation was made by the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in order to resolve what he called “unresolved” but not impossible to be resolved issues including the Sheba’a farms. Olmert wants Lebanon to enter into comprehensive and bilateral negotiations with Israel. This comment was made in the inner Israeli cabinet meeting then it was made public. There are even reports that the American secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has conveyed Olmert’s desire to the Lebanese authorities during her latest visit to Beirut. The Israeli Haaretz Newspaper reported that the US is now mediating between Tel Aviv and Beirut to resolve the conflict over the Sheba’a farms. From the American perspective this means strengthening the Lebanese government and weakening Hezbollah and pulling the rug from under it. Hizbollah justifies its weapons partially by the need to liberate these occupied farms which shares borders with Lebanon, Syria and the Hebrew state. The alluring language used by Israel indicates a slight change in Tel Aviv’s position to only negotiate the Sheba’a farms with the Syrians. However, the Lebanese still reject this position as was evident by the statement that was issued by the Prime Minister in which he reiterated that there are no ongoing mediation between Lebanon and Israel. He also said that Lebanon will not enter into direct bilateral negotiations. According to the statement, the unresolved issues between the two countries have already been decided on through international resolutions. The question is will this Lebanese position stay unchanged at a time when all of Israel’s neighbors are already negotiating about issues that were also decided on by international resolutions that are not less clear than the resolutions that were issued on the Sheba’a farms.

Presenter, Man # 1
Israeli media outlets say that the prisoner swap deal may take place next week.

Reporter, Woman # 1
Days or weeks may pass quickly for many people, but for our prisoners in Israeli jails, days and weeks are as long as years and decades. Here in Lebanon, the words of one man are believed by everyone. He (Nassrallah) said that we are a nation that does not leave our political prisoners in jails. But there in the land of the enemies, everyone is giving his spin, hoping that they will be vindicated if their analyses turns out to be true.
Israeli media outlets say that the prisoner swap deal may take place within a week. Shlomo Goldwasser, the father of the two soldiers that were imprisoned by Hezbollah, denied what the media has been saying. An Israeli security official who is associated with this issue said that the details of the prisoners swap deal have been completed and that the prisoners will be exchanged as soon as the Israeli government gives the green light, which may happen at any moment.

Guest, Man # 2
The government must vote on the prisoner swap deal because there was a decision made linking Samir Al Quntar with John Arad in the frame work of the Tannenbum prisoner swap deal in January 2004. Also a meeting must be held so supporting and opposing views can be heard. Ofer Dekel, the chief of staff, the head of the Mossad, Shbak, and all other agencies must be heard as well.

Reporter, Woman # 1
The Israeli negotiations coordinator Ofer Dekel will meet Ehud Olmert to update him about the latest talks in Germany. There is information that he had notified the families of the two soldiers about the details and the fate of their sons, but there is also information saying that this did not happen.

Guest, Man # 3
The prisoner swap deal will be similar to previous ones that were mediated by Germany.
Two planes will simultaneously leave Israel and Lebanon. One plane will take Samir Al Quntar and Hezbollah prisoners as well as some remains of Hezbollah fighters who died during the last war. At the same time another plane will leave Lebanon with the two Israeli soldiers. The exchange will take place in Germany.

Reporter, Woman # 1
Meanwhile, the “minster of war” Ehud Barak has been spreading rumors that the two Israeli solders are dead. However, Haaretz Newspaper reported that Israeli bulldozers have began to dig the graves of what it called “enemy dead in Galilee” which means that preparations are under way to exhume the bodies of Hezbollah fighters.

Presenter, Woman # 1
An entire year has passed since the Israeli entity forced three Palestinian women to leave their families in the West Bank. The women were forced to live in Gaza because they carry Gaza Identification Cards despite the fact that they have been living in the occupied West Bank for 13 years.

Guest, Woman # 2
My heart is cut in half. My heart is with my family.

