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Sunday, May 9, 2010
Excerpts: Hizbullah arms safe from government action. Pro/Anti Hamas split in Jordan's Islamic Action Front. Egypt may run out of oil and gas by 2020. Saudi protects borders with Yemen May 09, 2010

Excerpts: Hizbullah arms safe from government action.Pro/Anti Hamas split in
Jordan's Islamic Action Front.Egypt may run out of oil and gas by 2020.Saudi
protects borders with Yemen May 09, 2010

+++SOURCE: JORDAN TIMES 9 May '10:" Lebanon president says he will not ask
Hizbollah to disarm", Reuters
QUOTE:" goverenment cannot ask Hizbullah to give up its arms"

EXCERPTS:BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese President Michel Sleiman said the
government cannot ask Shiite group Hizbollah to give up its arms at a time
of heightened Israeli tension and before agreement on a national defence
strategy was reached.
Israeli allegations last month that Syria had transferred long-range scud
missiles to Hizbollah fuelled security concerns although Lebanon and Syria
both denied the charge, while Hizbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has
refused to comment.
Hizbollah is on the United States' terrorism blacklist but it is also part
of the Lebanese government.
Syria says it only gives Hizbollah political backing and that Israel may be
using the accusation as a pretext for a military strike . . ..
Israel has criticised the UN peacekeeping force in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL,
for not stopping weapons it says are flowing to Hizbollah fighters. The
United Nations says that is the responsibility of the Lebanese authorities.

+++SOURCE:JORDAN TIMES 9 May '10:" Islamic Action Front shura council elects
officers despite doves’ walkout"'By Mohammad Ben Hussein
SUBJECT: Pro/Anti Hamas splitt in Jordan's Islamic Action Front

FULL TEXT:AMMAN - The Islamic Action Front (IAF) on Saturday(8 May) elected
its shura council members with hawkish Ali Abul Sukkar as president, despite
a decision to adjourn the session after a group of dovish members walked out
of the meeting.
Yesterday’s meeting was meant to bring an end to a growing rift between the
hawks and doves over a number of issues, particularly ties with Hamas, but
it ended up with the dove camp rejecting the vote taken by the remaining
members in favour of Abul Sukkar, leaving the largest opposition party in a
continued state of uncertainty.
Abul Sukkar declined to condemn those who walked out of the meeting, saying
they exercised their rights.
He admitted the situation could spell difficulty for the 120-member shura
council in the future, considering that nearly half of its members do not
recognise him as the new president.
In fact, Hosni Jarrar, who chaired the meeting as the eldest member under
the party’s bylaws, issued a statement published by electronic media outlets
yesterday rejecting any decision taken after he adjourned the meeting, which
he did due to the state of chaos and shouting that prevailed at the
gathering.
“We will try to work out a mechanism to ensure cooperation with our
colleagues who left the meeting. What happened will create hurdles for us,
but we will be able to overcome them,” Abul Sukkar told The Jordan Times.
Abul Sukkar said the meeting was postponed until next week to elect a new
secretary general of the party, with the hawk Zaki Bani Rsheid looking
poised to take over the sensitive post.
Next week's meeting will also see the council elect members of the executive
bureau as well as judges of the party’s courts - votes that had been
scheduled for yesterday's meeting.
Council members said many of the doves walked out after the meeting's agenda
was announced by the council's temporary president, Jarrar.
Key dove leaders insisted they would not recognise Abul Sukkar's election,
as it took place following the walkout.
“The session was called off by the temporary president in line with the
power vested in him. Therefore, the entire election process is null and
void,” said one member, who requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of
the issue.
Abul Sukkar, however, contended his election was valid.
The IAF, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, has been deeply
divided between hawks, who favour stronger ties with Hamas, and doves, who
are pushing for the party to sever its links with the Palestinian Islamist
group and focus on local issues.

