Excerpts: Egypt to target Sinai extremists.Again, Abbas ignites, ignores
facts.Sweden recognizes Palestinian state. October 30, 2014

+++SOURCE: Al Arabiya News 30 Oct.’14:”Egypt army readies to target Sinai
extremists”Staff writer

SUBJECT:Egypt to target Sinai extremists

QUOTE:”The Egyptian armed forces are preparing to conduct a military
operation against extremists in the Sinai Peninsula “

The Egyptian armed forces are preparing to conduct a military operation
against extremists in the Sinai Peninsula, following some of the worst
anti-state violence since President Mohammad Mursi was overthrown last year,
a military source told a local newspaper on Thursday[30 Oct.].

For the operation, which is reportedly due to start soon, a military
deployment has arrived from the Egyptian capital, the source told
Cairo-based daily Youm 7.

Meanwhile, Egypt is continuing to establish a buffer zone, clearing
residents from its border with the Gaza Strip after an announcement from
Cairo made the eviction official.

Many in the area had already packed their belongings and begun to leave
following the announcement, the newspaper reported.

Compensation

Gen. Abdel Fattah Harhour, the governor of the increasingly lawless northern
Sinai region, told journalists the departing residents would be compensated
for their lost homes.

Each displaced family is due to receive 900 Egyptian pounds ($125) to help
pay for three months’ rent elsewhere, while compensation for lost property
is being calculated.

Egypt declared a state of emergency in the border area after at least 33
security personnel were killed on Friday[24 Oct.] in two attacks in the
Sinai Peninsula, a remote but strategic region bordering Israel, Gaza and
the Suez Canal.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s[24 Oct.] attack but similar
operations have been claimed by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in the past, Egypt’s
most active Sinai-based Sunni militant group.

Militant attacks in Sinai have increased since Mursi’s overthrow. The
Brotherhood, which says it is a peaceful movement, has distanced itself from
the violence and condemned Friday’s[24 Oct.] attack.


+++SOURCE:Al Arabiya News 30 Oct.’14:”Closure of al-Aqsa a ‘declaration of
war’Abbas”,by Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Again,Abbas incites, ignores facts

QUOTE:”Although non-Muslems can visit the site,the Jews are not allowed to
pray there for fear it could disturb the fragile staus quo”

FULL TEXT:Israel’s closure of the flashpoint al-Aqsa mosque compound to all
visitors following the shooting of a Jewish hardliner is tantamount to a
“declaration of war,” Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Thursday[30
Oct].

“This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the
Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic
nation,” his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina quoted him as saying.

“We hold the Israeli government responsible for this dangerous escalation in
Jerusalem that has reached its peak through the closure of the al-Aqsa
mosque this morning,” he told AFP.

The compound houses Islam’s third holiest site, but is also the most sacred
spot for Jews who refer to it as the Temple Mount because it once housed two
Jewish temples.

Although non-Muslims can visit the site, Jews are not allowed to pray there
for fear it could disturb the fragile status quo.

“This decision is a dangerous act and a blatant challenge that will lead to
more tension and instability and will create a negative and dangerous
atmosphere,” he said.

“The state of Palestine will take all legal measures to hold Israel
accountable and to stop these ongoing attacks.”

Israel ordered the compound closed to all visitors, both Jewish and Muslim,
early on Thursday[30 Oct.] after an overnight shooting incident in which a
man on a motorbike tried to gun down an ultranationalist Jewish activist who
has long worked to secure Jewish prayer rights at the Al-Aqsa plaza.

Several hours later, police stormed the house of the suspected Palestinian
gunman, sparking a gunfight in which he was killed.

Arab east Jerusalem, which was seized by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War
and later annexed in a move never recognized internationally, has been
wracked by violence since early July, with clashes erupting between
stone-throwers and police on an almost daily basis.

+++SOURCE:AlArabiya 30 Oct.’14:”Sweden recognizes Palestinian state.”, by
Staff writer ,Agence France Presse

SUBJECT: Sweden recognizes Palestinian state

QUOTE:”Sweden officially recognized the Palestinian state on Thursday[30
Oct.’14] becoming the first major European country to do so. “

FULL TEXT:Sweden officially recognized the Palestinian state on Thursday[30
Oct. becoming the EU member state in Western Europe to take the move,
Stockholm's Foreign Ministry announced, Agence France-Presse reported.

"Today the government takes the decision to recognise the state of
Palestine," Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said in a statement published
in the Dagens Nyheter daily.

"It is an important step that confirms the Palestinians' right to
self-determination," he said.

Wallstrom said the country’s move aims to support moderate Palestinians in
equalizing their status with that of Israel in peace negotiations, as well
as giving hope to young people on both sides.

Historic decision

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas hailed the decision “historic,” his
spokesman told AFP.

“President Abbas welcomes Sweden's decision," Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP,
saying the Palestinian leader described the move as "brave and historic.”

Palestinians seek statehood in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and the
blockaded Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as their capital.

They have sought to sidestep stalled peace talks by lobbying foreign powers
to recognize their sovereignty claim.

Israel's reaction

In reaction to the Swedish recognition, Israel's top diplomat said that the
decision is likely to undermine efforts to resolve the conflict.

“The decision of the Swedish government to recognise a Palestinian state is
a deplorable decision which only strengthens extremist elements and
Palestinian rejectionism,” Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said

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Sue Lerner Associate, IMRA