1:01 PM 11/6/2013
» Former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned to death with radioactive polonium: widow
06/11/13 16:08 from Reuters: International
PARIS (Reuters) - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was poisoned to death in 2004 with radioactive polonium, his widow Suha said on Wednesday after receiving the results of Swiss forensic tests on her husband's corpse.
» Yasser Arafat 'Was Murdered With Polonium'
06/11/13 16:28 from Sky News | World News | First For Breaking News
The former Palestinian leader's wife claims forensic tests have uncovered evidence of poisoning and a "political assassination".
» Israel-Palestinian talks: Why fate of Jordan Valley is key - BBC News
06/11/13 16:22 from Top Stories - Google News
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» Iran Ready to Agree Nuclear Deal
06/11/13 15:45 from WSJ.com: World News
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran is ready to reach an agreement on its nuclear program during upcoming talks in Geneva without offering details on how a deal might be reached.
11:48 AM 11/6/2013
» US and Russia fail to agree Syria peace talks date - RTE.ie
06/11/13 12:05 from Russia - Google News
US and Russia fail to agree Syria peace talks date RTE.ie The US and Russia have failed to agree a date for a Syrian peace conference. The two countries remain divided over what role Iran might play in talks to end the civil war and over...
» US, Russia fail to agree on Syria peace talks date - Reuters
06/11/13 01:30 from Russia - Google News
Haaretz US, Russia fail to agree on Syria peace talks date Reuters GENEVA (Reuters) - The United States and Russia failed on Tuesday to agree on a date for a Syrian peace conference, remaining divided over what role Iran might play in ta...
» Human Rights Group Urges Inquiry Into 'Mistreatment' of Norwegian Journalists in Sochi
06/11/13 05:05 from The Moscow Times Top Stories
A global human rights group on has called on the International Olympic Committee to take action over the reported mistreatment by Russian police of two Norwegian journalists on a reporting trip in Sochi, which is set to host the Winter G...
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» Research dispute puts EU-Israel ties under severe strain
06/11/13 14:02 from Reuters: International
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - As Israel looks warily west in the hope that the United States has its back in any conflict with Iran, it might do well to glance north and consider its relations with Europe too.
10:46 AM 11/6/2013
Research dispute puts EU-Israel ties under severe strain
By Luke Baker
BRUSSELS | Wed Nov 6, 2013 9:02am EST
(Reuters) - As Israel looks warily west in the hope that the United States has its back in any conflict with Iran, it might do well to glance north and consider its relations with Europe too.
Over the past four years, ties between the European Union and Israel have grown increasingly fractious, with Brussels seldom missing an opportunity to lambaste Benjamin Netanyahu's government for building settlements on occupied Palestinian land and restricting access to large portions of the West Bank.
In a series of statements since June 2009, soon after Netanyahu came to power and settlement expansion began, EU foreign ministers have steadily sharpened their tone, leading to the publication in July this year of strict new rules on how EU funds can be distributed to Israeli organizations.
The funding guidelines, which effectively ban EU money being allotted to Israeli research institutes and other entities that have operations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, are a source of great aggravation to Israel.
From Europe's point of view, they merely put down on paper what has been a long-held position: that the occupation of Palestinian land is illegal under international law and EU governments don't want to finance activities there.
Either way, it has brought relations to a tense pass, one of the worst periods diplomats can recall in the past decade, and the situation may well get worse.
"There has been a steady downward trend in relations, although perhaps not as bad as sometimes portrayed in the Israeli media," said Mattia Toaldo, a specialist on Israel and the Middle East at the European Council on Foreign Relations.
"The guidelines are part of a political trend that has been part of EU policy since the 1970s but has become more explicit since 2009, and has been stepped up since last December."
While the EU, which provides more than 450 million euros a year to the Palestinians, is regarded by Israel as a less substantial ally than the United States, it still matters a great deal, especially in terms of trade and investment.
The EU is Israel's largest trading partner, supplying nearly 35 percent of Israel's imports, the largest share, while more than a quarter of its exports go to the EU.
