Israel's leadership resolved, in top-level strategic discussions three months ago, to do whatever it takes to prevent Iran from having nuclear bombs. This is Maariv's front-page headline on Friday.

Maariv's veteran political reporter Ben Caspit stops short of detailing the precise solution Israel will implement to put an end to Iran's nuclear program, but writes, "Preparations for an Israeli military option intended to stop Iran's nuclear program are underway."

The results of the series of highest-level discussions are thus clear: "The debate between those who believe in doing everything, including a military operation, to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear bomb, and those who think we can live with Iranian nukes, has been settled."

Not only that, but "if the ayatollahs' regime does not fall in the next year, if the Americans do not strike militarily, and if the international sanctions do not break the Iranian nuclear plan, Israel will have to act forcefully."
 
Olmert: Home Front and Air Force
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert gave a strong hint of Israel's intentions when he said in a closed forum last week that the IDF has only two truly important commands: the Home Front Command and the Air Force.

Caspit writes that at present, the U.S. is refusing to cooperate with the Israeli plan and will not give Israel the necessary permission and codes it needs to overfly Iraq in order to attack Iran. "We'll help you defend yourselves," the Americans say, offering special radar systems, "but we won't let you attack." 

A security source put it this way: "The Americans have accepted the fact that Iran will be a nuclear power, and are trying to get us to accept it too."  But we will not, says Caspit.

Sneh's Bloodless Plan
Former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh proposes a third option: A total international embargo on spare parts for Iran's oil industry and a complete international boycott of Iran's banks. 

Others have called for an end to investments and an international divestment capaign from Iran and countries doing business with Iran, including Opposition Leader Binyamin Netanyahu and U.S. Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain.

Sneh sent an eight-clause memo to both McCain and his challenger, Sen. Barack Obama, outlining the plan that he says will be the "most rational and cheap, and will not cause bloodshed."  If the U.S. recruits all of Europe to take part in these "genuine" sanctions, Sneh says, Iran's regime will be toppled from within.  The time to implement this program is within the next 18-24 months; otherwise, Sneh warns, the only alternative will be an Israeli military strike.

Sneh, who recently resigned from the his Labor Party Knesset seat to form a new party, visited last week in Switzerland and Austria - two countries that have announced plans for huge oil and gas investments in Iran in the coming years.

Hearing his hosts describing their future investments, Sneh said he told them quietly, "What a shame, because Ido will set it all on fire." Ido is Maj.-Gen. Ido Nehushtan - Commander of the Israel Air Force that would carry out the air strikes on Iran.

"Investing in Iran in 2008," Sneh told the Austrians, "is like investing in Germany's Krups plant in 1938; it's a high-risk investment." The Austrians turned pale, Sneh said.

A Nigerian group threatened to break off negotiations for the release of kidnapped Israeli businessman on Thursday night, using the excuse that Israel National News had referred to its members as "terrorists" in a story published earlier Thursday.

The group, the "Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta" (MEND), denied responsibility for kidnapping the 60-year-old Israeli businessman who was working in Nigeria but offered assistance in negotiations for his release.

According to a report in Reuters, MEND, which is comprised of indigenous gunmen, said Thursday evening that the Israeli hostage "has been located and seems to be a diabetic patient."

However, MEND wrote to Reuters that the offer of assistance "has been suspended until the Israel National News (Arutz Sheva) rescinds its description of MEND as a terrorist group and offer (sic) an apology in the next publication."

Baruch Gordon, Director of English Media at IsraelNationalNews.com, stated in response, "After consultation with diplomatic sources, IsraelNationalNews.com has decided to remove the reference to the militant group in Niger as 'terrorist.' While there may be no credibility to the threat published in Reuters, as long as there is a possibility that this change will help free the Israeli, we are happy to comply."

Reuters noted that MEND is "the region's main militant group whose campaign of sabotage has included bombing pipelines and kidnapping foreign oil workers."

