[Transcript]  Mosaic News - 10/05/12: World News from the Middle East [VIDEO]

Presenter, Male #1
Demonstrators gathered today in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on a day of protests dubbed "Friday to Save the Homeland," as called for by opposition parties, most notably the Islamic Action Front.

Presenter, Male #1
Demonstrators called for what they described as "comprehensive tangible reforms" in Jordan. In a previous newscast, Jordan's General Security spokesman, Mohammed al-Khatib, told BBC that his agency arrested individuals on the suspicion of planning to stir unrest, adding that his agency has seized weapons in their possession.

Reporter, Female #1
The Jordanian scene on the Friday of October 5th was not at all unfamiliar. For months, the opposition-led demonstrations have been playing an integral part in Jordanian public life. Today's demonstrations, which the opposition named "Friday to Save the Homeland," raised several demands. The list of demands includes tangible political reforms, fair parliamentary elections, serious measures to combat corruption, as well as the improvement of living conditions.

Guest, Male #2
We are here to call for combating corruption and achieving tangible reforms in this country, so everyone lives in peace and security.

Guest, Male #3
We want reforms so people can reclaim some of their privileges. As you may know, nearly 100 people are controlling and running the entire country. We want representation for all.

Reporter, Female #1
The call for demonstrations was not cancelled, despite the Jordanian monarch's decision to dissolve parliament and call for early elections on the eve of protests. It seems that the king's decision had no effect on the opposition, which described the decision as "nothing more than an expected reaction" to the latest wave of popular protests against government policies, as well as the rift between the legislative and executive powers, after a group of parliamentarians called for the government's ouster.

Reporter, Female #1
Fears are growing over today's demonstrations, especially after rival political blocs called for pro-government rallies under the slogan "Loyalty and Affiliation," in support of the royal decrees. With the tense situation, and the exchange of accusations between the regime and the Islamist-led opposition blocs, the call for early elections will not only fail to put an end to the crisis, but may spark a new one, according to many.

Guest, Male #4 (Zikr Bin Rashid, Islamist Leader in Jordan)
Unless the guidelines of political conduct and performance change in Jordan, we will not take part in this comedic farce called "parliamentary elections."

Reporter, Female #1
Topping the list of the opposition's demands is changing the one-vote law, which the upcoming elections will be based on. The law, which grants voters the right to cast one vote in their local governorates and another for constituencies nationwide, is seen by the opposition as an attempt to curb its influence inside parliament. The opposition is also demanding an increase in the number of seats appointed to its members. The scene may spark a new wave of debate and speculation over the scope of future mobilization expected from any and all segments of the Jordanian blocs.

Presenter, Female #1
Israeli occupation forces arrested a number of Palestinian worshippers, and others were injured and suffocated by sound and gas bombs fired by occupation soldiers inside the courtyards of the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque. Palestinian officials asserted the presence of documents confirming that some Israelis who were dressed as Arabs, otherwise known as Arabists, took part in stone-throwing. This gave the army an excuse to storm the entire courtyard, conducting military training to be able to control Al-Aqsa Mosque in the future.

Reporter, Female #2
As soon as Friday prayers ended, crowds of the occupation's forces began to raid the courtyards of the holy Al-Aqsa. They fired gas and sound bombs. There were injuries, and a number of worshippers were arrested. The occupation's forces had the usual excuse: Some young people threw stones at soldiers who were inside the mosque's courtyards.

Reporter, Female #2
Despite the small number of worshippers who were inside the mosque due to the strict Israeli measures, there were a number of soldiers. Some were undercover, wearing Palestinian clothing, according to eyewitnesses. This caused officials to assert that what happened was training for the execution of a future plot.

Guest, Male #1 (Ahmed al-Rowaidi, Jerusalem Affairs Counselor at the President's Office)
We have documents saying that there had been previous arrangements for the attack that took place today. The Arabists started throwing stones in order to make way for Israeli security forces to enter the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque's courtyards as a training session.

Reporter, Female #2
The scene was tense, given the occupation forces' prior reinforcement in the morning hours. This scene pushed a number of youths to organize a demonstration inside the courtyards. They protested last week's admission of extremist groups from the Israeli right into the courtyards to perform Jewish religious rituals.

