(NEWS) Building Is Booming In Gaza

"Hamas has approved the construction of three high rise apartment buildings in Gaza that will be funded primarily by Iran, a Hamas official said.

The 25,000 new apartments will cater to families of 'martyrs' whose husbands or sons were killed by Israeli Defense Forces, newly married couples as well as those whose homes were damaged in last year's Operation Cast Lead, Hamas Housing Minister Yousef Alamanti told Yedioth Aharonoth.



The units will be sold for between $25,000 to $40,000 each.

The funding for the new buildings comes mainly from Iran, but donations have also been received from Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the report said.

The apartment buildings will be constructed in different areas of the Gaza Strip including sites where Israeli settlements were located prior to the unilateral withdrawal by Israel in 2005, the paper said.

Each building will be located on a complex that will have an adjoining shopping center, schools, a playground and a mosque.

In addition to the apartments, international organizations operating in Gaza are supervising 70 projects to improve the health, education and sanitary conditions in the Gaza Strip, the paper said.

The report said Gaza is not experiencing shortage of food or building materials. Gazans have overcome the restrictions imposed by Israel on building materials by smuggling them through tunnels, the report said." (source)

(NEWS) Britain, Spain To Boycott Jerusalem Meet

"Israel's tourism minister said Britain and Spain are refusing to attend a biannual international conference because it will be held in Jerusalem.

Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov said it is the second time the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development conference is to be held outside of Paris, Haaretz reported Tuesday.

'OECD officials demanded that we not bring the delegates to East Jerusalem or that we move the conference to Tel Aviv,' Misezhnikov told the newspaper. 'If we agreed to that, they promised to send many delegates. We held a meeting with the Foreign Ministry and decided to reject' the Tel Aviv idea, he said.

Misezhnikov said among the countries expected to participate in the conference are Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, South Africa, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Estonia and Turkey.

The conference is set for Oct. 20-22." (source)

(NEWS) Israel's Electronic Warfare Capabilities

"Israel's electronic warfare capabilities have been given a rare public airing.

The Israeli air force's Sky Crows squadrons, which on Sept. 6, 2007, deployed 10 F-15I fighter jets to attack Syria's purported nuclear reactor, built along the Euphrates River and modeled after the North Korean reactor in Yongbyon and financed with Iranian assistance, have spoken to the media, The Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.

'Operation Orchard' was never publicly confirmed by Israel.

Israel's reportedly used electronic warfare to neutralize Syria's air defense systems.

Pinhas Buhris, who served as director general of the Defense Ministry at the time, in discussing Israel in developing state-of-the-art electronic warfare capabilities, said at the time: 'You need this kind of capability. You're not being responsible if you're not dealing with it. And, if you can build this kind of capability, the sky's the limit.'

Israel's Sky Crows Squadron commander Lt. Col. Oren observed: 'The current theater of operations for aircraft is challenged and threatened by advanced surface-to-air missile systems in enemy territory. Our objective is to activate our systems and to disrupt and neutralize the enemy's systems.'" (source)

(NEWS) Animal Droppings Keep Israeli Border Quiet

"Lion and tiger droppings are preventing other animals from tripping the electronic alert system along Israel's northern border with Syria, officials said.

Israeli reservist soldiers deployed along a section of the border found their sleep was constantly being interrupted by wild pigs tripping the alert system, Israel's daily Yedioth Ahronoth said Monday.

Fed up with a lack of sleep, and after hearing that the droppings of lions and tigers were an effective deterrent in keeping other animals away, the reservists contacted the Safari Park in Ramat Gan.

After consulting with zoo officials, the soldiers organized the transportation of large amounts of the animals' droppings, the newspaper said.

They shoveled the droppings into the back of jeeps and then scattered 'mounds' along the border fence.

The reservists are now sleeping well and the pigs stay away, the newspaper said." (source)

(NEWS) Pro-Palestinian Ad Campaign In Israel Paid For By USAID

Your US tax dollars are at work again. USAID, an agency of the US Federal government, is spending $250,000 on outdoor billboards designed to convince Israelis that we have a 'peace partner' and that Palestinians are 'our friends'... But of course they're not sponsoring any that send the same message to the 'Palestinians.'

"Washington is funding an ad campaign in Israel featuring billboards of Palestinian officials asking: 'We are partners -- what about you?'

The campaign launched Sunday includes the faces of senior Palestinian Authority officials Saeb Erekat, Jibril Rajoub and Yasser Abed Rabo, and Riad Malki, Palestinian foreign affairs minister, Yedioth Aharonoth said.

The aim of the campaign is to persuade Israelis that peace partners on the Palestinian side truly exist, and calls for support of a two-state solution, the Tel Aviv newspaper said."

(NEWS) West Bank Children Tour Israel

"A program initiated by the Israeli army gives Palestinian children from the West Bank a chance to visit Israeli tourist sites, an army officer said.

The aim of the program is to show Palestinians there is a side of Israel in addition to the one portrayed in Palestinian media, a senior officer in the army's Central Command told the Hebrew daily Maariv.

Last year, 5,500 Palestinian children participated in the program and so far this year 22,000 Palestinians have visited Israel, the newspaper said."

(NEWS) Israel Plans To Build West Bank Railway

"Israel's transport minister says plans are under way to construct a railway line in the West Bank that will eventually link up to the Gaza Strip.

Transport Minister Yisrael Katz revealed the plans at a meeting earlier this week with Likud Party supporters, a press release said.

The plan calls for a rail track to be constructed from east to west, from Rosh Ha'ayin in Israel via Ariel to Nablus in the West Bank, and between Ramallah in the West Bank and Latroun in Israel."