The kidnap victim, a 60-year-old project manager for the Israeli construction firm Gilmore Engineering Limited, has a home in the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt. He was pulled from his car by four gunmen after he reportedly had left an event held at the home of a Nigerian governor.

His driver has been arrested on suspicion of being connected with the kidnapping.  No one has claimed responsibility for the abduction.

Israeli-Arabs have increasingly been involved in terrorist activities.
Police and security personnel disclosed Thursday evening they arrested five Arabs, including two Israeli citizens, who plotted to kill Jewish scientists and pilots. Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) officers, the IDF and police were involved in the joint investigation and arrests.

Plans to carry out the assassinations were in the early stages when the five were arrested, and they had carried out advanced training for a planned shooting attack on IDF soldiers at the Atarot checkpoint near Jerusalem.

Their intended targets included university academics and pilots. The Israeli-Arabs, from Shefaram, east of Haifa, are a 20-year-old student at the Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah, and a 19-year-old who studies in Jordan. The Palestinian Authority (PA) Arabs are from the Ramallah area.
 
The two Israeli-Arabs raised funds to buy weapons and tried to contact Islamic Jihad headquarters in Syria.

Weapons were confiscated during the arrests.

Israeli-Arabs have increasingly been involved in terrorist activities. Three eastern Jerusalem Arabs carried out separate attacks on Jews this year, including the gruesome massacre of eight students at the Merkaz HaRav yeshiva in the capital.

Police swooped down on the Lower Galilee city of Um el Fahm several days ago to arrest members of the Al Aqsa cell of the Islamic Movement for incitement. 

The Kadima party primaries are only three weeks away, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has opened a wide lead in the polls over her rival, Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz.  Polls show her leading by anywhere from 11 to 21 percentage points.

In at least one sector, however, Mofaz is leading by far.  A Brain Base survey finds that Mofaz has the support of 71% of the non-Jewish sector of the Kadima membership, while Livni has only 4%. 

How Would Kadima Do?
Yet another survey, this one carried out by Panorama Markets, finds that Kadima would do better in the general elections if headed by Livni than by Mofaz - but in either case would finish second to the Likud.  The numbers show that if Livni heads Kadima, the Likud would receive 24 Knesset mandates and Kadima would take 23.  With Mofaz at the helm, however, the Likud would win, 22-19.  Labor would finish in 3rd place in either scenario, with 14 MKs (if Livni heads Kadima) or 17 (Mofaz).

Different Polls, Different Results
In terms of support among the some 70,000 registered Kadima members - including some 3,500 who are also illegally registered in other parties - Livni is well ahead of Mofaz.  The Brain Base survey shows that Livni could garner 46% of the votes, compared to just 35% for Mofaz.

Another survey, by Maariv-Teleseker - shows an even more prominent lead for Livni, 49% to 28%.   The two other candidates, Ministers Dichter and Sheetrit, receive single-digit support.

If any candidate wins while receiving more than 40% of the vote, a second round will not be necessary.

Livni Negotiating a PA State
Mofaz has sharply attacked Livni on many occasions, citing her supposed inexperience and indecisiveness.  Mofaz, a former Defense Minister and IDF Chief of Staff, is perceived to be more hawkish than Livni, who is heavily involved in negotiating an agreement with the Palestinian Authority.

Mofaz has also said that he has much better chances of forming a new government, without having to resort to new elections, than does Livni.  The polls are split on whether Mofaz has made his point. 

Who Can Form a New Government Coalition?
The Brain Base poll shows that 36% of the voting public feel that Mofaz can form an alternative government, while only 19% believe the same about Livni. The Teleseker survey, on the other hand, finds the opposite: 46% think Livni's chances are greater than that of Mofaz, while 30.5% like Mofaz's chances better.

The winner of the primaries will be granted a chance to form Israel's next government.  He or she will be given 42 days to form a government, and if not, elections are to be held 90 days later - somewhere around the end of January. In such a case, the winner of the elections will again have 42 days to form a new government. In any event, Ehud Olmert will remain the Prime Minister until a new government is actually formed.