Guest, Male #2 (Mohamed Hussein, Mufti of Jerusalem)
Muslims have the right to be in their mosques. These raids, these affronts, come within a series of provocations. They follow episodes in the past week of raids on Al-Aqsa Mosque, and attacks on worshippers in Al-Aqsa's courtyards.

Reporter, Female #2
Palestinian official and civic leadership called for the Arab League and the Islamic Conference to convene, and to take practical measures to protect sanctuaries. This includes Christian holy sites, which have been subject to vandalism several times. The latest involved slogans that insult Christ, peace be upon him, on the walls of one of the churches near Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Reporter, Female #2
Palestinians fear that what is happening is training for future plots. The worse case would be the implementation of a plot like the one that took place at Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron-- dividing the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque physically, and through the use of scheduled times. Then there is the establishment of the so-called Temple Mount. Jivara al-Bedairi, Al Jazeera, occupied Jerusalem.

Presenter, Female #1
The Syrian opposition downed a plane in the Damascus countryside. And Syrian government sources announced that they repelled an attack by armed gunmen who came from Turkey, which once again has warned against the shelling of its territory.

Reporter, Male #1
The "Syrian Friday" this week witnessed developments on several fronts. Protests returned to several areas with the slogan, "We Want Weapons, Not Declarations." The Damascus countryside witnessed the downing of a Syrian military plane in east al-Ghouta, and the capture of the plane's two pilots, according to statements by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Observatory indicated that fighters from the revolutionary brigades downed a plane that had been taking part in raids on areas of east al-Ghouta. The opposition also announced the arrest of a high-level officer in al-Ghouta. The Douma Martyrs' Brigade announced its control over an air base in east al-Ghouta as well. A video posted online by the opposition showed the arrest of a regime agent at the base.

Reporter, Male #1
On the Homs front, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights indicated that the city was exposed to the worst shelling in months, especially in the district of al-Khalidiya, which was shelled by artillery and war planes. At the border with Turkey, Turkish shelling against Syrian sites has stopped, while Turkish military forces continue to strengthen.

Reporter, Male #1
From the Syrian side, a government source announced that the Syrian regime's army repelled an attack by the Free Army near the towns of Ain al-Arab and Ain Issa, in northern Syria, after gunmen entered the country from Turkey. Syrian TV broadcast images of members of the regime's army in Aleppo City, saying that they were able to destroy a number of vehicles equipped with machine guns, and kill a number of terrorists, and that the army was able to cleanse areas of the Damascus countryside of these elements.

Reporter, Male #1
A report broadcast from the city of Qudsaya, after the military wrested control of it, showed torture sites set up in the basements of buildings. They displayed these images, saying they belonged to a Wahabi group that was killing people.

Reporter, Male #1
Politically, at a press conference he held in Istanbul, Syrian National Council President Abdel Baset Sayda invited all organizations to carry out a practical campaign to protect what the revolution has accomplished. He stressed that the regime wants to destroy the country, and must be brought to justice.

Reporter, Male #1
Also from Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a new warning to Syria of the consequences of another shelling in Turkish territory. He confirmed that if this incident is repeated, Damascus will pay an exorbitant price. Before a gathering of supporters from his party, the Justice and Development Party, Erdogan warned Damascus not to venture out and test Turkey's patience. He reaffirmed that his country does not wish to wage war on Syria, but at the same time, will not hesitate to retaliate against an action that threatens its national security.

Presenter, Female #1
In Turkey, the police cracked down on protestors who came out in the capital Ankara to protest against the government's policy of intervention in Syrian affairs, and to reject any military operation against Syria. Protestors gathered in a crowd in front of parliament to confirm their dissent against authorizing the government to conduct military operations inside Syrian territory.

Reporter, Male #1
After the Turkish parliamentary session in which it authorized the government to carry out military attacks abroad, specifically in Syria, the Turkish people took to the streets to have their say, in the face of the parliament and the government, to prevent them from intervening in Syrian affairs.

Reporter, Male #1
Big Turkish cities, including the capital Ankara and Istanbul, witnessed massive demonstrations and protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's policies and government, with regard to Syria.

