May 20, 2008
MEMRI Special Dispatch 1936
The following is the transcript of a speech delivered by Hamas Culture Minister Atallah Abu Al-Subh. The speech aired on Al-Aqsa TV on May 18, 2008.

"I Can See the Blood of the Children of Afghanistan Between [Bush's] Fangs; Their Blood Drips Onto His Lips And Chest; He Is Dracula, a Vampire"

Atallah Abu Al-Subh: "American support of Israel is total. It gets to the point where the Israeli demands turn into resolutions adopted by the Security Council, under the complete auspices of America. Thank you, America!

May 20, 2008
By George Friedman
Stratfor

In geopolitics, we are frequently confronted with what appears to be a great deal of movement. Sometimes it is the current geopolitical reality breaking apart and a new one emerging. Sometimes it is simply meaningless motion in a fixed geopolitical reality — nothing more than the illusion of movement generated for political reasons as players maneuver within a fixed framework for minor advantage or internal political reasons. In other words, we need to distinguish between geopolitics and politics.

Monday, May 19, 2008
IMRA
(Communicated by the IDF Spokesman)
Now released for publication: Alaa Jihad Ouad Abu Madif, a resident of Karara located near Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, was arrested on 15 April in a joint IDF-ISA operation. Iranian-trained Abu Madif, a member of the Abu Rish faction which splintered from the PLO in the 1990s, was involved in rocket attacks against Israel and was an intended suicide-bomber against IDF forces.

May 19, 2008
Memri Dispatch
Bin Laden Calls on Muslims to Confront Arab Regimes, Wage Jihad to Liberate Palestine    
Al-Qaeda's Al-Sahab Media Company posted on Islamist websites, including Al-Ikhlas, a message by Osama bin Laden titled "[An Address] to the Islamic Umma."(1) The message is a desperate call to Muslim youth to assist the Palestinians in Gaza and to confront the "treacherous" Arab regimes and leaders that stand in the way of the goals of the mujahideen.

May 19, 2008

INSS Policy Brief No. 12,
Shmuel Even

Background
There have been some fundamental changes in the peace process over the last year:

a.   The Syrian channel: After years of stagnation there are signs of activity through mediators. The Syrians declared that Israel has signaled that it would be willing to withdraw from the Golan Heights on certain conditions. What is taking place is still far from direct negotiations, and each side is suspicious of the other.

b.   The Palestinian channel: While Israel conducts negotiations with Abu Mazen, the split in the Palestinian camp completely rules out – at least for the foreseeable future – the possibility of realizing a political solution that relates to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as a single entity.

May 17, 2008
by Scott Stearns
Riyadh
Stearns report - Listen (MP3)
Bush Saudi Arabia report / Broadband - Watch (WM) 

U.S. President George Bush is in Saudi Arabia for talks with King Abdullah marking the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Washington and Riyadh. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports, the two leaders are expected to reach agreement on civilian nuclear technology.

May 15, 2008
INSS Insight No. 55
by Shlomo Brom

Negotiations toward a ceasefire in Gaza, mediated by Egypt and other channels, have been ongoing for some time. Now, however, Egypt's efforts to convince Hamas and the other armed groups in Gaza to agree to a ceasefire while relinquishing some of their demands have borne fruit. The Egyptian minister of intelligence, Omar Suleiman, came to Israel to urge the government to accept Egypt's proposal for a six month ceasefire. Israel must decide whether such a ceasefire would harm Israel's broader interests, and whether its conditions resolve Israel's principal hesitations.