Reporter, Woman # 3
Rawan and Rade are two children who were born in Qalqilia in the West Bank. Their mother Nisrean was taken away from them and was forced to leave the West Bank to Gaza along with her mother and sister. The three women were taken through the checkpoint between Ramallah and Qalqilia in an 8 hour trip because they carry Gaza Identification cards, not West Bank Identification cards. The family was split up and the hearts of its members were torn.

Guest, Woman # 4
We the three women are forced to live in Gaza; we do not have anyone here.
Our situation in Gaza as you know is hard. The people who do not have a home are lost.

Reporter, Woman # 3
Nisren used to live in the home of her family in Qalqilia for 12 years; she was the only financial provider for her family. Now, she has been expelled to Gaza along with her mother and sister for more than a year. What makes her suffuring more painful is the fact that her father is ill and he can longer provide for his grandchildren.

Guest, Man # 1
Enough humiliation. We have been humiliated by the Jews and everyone. What can I do? This is enough. I’m sick; I want someone to help me. I can no longer take care of the children.

Guest, Woman # 2
There is no one here to take care of the children. They are children. I plead with any one who can help by bringing the children to Gaza.

Reporter, Woman # 3
The objective of the Zionist entity behind creating such tragic stories is to cause the Palestinians psychological suffering, using different excuses and justifications.

Guest, Woman # 2
Their objective is to cause us to have a nervous breakdown and to play with our emotions. What can the objective be behind separating a mother from her children?
What can I do? What can three women do?

Reporter, Woman # 3
To be forced to leave your home and family is unimaginable. In Palestine however, this is a popular policy that targets women, men and children. The continuation of international silence towards these kinds of policies has encouraged the Israeli entity to innovate different ways to torture the Palestinians.

[Summary]
A suicide bomber struck a convoy of international troops in Southern Afghanistan. One US soldier, an interpreter, and five civilians were killed. Taliban claimed responsibility for the operation.
The NATO and Afghan government claim to have cleansed villages near Kandahar of Taliban fighters. Province governor claims more than 100 of Taliban were killed in the operation. This campaign was launched after the Taliban blasted an Afghan jail, freeing more than 1,000 prisoners, which was a source of embarrassment to the Afghan government, after which Karazai warned of going into Pakistan to erase the Taliban there.

Presenter, MALE, #1
The council of Arab information Ministers assigned the Arab League to consider creating an Arab Satellite Channel that broadcasts in a variety of languages, towards achieving the aims of the Arab media strategy abroad. This 41st summit was headed by Anas el-Fiqi, the Egyptian minister of media and information in Egypt. At its conclusion, the counsel of Arab information Ministers asked the Arab Leagure Secretary General, Amer Mussa, to propose a project to set up a high commission for Arab Media to regulate audio and visual satellite broadcasting. More from the Arab league with our reporter Muhammad Abdallah.

Reporter, MALE, #2
The 41st summit of the council of Arab Information Ministers was especially important, because it came after the Arab Information Ministers had agreed last February to draft a region-wide radio and TV broadcast charter. The draft was approved by all the Arab countries, except for Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Egypt, which succeeded Libya in chairing the summit; affirmed that the Ministers agreed to form a committee of Arab experts to ensure the implementation of the principles in the charter.

Guest, MALE, #3
We agreed today to assign the Secretary General to form the committee. This was not a resolution of a disagreement; rather it was developed by the Arab Ministers so as to expand freedom in the media industry in the Arab world.

Reporter, MALE, #2
One of the topics discussed by the Information Ministers was the mechanisms for Arab Media to confront anti-Arab campaigns. The Egyptian side said that the previously agreed upon plan to mobilize Arab media efforts abroad was never implemented. It suggested proceeding with the implementation of the proposed media campaigns, without waiting for all of the Arab countries to contribute their share of the cost. They called for creating a multi Lingual Arab Satellite Channel to serve these aims. This Egyptian request was well received by the Arab Ministers.

Guest, MALE, #4
The mobilization to face these issues is a political move first and foremost, not a media move. The media follows politics’ lead, which is ongoing; it comes from the Arab League, the Islamic summit, and the governments of the Islamic countries separately.