Reporter, Male #1
Here in the capital Ankara, protestors swept through the streets of the city, and headed towards parliament to protest its decision to allow the government intervention. They condemned Erdogan's policies, and considered them to be harmful to the country's future and security.

Reporter, Male #1
Protestors tried to approach the parliament building. However, police officers formed a barrier to prevent them from coming near it. Protestors tried to push them in order to continue their march, but policemen confronted them, clashed with them, and used water hoses and tear gas to disperse them.

Reporter, Male #1
Here in Istanbul, the biggest Turkish city, thousands of protestors went out into the streets of the city to denounce the possibility of an outbreak of war with Syria.

Reporter, Male #1
Protestors condemned the government's military policies, and attacked the ruling Justice and Development Party. They see the party as dragging Turkey into an imperialist war on Syria, with a green light from Washington.

Reporter, Male #1
Protestors repeated chants condemning Erdogan and the US. They carried signs that read, "No War," "Hands off Syria," "Stop the Bloodshed," and "Down with Fascism." Protestors gathered the city's main Taksim Square. A number of opposition parties had called on the people to go out in massive demonstrations in different Turkish cities to protest the Turkish government's intervention in Syria.

Insurgents in Syria are threatening to kill 48 Iranians that they took hostage back in August. They want the Syrian administration to release their arrested militants, and stop operations against anti-government armed groups within two days. They made the threat in a statement said to have been released on Thursday. They had earlier claimed that several of the hostages were killed in a shelling attack by the Syrian military. The Iranian nationals were abducted while on a pilgrimage near the capital, Damascus.

Police in Muslim-majority Azerbaijan have clashed with a group of demonstrators protesting a ban on Islamic headscarves. More than 100 protestors gathered outside the Ministry of Education in the capital Baku calling for the removal of a ban on headscarves on schools, shouting slogans such as "Stop Islamophobia" and "Islam Will Win." About 70 people were arrested.

The London High Court has ruled that a Muslim cleric, Abu Hamza al-Masri, and four others accused of terrorism charges, can be extradited to the United States to stand trial, rejecting the men's appeal that they would be exposed to torture and inhumane treatment in the US. The men were kept in high-security prisons as the judges delivered their verdict.

A London court has allowed three Kenyan veterans tortured by British forces to proceed with their legal case UK government. The elderly Kenyans said that they were beaten and sexually assaulted by British forces while in detention in the 1950s, when Kenya was a scene of the Mau Mau Uprising. The three veterans want Britain to apologize and provide them with welfare benefits.

Presenter, Male #1
Haaretz newspaper reported that the European Union's decision to consider a number of settlements as illegal, and deprive them of tax breaks, fostered Israeli outrage countrywide. The Israeli Foreign Ministry claimed that the European Union suddenly ended the long and ongoing negotiations around this subject, and made a decision unilaterally.

Reporter, Male #2
After leaks from the media about the EU decision to oblige shop owners to place a label on products coming from Israeli settlements, worry began creep into the Israeli government. They fear the implementation of this decision and its consequences may add insult to injury, a reference to the economic crisis that Israel has been suffering this year.

Guest, Male #3 (Salah Haniyeh, Palestinian Society for Consumer Protection)
This is an important message. It started in the year 2000. The European Union is preventing tariff cuts to settlement products. However, this issue escalated, where it has become necessary to label these products. It is an important message of solidarity with the Palestinian people. It is a message that insists that settlements are illegitimate and illegal. And not only are they rejected internationally, they are rejected by Palestine. This is a victory to the Palestinian people in light of the obstructions on the political front.

Reporter, Male #2
Media sources mentioned that Danish Foreign Minister Villy Sovndal is leading an initiative to apply rules that force European chain stores to place clear labels on Israeli settlement products. This initiative is based on a decision made last May, with consensus from foreign ministers of European Union countries.

Guest, Male #4 (Mustafa Barghouti, Secretary-General of the Palestinian National Initiative)
I am sure that what will happen is a big development in the campaign to support the Palestinian people. We see today as a match and combination of the Palestinian popular resistance with the solidarity movement and the sanctions imposed on Israel. There is no other way to change the balance of power. There is no other way to liberate the Palestinian people from this slavery, represented by the Israeli apartheid regime.

