Excerpts: Saudi lauds Brazil,Argentina O.K. to Palestinian state. Jordan
government rejects Islamist opposition insults. Egypt benefits from business
cooperation with Israel. Iranian lawmakers urge downgrade relations with
Britain. Irans atomic chief named Foreign Minister. Maronite Patriarch urges
internal cooperation December 14, 2010

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 14 Dec.'10:"Saudi Arabia praises Brazil, Argentina
move
on Palestine",Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Saudi lauds Brazil,Argentina re O.K. of Palestinian state.

QUOTE: The Saudi statement did not mention Uruguay"

FULL TEXT:RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi Arabia on Monday[13 Dec] praised the
recognition of the Palestinian state by Brazil and Argentina, calling it a
major advance in international support for Palestinian rights.
The council of ministers praised both South American nations for recognising
the state of Palestine based on 1967 borders, government spokesman Abdulaziz
Khoja told the official SPA news agency after the weekly council meeting.
He "stressed that this step represents a major development in international
support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people," SPA reported.
Khoja also warned against continued Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes
in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, "and called on Arab and Muslim
nations to take a firm stance against such violations which increase
instability in the region and the world”, SPA said.
Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay all announced their recognition of the
Palestinian state in the first week of December following the collapse of
efforts to resume direct peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis.
The failure of the negotiations, just three weeks after they were launched
in early September, came after Israel refused to halt construction in Jewish
settlements in the West Bank.
The Saudi statement did not mention Uruguay.

+++SOURCE: Jordan Times 14 Dec '10:"Gov’t slams IAF fatwa on Afghanistan
mission",By Mohammad Ben Hussein and Petra

SUBJECT: Jordan government rejects Islamist opposition insults

QUOTE:"The fatwa (religious edict) went so far as saying that such an act
[joining US action in Afghanistan] is apostasy"

FULL TEXT:AMMAN - The government on Monday[13 Dec] expressed its rejection
and condemnation of a statement issued by the Islamist opposition, which
criticised Jordan’s military participation in missions led by the US across
the world.
The Islamic Action Front (IAF), the political wing of the Muslim
Brotherhood, said joining American forces in their military presence in
Afghanistan and Sudan is “haram”, or religiously rejected and a “form of
oppression” against brotherly Muslims.
The fatwa (religious edict) went as far as saying that such an act is
apostasy.
"Fighting alongside the Americans means supporting non-Muslims against
Muslims, this is haram and those who do it can consider themselves
non-Muslims," said the group in a statement made available to The Jordan
Times.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State and Government Spokesperson Ayman
Safadi voiced utter rejection of “the insults made by IAF against the
significant role of the Jordan Armed Forces in helping the Afghan people in
restoring security and stability and providing them with medical and
humanitarian services”.
Jordan is proud of the important role its army and security agencies are
carrying out to help brothers either in Gaza, Afghanistan or any part of the
Muslim and Arab world, Safadi said, highlighting Jordan’s contributions to
brining about peace and security worldwide through its participation in
peace missions.
“Standing by brothers to encounter the challenges is a duty Jordan carries
out proudly in a clear and transparent manner to go in line with its
national and humanitarian stances,” Safadi said, describing such statements
as “irresponsible”.
The IAF fatwa, issued by its religious scholars, said support should be
directed to resistance in Afghanistan and other parts where fighting against
American forces takes place and called on soldiers to disobey their leaders
in this regard.
Remarking that Jordan will continue to provide assistance to all Muslim and
Arab countries, including the people of Afghanistan in the face of the
challenges these countries encounter, Safadi also said that the Kingdom will
exert utmost efforts to protect Jordan and Jordanians from any party,
regardless of location, that target their security and stability.
Jordan has repeatedly declared that the fight against Al Qaeda terror group,
which succeeded in killing dozens of innocent people in three of Amman’s
hotels in 2005, will continue so as to protect the country’s security.

+++SOURCE: Bloomberg via Egypt Daily News 14 Dec.'10:"Israeli Buttons on
Egyptian Garments Mean Double Clothing Exports to U.S.",By Alaa Shahine

SUBJECT:Egypt benefits from buisiness cooperation with Israel.