Reporter, MALE, #2
The theme of this summit was titled: The language terminology of Arab media and Arab causes. The Arab Information Ministers called for creating a comprehensive lexicon for media terminology used across Arab media outlets. As for establishing an Arab Committee for Internet media, the Counsel of Ministers decided to adopt the local internal laws in each country. They assigned the Secretary General to take the necessary procedures so that the high commission can carry out its duties. The summit of Arab Information Ministers concluded with the affirmation that the charter for regulating Arab Broadcasts is not aimed at repressing the freedom of expression.

Guest, MALE, #
Most of the Information Ministers, including myself, have emphasized in our speeches that we are committed to the freedom of expression and thought. I believe we have emphasized this point in more than one instance, as well as in the primary principle of the charter of principles. What we strive for, what we aim for, what we are working towards, and what we will continue to work towards is regulating this industry.

Reporter, MALE, #2
The Information Ministers agreed to form an Arab high commission to provide the mechanism to implement the clauses of the regulations charter for Arab Broadcasts. The mechanism takes into consideration that freedom of expression has to be practiced with consciousness and responsibility, which honor the traditions and principles of the Arab world. From the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Muhammad Abdullah, Egypt News.

A fragile cease-fire between Israel and Hamas went into effect just a couple of days ago. If the ceasefire holds for three days, Israel is obliged to increase fuel supplies to Gaza, and then Hamas and Israel are expected to renew indirect talks in Cairo next week over a prisoner exchange. Israel is seeking the release of captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, while Hamas is looking at the release of more than 10,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Earlier this month, Israel released a Hezbollah operative in exchange for the bodily remains of Israeli soldiers through the International Committee of the Red Cross. A larger deal is currently in the making. According to Lebanese media, a German-brokered prisoner swap between Israel and Hezbollah seems to be imminent.

On the surface, a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and a prisoner swap deal between Hezbollah and Israel provide a glimmer of hope for a period of tranquility between the conflicting parties. However, in this inflamed region previous ceasefires have been broken and prisoner swap deals have not prevented future confrontations. To be precise, the terms "truce" and "ceasefire" are mistranslations of the Arabic word for "tahdiyeh" which actually means temporary calm. Tahdiyeh is the word carefully used by Hamas rather than "hudna" which means "truce."

More intriguing though, is the fact that Israel has been negotiating with two "terrorist groups" who do not recognize "Israel's right to exist." For the past several weeks, the Israeli government has been heavily engaged in indirect negotiations with its two arch enemies in contradiction to the policy of its greatest benefactor, the U.S., and its champion of champions, President George W. Bush.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are on the U.S. State Department's list of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs).

Just recently, President Bush stood in front of the Israeli Knesset and boasted that negotiating with "terrorists and radicals" amounted to Munich-style "appeasement." His statement got Israelis applauding and U.S. presidential candidates reiterating their support of Israel and rejection of talks with Hamas. This explains why in the midst of all this, Ehud Olmert seemed a bit uncomfortable. It was not because of all the stories about him receiving numerous envelopes filled with cash from a Long Island businessman, but rather that while Bush was making his "appeasement" speech, his team in Egypt was dotting the I's and crossing the T's on an agreement reached by Egyptian mediators with one of the "terrorist" groups being singled out by Bush.

Many Israeli analysts argue that the "tahdiyeh" between Hamas and Israel is a necessary step to avoid heavy casualties in the densely-populated Gaza Strip, while others believe that this is yet another distraction by Olmert to gain a reprieve from his financial scandal. Regardless of the reasons and whether this temporary ceasefire will last or not, Hamas will emerge as the victor and will gain some recognition just as Hezbollah emerged as a victor after the Doha agreement. Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who once declared Hamas illegal, will soon travel to Gaza for reconciliation talks.

Oh, did I forget to mention how Carter was vilified by the Bush Administration's quasi media machine at FOX, as well as other surrogate outlets because he had met with Hamas officials? And how Olmert dodged the former president and how he was shunned by Israeli politicians when he traveled to Jerusalem? But then again, Israel gets a pass. Appeasement... Israeli style.

Jamal Dajani produces the Mosaic Intelligence Report on Link TV