1. IRAN, UK FACE OFF…Top British officials have reacted angrily to Iranian suggestions that perhaps the United Kingdom government was behind the 7/7 London terror attacks. The original comment was made by the head of the Iranian Council of Guardians Ahmad Janati. In its formal reaction London described the remark as irresponsible, but British politicians have offered far more barbed responses.
2. RED KEN IRKS ISRAELIS…The Mayor of London Ken Livingstone has angered Israeli officials by criticizing suicide bombers in his home town but seemingly condoning their actions in Israel. The man dubbed ‘Red Ken’ by the media made the differentiation during his monthly news conference. “Palestinians don’t have jet fighters, they only have their bodies to use as weapons. In that unfair balance, that’s what people use,” he told reporters. He suggested that Israeli government members are guilty of deeds that border on crimes against humanity.
3. PALESTINIANS, HAMAS REACH LIMITED AGREEMENT…Reports from Gaza suggest the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have reached a partial truce in their street fights that have left at least 20 people wounded over the last few days. Hamas is objecting to Palestinian leader Mahmoud ‘Abbas’ demand that it stop firing rockets at Israeli targets. The agreement is said to only apply to the Balata area of Gaza, where the fighting has been at its most intense.
4. ISRAELIS, POLICE CONTINUE STAND-OFF…Thousands of Israelis opposing the Gaza-withdrawal plan have been locked into a village just outside the Gaza Strip by police officers attempting to contain their protest. The demonstrators say they intend marching to the Israeli Gush Katif enclave in Gaza, to be with those scheduled for evacuation from August 15. Several police officers and protesters have been injured in clashes.
5. THE CASE OF THE MISSING HUMMUS…How can one lose 75 tons of hummus? That is the question Israeli detectives are asking after a massive consignment of chickpeas disappeared from a kibbutz in central Israel. There were enough ‘hot’ chickpeas to make an estimated 1.2 million portions of hummus. To make matters worse, the theft took place on the eve of Israel’s celebrated hummus festival.