Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting in Jerusalem November 19, 2007, in this picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO- Reuters).
US authorities issued an alert for possible terrorism in the run-up to the Annapolis Summit that is planned for next week.
The AP reported:
Federal authorities have advised local law enforcement agencies to be alert to possible terrorism threats because of the Middle East peace conference next week in Annapolis, Homeland Security and FBI officials said Friday.
Although intelligence reports indicate no credible threats by domestic extremist groups to the conference or Islamic or Jewish sites in the Annapolis area, “nonetheless, the Department of Homeland Security does not discount the threat of the lone wolf terrorist, including individuals radicalized by homegrown extremist groups or Internet content,” said a bulletin issued by the agency and the FBI.
The threat assessment bulletin highlights about a dozen groups, including the radical Islamic fundamentalist organization Hamas, and Hezbollah, the Lebanese umbrella organization of radical Islamic Shiite groups that is a bitter foe of Israel.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Laura Keehner said the bulletin was sent to law enforcement agencies “in an abundance of caution.”
“It’s basically saying we’re mindful of those who wish to do us harm,” she said.
National Terror Alert has more on the unclassified threat.
More Bad News…
Caroline Glick discussess the futility of next week’s summit:
Clinton’s peace policies caused a war that began only at the end of his presidency. Until then, they seemed like relatively safe and cost-free moves. On the other hand, Bush’s presidency has occurred in its entirety against the backdrop of the Palestinian jihad. Every attempt he has made at peacemaking, from the Tenet Plan through the road map and Sharm e-Sheikh and onto Annapolis, has been blown apart through violence before it could get off the ground.
Read the whole thing for background on the upcoming summit.
Ambassador Dore Gold at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs sent a statement on the changing stance by the Bush Administration. Ambassador Gold also points out the dangers of more Israeli concessions:
Israelis have learned from their experience with Gaza what can happen to their most vital security interests if they are not safeguarded at the same time that far-reaching territorial concessions are made. The Philadelphi Corridor, between Palestinian Gaza and Egyptian Sinai, has become an open thoroughfare for smuggling massive amounts of weapons and trained terrorist operatives. An Israeli pullout from the Jordan Valley separating the West Bank from Jordan, would yield similar results, but on a much larger scale and undermine Jordanian stability, as well.