+++SOURCE:ALMASRYALYOUM via Egypt Daily News 9 May '10:"Petroleum expert:
Egypt
oil and gas may dry up by 2020",Mesbah Kotb Adel Elbahnsawy

QUOTE:"Egypt needs to curb its gas and petroleum production to only cover
dometic consumpyon"

EXCERPTS:Egypt's demand for petroleum and gas will reach 103 billion tons
annually by the beginning of 2020, the equivalent of 750 million barrels of
oil, said Hussein Abdallah, former first undersecretary of the Ministry of
Petroleum.

Egypt's oil and gas reserves are officially estimated at 16 billion barrels
of oil and 12 billion tons of gas, the equivalent of 2200 tons of petroleum,
said Abdallah, therefore, Egypt's share of these reserves, after its foreign
partners take their share, may be fully depleted by the beginning of 2020.
This would force Egypt to purchase its petroleum and gas at world market
prices, which is not expected to be less than US$120 a barrel. At this
price, Egypt would have to pay US$90 billion annually to satisfy its demand
for petroleum and gas.

As Abdallah indicated in his latest study, "The challenges and dangers
associated with oil and gas in Egypt and the Middle East," the critical
point may arrive several years before 2020. At this point, Egypt will be
plunged into an international struggle of states seeking to secure their oil
and gas needs in a climate of diminishing reserves.

Egypt has been a net importer of petroleum and gas for some time, since its
production no longer meets domestic demand, said Abdallah. This difference
is covered by purchasing oil and gas on the world market at international
prices in foreign currencies. . . .

Citing Egypt's limited non-petroleum exports and increased dependence on
imports to fulfill basic needs, Abdallah asked, "What happens if we become
incapable of providing for our energy needs?". . .

Egypt's plan to increase production and exports will only cause Egypt's gas
reserves to dry up more quickly. At a production rate of 90 million tons per
year, Egypt's 76 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves could dry up within 20
years. However, some experts believe Egypt's actual reserves are
significantly smaller.

There are several questions that need to be answered, said Abdallah.
According to reports issued by the Ministry of Petroleum, the cost of
production does not exceed 70 cents for every million BTUs. The selling
price is significantly higher than this, and should bring Egypt substantial
revenues.

Egypt needs to curb its gas and petroleum production to only cover domestic
consumption, so that its reserves can be used to meet the needs of future
generations, said Abdallah. Such a policy will delay the point at which
Egypt will become completely dependent on importing energy.

Translated from the Arabic Edition

+++SOURCE: SAUDI GAZETTE 9 May '10:"Partial withdrawal of forces from
southern
border"By Taha Tawashi
EXCERPTS:JIZAN – Some troops have been withdrawn from the Kingdom’s(Yrmrn)
southern borders because they have completed their mission of purging the
area of infiltrators and restoring peace, it was announced by Prince Khaled
Bin Sultan, Assistant Minister of Defense for Military Affairs.
“Your nation will never ever forget your sacrifices and brave stand in the
face of the infiltrators. King Abdullah( and officials)...l commend your
sacrifices in the protection of your beloved country.”
“After assessing the situation, we found that the armed forces stationed on
the border had successfully completed their tasks.... It was, therefore,
natural for some of the units to return to their earlier positions. The
remaining forces stationed on the border are capable of confronting and
deterring any infiltrator who dares cross the Kingdom’s border. In addition
to this, there are other forces that support the Frontier Guard on the
border. These forces can act [in the event of] any emergency along with the
Frontier Guard.”
“Things have returned to normal so the Frontier Guard have taken over, with
the support of a few units from the armed forces.. . .The armed forces are
well-equipped and can fight any battle any time.”
. . .Prince Khaled said the Kingdom’s leadership is not concerned with what
happens on the other side of the border. “What happens inside Yemen is an
internal affair. The only thing we can do is to stand with our brothers in
Yemen and their government. We only want the best for the brotherly Yemeni
people. I also want to make it clear that anyone who crosses the Kingdom’s
borders, for so much as an inch, will be forced to return.” He said the
Kingdom’s army will force infiltrators to “think a hundred times” before
embarking on “any adventure or think of coming back”.. . .

=============
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA
. . .

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