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1. Blair: Secret Olmert-PA Deal
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair told the Al Quds Arabic-language newspaper that outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas have reached a secret but unsigned agreement.

Israeli law forbids Prime Minister Olmert from making any significant changes in policy while he heads the transitional government prior to new elections in February. However, verbal agreements likely will serve as a de facto starting point for the next government.

In the Al Quds article, translated in the Huffington Post, Blair is quoted as saying, "The continuous meetings between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and [Israeli leade Olmert as well as the continuous negotiations between Palestinian and Israeli teams has [si produced an agreement."

Blair added that he is abiding by the decision of Olmert and Abbas not to reveal details. Prime Minister Olmert remains prime minster until a new government is formed, which probably will take at least several days, if not weeks, after the elections. Abbas's term officially ends on January 8, but he has maintained that the law allows him to remain for another year until new legislative elections take place.

Any secret agreement presumably includes the status of Jerusalem and the demand of the PA for the immigration to Israel of several million Arabs who claim they are descendants of Arabs who once lived in Israel.

The office of the Prime Minister previously has denied several reports that he and Abbas have discussed the status of the city. Abbas's "red line" is that a new Arab state be proclaimed with Jerusalem as its capital.

Olmert has maintained that population centers such as Ma'aleh Adumim and Gush Etzion will remain in Israel in return for Israel's giving up land to the PA, which also would be provided with a land link connecting the Gaza region with Judea and Samaria.
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2. Ashdod, Kiryat Malachi on Alert
by Hana Levi Julian

The Home Front Command has warned the residents of Ashdod and Kiryat Malachi to prepare for rocket attacks from Gaza.

On Monday, IDF personnel distributed instructions to residents of the two coastal cities explaining what to do in case of a rocket attack. Recently, both communities were also connected to the Color Red incoming missile alert system as well.

Rocket attacks emanating from Gaza have reached as far as Ashkelon this year. Some of the missiles that exploded in the southern port city were homemade Kassam rockets, but others were the more advanced medium-range Grad-type Katyusha rockets, similar to those used by Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon.

Kiryat Malachi, a small Negev development town located just 17 kilometers (11 miles) southeast of Ashdod, is home to approximately 20,000 people. Its name, which translates as "City of Angels" in English, was chosen as a way of honoring the U.S. city of Los Angeles, California, which contributed funding towards its establishment. 

Ashdod, home to some 207,000 residents, is the fifth largest city in Israel and its port controls approximately 60 percent of all of the country's imported goods. Originally built specifically as the site for a new power station to service the south of the country, it is located only 70 kilometers (43 miles) from Jerusalem and Be'er Sheva.
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3. Terrorist Release Delayed
by Hana Levi Julian

Paletinian Authority officials reportedly asked the government Monday to delay the release of 230 terrorist prisoners by one week in order to allow time for PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to return from his pilgrimage to Mecca.

Abbas, who is scheduled to have lunch with Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah on Tuesday, is not expected to return to Ramallah until at least Thursday. The PA chairman wants to be present to greet the freed terrorists and reap the benefits of the "photo op" when they cross into the PA from pre-1967 Israel.

Sources in Jerusalem said the new release date is set for December 15.

The Ministerial Prisoner Release Committee on Sunday rubber-stamped Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision last month to free most of a list of 250 security prisoners in another "goodwill gesture" to PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas. However, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter had also said he opposed the move.

The release was set to take place on Tuesday, the second day of the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, the Festival of the Sacrifice.

The Almagor Victims of Terror Association and Land of Israel Legal Forum said in their petition to the court that the decision by a "transitional government," two months before elections, is an irreversible step that must be left to the country's next leaders.

The petition was filed on behalf of Moshe Muskal, an activist who lost a son in the Second Lebanon War and whose second son is currently serving in an IDF combat unit. The suit was filed on behalf of Muskal and other parents and claims that releasing the terrorists will put his son and other soldiers in danger as they carry out counterterrorism activities.

"We want the court to decide which is more important," explained Lt.-Col. (res.) Meir Indor, director of Almagor, "the political value of the relationship with the Palestinians, or the life of the child – the soldier who is forced to go out and catch the terrorists again."

"We believe the transitional government does not have the right to sacrifice the life of soldiers and civilians for this purpose," he said.

Many of the terrorists on the list were convicted for attempted murder, Indor told Israel National News. "A large number of them have been sitting in jail for only two years. Some of them were not the actual terrorists whose finger was on the trigger, but the finger was on the budget, and the training and the organizing," he went on, "so still they tried to kill."

By releasing hundreds of terrorists in repeated "goodwill gestures" that bring no reciprocal concessions, "the government destroys years of work, nights and days of work, sacrificing the lives of soldiers and commanders to catch the terrorists," Indor said.