Reporter, Male #2
Israeli concerns about the European Union adopting this decision are increasing. In the future, this may end up encouraging a complete boycott of all Israeli products, including those produced in Israel.

Reporter, Male #2
It is a new blow to Israel from those who believe in our people's legitimate rights, and those who despise this oppressive occupier's policies. This blow was only possible through Palestinian diplomatic activities on a global level. From Ramallah, Haroun Amaireh, Palestine TV.

Presenter, Male #1
A presidential apology was issued over the case that has stirred up a large controversy in Tunisia. Tunisian President Moncef al-Marzouki offered a state apology to the girl who was raped by two police agents, saying that the rape only affected the honor of the perpetrators. In a presidential statement, al-Marzouki viewed the flaw as not being within the security institution, but rather in the mindset of some of its members. He stressed that the presidency will follow this case very closely, so that no political considerations rise above the rule of law.

Presenter, Male #1
In Iran, the rial continues its sharp decline against hard currencies, after the exchange rate recorded the rial's largest loss to the dollar this past week, a loss that accounts for 40 percent of the rial's value. International economists expect a further decline, which Iranian economic experts attribute to the mismanagement of the crisis by their country's authorities. This places a heavy burden on ordinary citizens, who are among the hardest-hit classes. From Tehran, Abdulaziz Yusuf reports.

Reporter, Male #2
Compared to foreign currency, the value of Iran's local currency dropped at a record level the country has never witnessed before. A single dollar now equals 34 thousand rials. Western sanctions on oil and the Iranian Central Bank, as well as the government's mismanagement in dealing with those sanctions, are, in the view of some, the major reasons for this historic decline.

Guest, Male #3 (Mohamed Khosh Chehreh, Economics Professor at Tehran University)
The government didn't deal with the sanctions in a scientific and practical manner. Perhaps this was due to economic ignorance and inattention. Or perhaps it was on purpose, to increase earnings from exports, which are profits that come back to them. And the government apparently doesn't realize that the devaluation of the local currency causes an increase in inflation and unemployment in a big way.

Reporter, Male #2
The rising cost of many foodstuffs and other items was an expected outcome of the drop in the rial's value. The ones primarily affected, and who carry the greater burden, are the ordinary citizens.

Guest, Male #4
We employees and ordinary workers are the most strongly affected by this crisis. The rise in the dollar causes a rise in the price of many goods. I think the government is trying to resolve the current situation, but other authorities aren't assisting the government with that.

Reporter, Male #2
Citizens remain confused, in the absence of a clear plan of action that will bring back confidence in the local currency.

Guest, Female #1
People are starting to fear the situation, and for that reason they're trying to buy anything and everything. I don't know what will happen. I don't know if the government is capable of solving this matter.

Reporter, Male #2
This big challenge is added to the other challenges that face the Iranian government. So the question remains: Will Iran come out of its currency crisis, and return to its citizens their peace of mind, which the past days have erased? A record deterioration in the value of Iran's local currency could increase the scope of unemployment and inflation.

Reporter, Male #2
Everyone is waiting for a government plan to solve the crisis. The arrest of protestors in the exchange market has been the only indicator of a plan on the local level. The details of a government plan on the international level remain restricted and concealed. Abdulaziz Yousef, Dubai TV, Tehran.

Iran has presented what it calls a "nine-step plan" to diffuse its nuclear crisis with the West. According to the plan, Iran would gradually suspend its production of uranium that could most easily convert into nuclear weapons. Washington quickly dismissed the proposal as "unworkable," saying that it requires too many early concessions by the West. American officials say that the plan calls for the immediate dismantling of all sanctions that are blocking oil sales, which have caused the collapse of the Iranian currency.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger says that Washington should join Jerusalem in drawing red lines to stop the Iranian nuclear program. But unlike Benjamin Netanyahu's red line drawing during his recent UN General Assembly speech, Kissinger told the Washington Post that the red lines should be kept confidential, and only be acted upon when crossed.

Amid growing speculation of early elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today held talks with Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. In a meeting between the heads of the Israeli coalition government's two largest parties, Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, were held in the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem.

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