In 2000, the EU granted the country preferential trade terms, mainly for agricultural and industrial goods, and there has been a steady rise in cooperation on scientific research and technology too, which is where the guidelines come in.
BRIGHT FUTURE?
From next year until the end of the decade, the EU will spend 70 billion euros - 10 billion a year - on scientific research and development, a program called Horizon 2020.
Israel is the only non-EU country invited to take part and will contribute some of the funding, around 600 million euros. In return, its top-notch scientists and researchers will gain access to the wider funding pot, with the expectation that they will secure far more financing than the country puts in.
And there's the rub. The EU's guidelines proscribe any of the money going to entities in the West Bank or East Jerusalem, even though some of the financing ultimately comes from Israel.
"As it stands, we cannot sign Horizon 2020," Deputy Foreign Minister Ze'ev Elkin told Reuters last month. "It would force us to discriminate against our own institutions."
When the guidelines were published in July there was widespread finger-pointing by Israel over whether the EU had kept it informed of the plans. Some Israeli officials suggested the EU had been less than transparent.
Records show Israel was in fact briefed by the EU five times before the publication, although it had essentially no say in shaping the language drafted by the European Commission.
Since then, senior officials have met in Brussels and Jerusalem to try to work out a way of interpreting the guidelines that is acceptable to both sides. There has been little progress so far. Another meeting is due before the end of the month to try to strike a deal in time for Horizon 2020 to begin as planned from January 1, 2014.
While EU and Israeli officials are reasonably hopeful that a compromise can be reached in time, others are not so sure. Toaldo of the European Council on Foreign Relations expects Horizon 2020 to start without Israel, but with the door left open for them to join at some point in the coming years.
That would mark a further decline in ties, although not an irreparable break. However, another set of EU proposals, this time on the labeling of goods made by Israel at factories or farms on the West Bank, is in the pipeline and is likely to be even more sensitive for Israel and disruptive to relations.
Asked when rules on labeling would be published, a senior EU official said: "These are discussions that take some time. They are proceeding and they are rather sensitive ones, so I think one can expect that it may take some more time."
In the past, the EU and Israel have always managed to patch up their differences. A similar outcome is likely now - no one expects a fundamental breakdown in diplomatic relations.
But the EU, which wants Israel to change policy on settlement building and loosen restrictions in the West Bank, specifically Area C that makes up 60 percent of the territory and is controlled by Israeli security, does not appear minded to soften its approach. It thinks the pressure is working.
Toaldo agrees that the EU's approach is having an impact, whether intentional or not, for example in helping to shunt the Israelis and Palestinians back to talks. But he also warns against seeing such an attitude as a workable policy.
"I would say one step at a time. You can strain EU-Israel relations too much and too quickly," he said, adding that while Europe matters to Israel, the reverse is also true.
(Writing by Luke Baker; additional reporting by Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem; editing by Giles Elgood)
10:42 AM 11/6/2013
» Israeli Court Acquits Former Foreign Minister
06/11/13 11:10 from Voice of America
Former Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman is expected to return to his post, after a court acquitted him in a corruption trial. Lieberman stepped down to face allegations that he appointed an ambassador in exchange for informatio...
» Snowden Shakes Up Washington - The American Conservative
05/11/13 01:09 from fbi aclu report - Google News
The American Conservative Snowden Shakes Up Washington The American Conservative It was the exposure that forced them to respond with outrage and that could lead to serious diplomatic strife—already the affected counties are demanding a ...
» Former FBI Agent Mike German Talks About the NSA - American Civil Liberties Union News and Information (blog)
05/11/13 12:26 from fbi - Google News
Former FBI Agent Mike German Talks About the NSA American Civil Liberties Union News and Information (blog) Mike German is a 16-year veteran of the FBI , where he served as a special agent in domestic terrorism. His work led him to resig...
» Is LAX shooting the result of anti-government hatred? - Los Angeles Times
04/11/13 20:50 from fbi aclu report - Google News
Is LAX shooting the result of anti-government hatred? Los Angeles Times It's depressing, but there is probably no way to fully protect the public against people like 23-year-old Paul Anthony Ciancia, who, according to the FBI , was c...
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