Several speakers at the Pepsi Center in Denver, where the Democratic convention is being held, argued that Israel's enemies have been emboldened by Republican missteps. JTA reports that the speeches reflect a strategic decision by the Democrats to go on the attack against the Bush administration over Israel, after years of simply insisting both they and the Republicans were equally supportive of the Jewish state.

Alan Solomont, a top fund raiser for John Kerry's presidential campaign in 2004 and for Obama's this year, said that four years ago it was the "belief of the Kerry campaign that [Israel] was not a point of differentiation, and therefore the campaign did focus on other issues."

'Hamas and Hizbullah are on the March'
This year was different. One of those who used his speech to deliver the new talking points was Senator Kerry, who said: "George Bush, with John McCain at his side, promised to spread freedom, but delivered the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time. They misread the threat and misled the country. Instead of freedom, it’s Hamas, Hizbullah, the Taliban and dictators everywhere that are on the march."

Indiana Senator Evan Bayh claimed: "Under George Bush, the Middle East has become more troubled. That hurts America and endangers our ally, Israel, which has been forced to confront a resurgent Hamas, an emboldened Hizbullah and an Iran determined to get nuclear weapons. That is not the change we need."

Florida Representative Robert Wexler said: "We entered into an unnecessary war and remain bogged down in Iraq as Afghanistan backslides and the architects of Sept. 11 remain free. On Bush and McCain’s watch, we have witnessed the growing influence of a belligerent Iran that has destabilized the Middle East and threatens our ally, Israel."

During his speech, Wexler – who boasts of being the first Jewish congressman to back Obama's presidential bid – described the nominee as a staunch supporter of Israel.

Obama 'Stands with Israel' - and Supports Two-State Solution
"In his heart, in his gut, Barack Obama stands with Israel," Wexler said, adding that the candidate "understands the threats Israel faces from Hamas, Hizbullah, Syria and Iran. And as President, Barack Obama will strongly support Israel’s right and capability to defend itself, and finally make progress toward the goal of a two-state solution that preserves Israel’s security as a Jewish state."

President Bill Clinton and Obama's running mate, Joseph Biden, did not directly reference Hamas and Hizbullah but focused on the harm done by what they described as the Bush administration's failure to utilize diplomacy.

Clinton argued that America's "position in the world has been weakened by," among other things, "a failure to consistently use the power of diplomacy, from the Middle East to Africa to Latin America to Center and Eastern Europe."

Biden Blasts Bush
As for Biden, he pointed to Iran as a hot spot where the United States has failed diplomatically.

"Should we trust John McCain’s judgment when he rejected talking with Iran and then asked: What is there to talk about? Or Barack Obama, who said we must talk and make it clear to Iran that its conduct must change," Biden said. "Now, after seven years of denial, even the Bush administration recognizes that we should talk to Iran, because that’s the best way to advance our security. Again, John McCain was wrong. Barack Obama was right."

RJC fires back
Matt Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC), fired back on Thursday, noting that Bush had "redefined" the U.S. relationship with the "Palestinians," marginalized Yasser Arafat and supported Israel's construction of the Judea and Samaria security fence. In addition, he said, Bush had been described as the most pro-Israel president by two Israeli prime ministers.

"I don't know how an appeasement policy being advocated by Sen. Obama and Sen. Biden makes Israel any more safe and secure," Brooks said.

Brooks criticized as "absolutely ludicrous" the Democrats' argument describing the war in Iraq as a disaster that threatened Israel's security. "At the end of the day, we took out one of the most despotic dictators and destabilizing regimes in Iraq that was paying $25,000 to families of suicide bombers sent to kill Israeli civilians," he explained.