He added that as the transitional government approaches the zero hour in which its existence will end, "they are becoming more and more dangerous to themselves and to the public."
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4. 'India Came Close to Attacking'
by Gil Ronen

The Pakistani High Commissioner in London, Wajid Shamsul Hassan, said Sunday that India was about to launch a military strike on Pakistan in retaliation for the Mumbai massacres, Sky News reported.

Hassan said that British and American officials intervened to prevent India from carrying out an attack.

"On the day of the Mumbai attacks, I got some information in London that India was going to act very drastically against Pakistan in retaliation to what happened," Hassan said. After receiving this information he alerted the Pakistani government and President Asif Ali Zardari to the threat.

In turn, Zardari urgently contacted high level British and American officials who intervened to calm the situation.

"The president spoke to people in various places and the next day Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke to Mr. Zardari and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to Shri Pranab Mukherjee, India's external minister," Hassan said. "It was probably because of that reason why the tension that was building up was eased a little.”
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5. Economics Encourages Aliyah
by Avraham Zuroff

The current global economic crisis has spurred interest in immigration to Israel, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). In recent months, JAFI reports a dramatic rise in the number of immigration applicants due to the declining economy, in which the US has been hit the hardest. 

In response to the economic crisis, JAFI, together with the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, will be running employment seminars throughout North America, Great Britain, and France. An Israeli team of experts will speak on job opportunities, new tax incentives, and health issues that new immigrants and returning Israelis face. In addition, officials will be available to field questions on tuition-free higher education grants for new immigrants, and internship and volunteering opportunities.

“The economic crisis has spurred increased interest in employment opportunities in Israel,” Jewish Agency Aliyah Department liaison Liran Avisar states. “A large number of new immigrants and Israelis in the U.S. have recently inquired into making aliyah (immigration) or returning to Israel. We are privileged to host a team of leading Israeli experts specializing in employment, health insurance, higher education and the new tax reform in order to answer pertinent questions from those considering living in Israel these days.”

Over 2,000 North Americans immigrated to Israel last year, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. Hundreds of Israelis returned from North America. A total of 18,129 new immigrants came to Israel in 2007, while 11,400 people have immigrated between January and October this year. The vast majority of immigrants came from the former Soviet Union, with 6,502 immigrants arriving in 2007. Statistics show a 50 percent increase in the number of Israelis returning in recent months compared to the same time frame last year. Although the economic crisis has also affected Israel, numerous employment options are currently available.

The aliyah conferences will run from Sunday to Thursday in major North American cities, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco, Miami, Montreal, and Toronto.

The New York conference took place on Sunday and the Baltimore conference will take place on Monday. For further information and reservations, contact 212-339-6063, or email workinginisrael@gmail.com

In related news, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption offers a voucher for vocational training for immigrants who are unemployed or who wish to upgrade their skills.

Immigrants who have been living in Israel for less than 10 years are eligible to receive a grant of up to 80 percent of tuition costs. Immigrants must complete all paperwork by December 15 to prevent delays in receiving the voucher due to pending budgetary approval in January. “If you know what you’re interested in studying, or an employer requires a particular course, you can choose a particular institution by yourself," Ministry of Immigrant Absorption’s director of employment opportunities, Claudia Katz told Israel National News. “Alternatively, we could build an individualized educational program based on the immigrant’s interests and the current job market requirements,” Katz added. For more information, immigrants can click the link of the Absorption Ministry's contacts: http://www.moia.gov.il/Moia_en/Employment/VoucherProject.htm?SearchText= 
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6. Arabs, Leftists March in T-A
by Gil Ronen

In the aftermath of the expulsion of Jews from Peace House in Hevron, the foreign-funded Peace Now organization held a rally in Tel Aviv Saturday night, attended by foreigners, Arabs, and anti-Zionists. Among the signs was one that called to “castrate the settlers” living in Judea and Samaria.

A spontaneous counter-demonstration was staged by two Jews who live nearby, but the police pushed them back and destroyed their signs.

Despite the police's action, the counter-demonstrators voiced confidence that the nation is with them and not with the members of Peace Now.


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7. Apartment Prices in Jerusalem
by Baruch Finkelstein

How has the global financial crisis affected the Israeli real estate market? As a real estate agent servicing Jerusalem, I’ve been asked this question many times. Have prices peaked? Will this rising market continue to climb? Or will prices drop drastically?

So far it’s hard to tell. Experts offer contradictory predictions. Some say the real estate market will decline, while other say the forecast looks good and that there is no reason for the prices to drop. From my familiarity with the current market, prices in most Jerusalem neighborhoods are not going down; however neighborhoods that relied on the foreign market such as Rehavia may indeed drop.

However, even in those neighborhoods don’t expect drastic reductions. Here are two examples to illustrate current market trends. Read the continuation of this article in the Arutz Sheva Real Estate Section.
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