QUOTE:" 'Business is business . . .This is creating Jobs for women and for
young people' "

FULL TEXT:Alaa Arafa, who runs Egypt’s biggest clothing exporter, says any
of his countrymen concerned about trading with Israel should see how doing
so has boosted exports to the U.S.
“Business is business,” the chief executive officer of Al Arafa Investments
and Consulting said in an interview in Cairo. “This is creating jobs for
women and for young people.”
Sales of Egyptian garments to the American market have doubled to $800
million in the past five years, thanks to a 2005 U.S.-brokered trade accord
with Israel, and may increase 25 percent next year alone, Arafa said.
Egypt is now in talks with the U.S. to widen the trade agreement, setting up
more so-called Qualifying Industrial Zones in the Arab world’s most populous
country and third-largest economy after Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates. The accord allows companies to export goods to the U.S. duty-free
if they have an Israeli component, such as buttons and zippers.
The improvement in trade ties comes after decades of uneasy relations
between the two countries, which fought each other in four regional wars
between 1948 and 1973. Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab state to make
peace with Israel, a decision that remains controversial. A government poll
in 2006 found that 92 percent of Egyptians consider Israel an enemy.
The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist opposition group, is demanding that the
government break off ties with the Jewish state. Opposition newspapers in
September said gas exports to Israel since 2005 left power stations
undersupplied and led to nationwide electricity cuts. The Oil Ministry
denied the claims.
“Gas Exports to the Zionist Entity! When Will This Shame End?” read a
headline on the Brotherhood’s website.
Expansion Plans
The Egyptian government hasn’t been deterred from doing business with its
neighbor. The government plans to expand the zone agreement to include all
the provinces in Upper Egypt, a poor region south of Cairo that is a
stronghold of the Brotherhood.
Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif said in October that extending the trade zones to
the south will help labor-intensive industries. “Nobody can deny the
positive impact,” he told reporters in Cairo.
More than 700 Egyptian companies have based themselves in the zones so far.
Four areas in northern Egypt were initially designated for the zones, known
by their acronym of QIZ, and the deal was extended last year to the
provinces of Minya and Beni Suef in the south.
“The QIZ agreement has significantly enlarged Israel’s bilateral exports to
Egypt,” said Amira Oren, director of the Egypt department at the Israeli
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Israeli exports to the Arab country rose 50
percent to $90 million in the year after the agreement was signed, she said.
‘Closer Relationship’
The accord “has definitely brought a closer relationship and more
understanding among the Israelis and Egyptians involved,” Oren said.
In return for signing the peace treaty, Egypt received more than $28 billion
in direct economic assistance from the U.S. through 2006, according to the
U.S. Agency for International Development. Egypt is also expected to export
some $4 billion of gas to Israel over the next 15 years, Oren said.
Having diplomatic ties with Israel has helped Egypt play a leading role in
the region even as Iran and Saudi Arabia increase their influence. Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak, 82, has played host in the past decade to several
rounds of Israeli- Palestinian peace talks, the last of which took place in
September in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
‘Warm’ Ties
Leaders of both countries have found common opponents in militant groups
such as Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, said Hala
Moustafa, a journalist and member of the ruling party’s policy committee.
Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel, the U.S. and the European
Union.
While Moustafa described ties as “very warm,” Israel remains a target for
some Egyptians.
In 2008, Culture Minister Faruq Hosni said in parliament that he would burn
any Israeli book found in Egypt, a remark for which he later apologized.
Writers such as Moustafa and playwright Ali Salem, who promote normalization
with Israel, find their patriotism questioned in the media.
“There is a dichotomy between the security cooperation” taking place “and
other aspects of the relationship,” such as cultural and social cooperation,
that are less advanced, Oren said.
That tension hasn’t stopped Egyptian companies from using the zones. El Nasr
Clothes & Textiles, a knitwear company that produces clothes for clients
such as London-based Marks & Spencer Group Plc, plans to use the new
industrial zones to export to the U.S. market, in the hope this will help it
swing back to profitability after enduring a loss last year.
Making Use
“Of course we will make use of the QIZ,” Amr El Sharnoubi, chairman and
managing director of the company, based in the Mediterranean city of
Alexandria, said in an interview.
Arafa, who declined to give sales figures for his company, says it isn’t
just textiles and clothing companies that can benefit from the zones. He
suggests exporters focus on goods that incur high tariffs when exported to
the U.S., such as dried onion. That product is usually subject to a
36-percent duty absent an Israeli component, such as packaging, he said.
“If you make it here and ship it to the United States you will make a
fortune,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alaa Shahine in Cairo at
asalha@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg at
phirschberg@bloomberg.net.