Republicans, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani earlier this week, have been painting Obama as na?ve and undependable when it comes to safeguarding Israel. And, in recent days, they have also attempted to challenge Biden's pro-Israel bona fides. The Republican Jewish Coalition issued a statement Wednesday citing a 1982 clash that Biden had with Israel's then-prime minister, Menachem Begin, in which the Delaware senator criticized Israeli expansion of settlement in Judea, Samaria and Gaza and reportedly raised the possibility of cutting U.S. aid to Israel over the issue. In addition, the RJC cited several pro-Israel congressional letters and resolution that Biden did not sign on to.

Biden, who has worked closely with Israel and Jewish groups on many issues, was praised by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee upon being tapped by Obama.

The new Gush Katif Museum in Jerusalem welcomed two well-known and influential visitors on Wednesday. Knesset Member Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) and Chief Rabbi of Ramat Gan Rabbi Yaakov Ariel paid extensive visits to the Jerusalem museum.

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Can't see the video? Click here to see MK Porush react to scenes from the Disengagement.

The museum seeks to preserve the memory of the 21 Jewish communities in Gaza and four in northern Samaria which were uprooted and destroyed in the August 2005 Disengagement. The Gush Katif museum opened just this month to an enthusiastic response from the public. Museum Director Yaakov Klein said that the exhibits will continue to expand.

MK Porush, slated to be the Agudat Yisrael party candidate for Mayor of Jerusalem, visited the museum for an hour and received detailed explanations of the exhibits from Director Klein. Porush is viewed by many as a more hawkish member of the haredi-religious Agudat Yisrael party.  Some say the party could have brought down the Sharon government that executed the Disengagement.

"The heart aches," Porush said after seeing the images and videos from the 2005 expulsion. "There is the idea of remembering and never forgetting that this destruction began the day after Tisha B'Av, when we mourn the destruction of our holy Temples."

Regarding the supporters of the Disengagement, Porush said, "It's important that [they] visit here, so that they can see and remember what they fed us with, as if this thing might bring some sort of salvation or redemption, but eventually, it slapped back in their faces. None of the promises were kept."

Aside from MK Porush, another Jerusalem mayoral candidate has also expressed interest in arranging a guided visit to the museum. Representatives of Jerusalem City Council Member Nir Barkat (Kadima) called the Gush Katif Museum directors shortly after it opened to discuss the possibilities.

A well-known Torah scholar and community leader, Rabbi Ariel wrote a treatise ahead of the Disengagement detailing 40 violations of Jewish law inherent in uprooting Jews from their homes in Gush Katif and Samaria. Rabbi Ariel served as the dean of a yeshiva in the community of Yamit, which was located in the Sinai peninsula until it too was uprooted in 1982 following an agreement with Egypt.

The Gush Katif Museum is located on Shaarei Tzedek St., between Jaffa Rd. and Agripas St., not far from the Machaneh Yehuda open market in downtown Jerusalem. It is open from 1 to 8 PM on weekdays, and from 9 AM-1 PM on Fridays. Admission is free. The phone number is 02-625-5456 and the email address is mgushkatif@gmail.com.

Two girls expelled from Gush Katif have taken it upon themselves to bring about the re-establishment of Gush Katif. They are joined by veteran settlement activist Avi Farhan. The scheduled date of return: September 8.

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Can't see the video? Click here to see what may be the seeds of the redemption of Gush Katif.

Two girls who were expelled from Gush Katif in the 2005 Disengagement decided that they had enough of the neglect they and the other families expelled from their homes in Gaza have been facing. So they have decided to re-ignite the dream of returning to Gush Katif.

Avi Farhan, who was expelled twice - once from the Sinai community of Yamit in 1982 and then from northern Gaza in 2005 - joined the young activists on Wednesday to show them the way back to the demolished communities. The small group viewed the lands of what was Jewish Gaza from afar, examined maps together and discussed creating movement towards a return to the towns of Gush Katif.

"I want to commend the activity of the Gush Katif youth and this is the core that will eventually return to their homes. This is a message to the next generation they will continue to lead the struggle. We are not tired, we are with them but it is time to pass the torch over to the youth," Farhan said.

The tour was a preparation for a larger event planned for the near future. "Join us at the Yad Mordechai junction on September 8th at four o'clock," Farhan announced. "From there, we will reach Eli Sinai, Nisanit and Dugit, the northern Gush Katif communities. We are marking the day the IDF completed its retreat from Gush Katif, the day the synagogues were demolished and the graves were uprooted."

Amalyah Avinoam, a former resident of Nisanit, told Israel National News: "We want to return home to the stability to what we are familiar with. We don't want to live on a tightrope, we fall and get up and fall again. We want to return to building, its time to replant the seeds and return to life."

Twenty-one Jewish communities in Gaza and four in northern Samaria were uprooted and destroyed in the August 2005 Disengagement. The abandoned territory in Gaza was turned over to the Palestinian Authority, which has been using the land for training terrorists and launching rockets at Jewish towns in the western Negev ever since. Many of the thousands of uprooted residents are still trying to put their lives together in terms of housing and employment.

The operators of the country's only toll road, Highway 6, have been ordered to provide itemized bills - without charge.

The Haifa District Court ruled this week that Derekh Eretz Highways, the operators of Israel's north-south Highway 6, has been in violation of the law by charging a fee for itemized bills.

Motorists traveling along the highway, which runs from Wadi Ara (east of Hadera) in the north to just south of Kiryat Gat, are billed based on their entry and departure points.  The drive on each section, approximately 10 kilometers long, costs 3.55 shekels. Special video cameras photograph the vehicles' license plates as they enter and leave the highway; frequent travelers' cars are identified by electronic sensors.

Periodic bills sent to the motorists currently list only the license number being billed, the number of trips taken, and the total amount billed.  Bills that are not paid on time draw fines.

Want to Know More? Pay!
A customer who wishes to know what he is paying for is required to show up in person at a Derekh Eretz office, identify himself, and pay 2.11 shekels for each itemization he orders.

Though the situation appeared to patently unfair, it was only accountant David Porat who finally began legal proceedings against Derekh Eretz, back in 2005.  Only now, three years later, has the ruling he sought been handed down.

Justice is Served
Justice Shulamit Wasserkrug ruled  that Derekh Eretz had taken advantage of wording in the Toll Road Law to refuse to supply free itemizations, and that this was against Income Tax regulations and illegal.  She stated that the company has a legal obligation, like every other business, to supply detailed bills without charge.

Judge Wassekrug had harsh criticism for Derekh Eretz, the legally-authorized Appeals Committee, and the income tax authorities for their foot-dragging on this issue.  Porat had been sent back and forth between these bodies numerous times before finally having his claim redressed in the courts.

It is not clear whether Derekh Eretz will now have to send itemizations by mail, or just provide them upon demand at their offices. Nor is it clear whether it will end up having to refund the monies it collected for itemizations up until now.

Avoiding the Traffic Jams
Highway 6 is currently 122 kilometers long, with work continuing on additional sections in both the north and south.  It is planned to reach from the Shlomi-Nahariya area in the north, to the Netivot area in the Negev.  The highway will revert to state ownership after 30 years of operation, after the builders have had a chance to earn profits on their five-billion shekel investment in its construction and operation.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has granted complete amnesty to 45 terrorists who had been on a partial amnesty program, including one responsible for scores of deadly attacks. 

The amnesty program was begun over a year ago, and features the temporary removal from Israel's "wanted terrorists" list of Palestinian Authority Arabs who disarm and promise to cease their terrorist activities.  They were also required to spend three months in jail and three months under house arrest, according to some reports.

Nearly 180 terrorists were on the original list. Some of them were ultimately granted full pardons for complying with the terms, while others who did not were re-arrested and even killed in battle with Israeli forces.

Now, reports WorldNetDaily's Aaron Klein, Olmert has decided to grant complete amnesty to another group of 45 terrorists - including Ala Senakreh, head of the deadly Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah in Judea and Samaria. 