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 14 Dec.'10:"Iran MPs for downgraded ties with UK",
Simpn Gass, Reuters

SUBJECT:Iranian lawmakers urge downgrade relations with Britain

QUOTE:" 'this is the minimum cost that London should pay for confronting the
Iranian nation.' "

FULL TEXT:TEHRAN: Iranian lawmakers have called on the government to
downgrade its relations with Britain for interfering in the country’s
internal affairs, state media reported.
Britain is at odds with Iran over its disputed nuclear programme, and has
frequently been accused by Tehran of meddling and fomenting anti-government
protests in the country following the disputed presidential election in
2009. “Iran will lose nothing from downgrading relations with Britain ...
this is the minimum cost that London should pay for confronting the Iranian
nation,” lawmaker Kazem Jalali told state television.
Jalili also criticised the “impudent” behaviour of the British Ambassador to
Iran, Simon Gass.
– Reuters

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 14 Dec.'10:"[Iran's] Mottaki fired as FM, Salehi
takes
charge" Reuters

SUBJECT: Iran's atomic chief named Foreign Minister

QUOTE:" assembly has accused Ahmadinejad of concentrating more power in his
own hands"; "Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali KKhamenei has the last word on
nuclear poliy and other matters of state."

FULL TEXT:TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed his
long-serving foreign minister Monday13 Dec) and named one of his own close
allies, atomic chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, as his interim replacement.
The sacking of Manouchehr Mottaki is an indication of a struggle between the
president and parliament in which the assembly has accused Ahmadinejad of
concentrating more power in his own hands and riding roughshod over the
views of lawmakers.
There was no indication, however, that the switch signaled any shift in the
country’s nuclear policy or the broad lines of its foreign policy. Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the last word on nuclear policy and other
matters of state.
“I appreciate your diligence and services as the foreign minister,” state
news agency IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in a letter to Mottaki.
Mottaki, a career diplomat, was appointed to the post of foreign minister in
2005. He is currently in Senegal on an official visit.
He is viewed as an ally of conservative parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, who
lost to Ahmadinejad in the 2005 election and is now seen as the key rival of
the president in his political battle with the assembly.
The president also partly sidelined the traditionally more liberal Foreign
Ministry by appointing several regional foreign policy advisers who appeared
more influential than the minister.
Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, was appointed as
caretaker foreign minister, state television reported. IRNA said Salehi
would also keep his nuclear post.
“Salehi was Ahmadinejad’s first choice for the Foreign Ministry in 2005 ...
but Khamenei rejected Salehi,” said a moderate former official, who asked
not to be named.
Ahmadinejad is due in Turkey next week ahead of a second round of nuclear
talks with major powers in Istanbul in January. The nuclear dispute is Iran’s
biggest foreign policy issue, with the West accusing it of seeking a nuclear
weapons capability, a charge Tehran denies.– Reuters

+++SOURCE: Naharnet [lebanon] 14 Dec. '10:" Maronite Patriarch Sfeir:
Threats
Unleashed by Hizbullah 'Surprising' "

SUBJECT: Maronite Patriarch urges internal cooperation

QUOTE: 'People have a right to know the truth of who is behind those
assassinations"

FULL TEXR:Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir expressed surprise at threats
unleashed
by Hizbullah, particularly by head of Hizbullah's parliamentary bloc MP
Mohammed Raad, without naming him.
"The country cannot carry on under this escalating climate where one
(political) camp threatens the other," Sfeir told al-Mustaqbal newspaper in
remarks published Tuesday.

"The country continues to exist on the basis of understanding, cooperation
and harmony among the people and power sharing," he added.

"People have a right to know the truth of who is behind those
assassinations"he said.
========
Sue Lerner, Associate, IMRA