Klein reports that Senakreh, of the terrorist group's stronghold in Shechem (Nablus), directed cells that carried out scores of suicide bombings inside Israel.  It was either his group or Islamic Jihad, or both, that claimed responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel in 2005, 2006 and 2007, as well as for scores of deadly shooting attacks.

Dozens of other terrorists who have been permanently removed from the "wanted" list later returned to active terrorism and took part in attacks against Israelis. Just this week, Israel arrested terror suspect Mahmoud Lubada, of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades member, who was pardoned by last month.

Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer says he plans to sue Rabbi Yisrael Rosen for "incitement and calls to murder" in response to an article in which the rabbi referred to members of group as "informers."

Rabbi Rosen, Director of the Tzomet Institute, used the charged Hebrew word "mosser" (Yiddish: moisser) in his Sabbath message in this week's Shabbat B'Shabbato newsletter.

The rabbi pointed out in the article that under a certain Torah law (Halacha), one is allowed to kill a mosser. He was careful to add, however, that no one must "take Halacha into his own hands" and that matters of life and death must be decided by a Rabbinic Court.

Oppenheimer, incensed, asserted that "the legal authorities must not stand for the phenomenon that is evidenced by alleged Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, and not allow such incitement and calls to murder." He added that he intends to file a petition with the Attorney-General asking him to "file charges against the rabbi and his dangerous words."

The rabbi's article was written in the context of the recently agreed upon plan to move the Samarian Jewish community of Migron to a new location. Rosen said the issue at stake is the conflict between a belief-based grip on the land, and the "informing" by Peace Now.

Migron, a community comprised of 42 families, including more than 100 children, was founded on 19 Adar 5762 (March 3, 2002). It is perched on a strategic hilltop overlooking Samaria's central artery, Highway 60, which leads from Jerusalem to the Binyamin region and such communities as Ofrah, Beit El, Shilo and Eli. Located between Kochav Yaakov and Michmash, Migron is a quick 15-minute drive north of the capital.

Though some of the land on which the community was built was definitely purchased by Jews, other parts of the community are situated on tracts of privately-owned Arab land. However, those Arabs had never come forward to make their claim, nor had they ever cultivated or laid any claim to it, until Peace Now sought them out and encouraged them to do so.

It was this act by Peace Now members, who "informed" Arab land owners that they had a claim to land upon which a Jewish town was built, thus causing the expulsion of Jews and destruction of Jewish homes, that prompted Rabbi Rosen to declare they were "mosser."

Oppenheimer appeared unmoved by the distress caused to Jewish families and upheaval in Jewish lives.

"Peace Now will continue in its struggle to put a stop to the illegal construction of settlements and the struggle for a sane future of the State of Israel," he responded in a statement. 

Police questioned Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for the seventh time Friday, this time focusing on suspicions of a $330,000 bribe he may have received by buying a house on Cremieux Street in Jerusalem at a reduced price. Police have surprising evidence against the Prime Minister, according to the Hebrew news website NFC, which has been at the forefront in exposing investigations against him.

The Friday questioning of Prime Minister Olmert has become routine, and he was questioned at his Jerusalem residence. Most of the previous police questioning has centered on envelopes of cash that the Prime Minister received from American businessman Morris Talansky before he began serving in his present position. Talansky was to return to Israel for further cross-examination, but has refused because of fears that American investigators may use his testimony here against him in an ongoing criminal probe there.
 
The alleged bribe that Olmert received came in the form of a reduction in the price of house, in return for his allegedly arranging permits for a building project on Cremieux Street, which had been declared a preserved area. Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem at the time.
 
Attorney General Menachem Mazuz authorized the police to investigate him for bribery, unlike previous probes that concerned lesser charges of fraud and breach of faith.

More than 30 witnesses and suspects have testified so far, and the investigators reportedly confronted him with new evidence that NFC stated "supports criminal charges against him."