1. BUSH TO IRAN: WE’RE COMMITTED TO ISRAEL’S SAFETY… Referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad’s remarks calling for “Israel to be wiped off the map,” President George W. Bush has warned Iran that the United States “is committed to the safety of Israel and it’s a commitment we’re going to keep.” Speaking about Iran during a visit to New York City, Bush said he is “concerned about a non-transparent society’s desire to develop a nuclear weapon.” He warned that, “The world cannot be put in a position where we can be blackmailed by a nuclear weapon.”
2. ANOTHER POSSIBLE HAMAS OVERTURE… As campaigning for the Palestinian legislative elections enters its final day, a Hamas spokesman has offered another indication of a changing policy toward Israel. Mahmoud A-Zahhar said that his group – designated a terrorist organization by the United States – might be willing to deal with Israel through a third party. He likened it to the way Israel communicates with the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization. Candidates of the ruling Fatah party made their final mass appearance in a pilgrimage to the Gaza home of Yassir Arafat.
3. NEWSPAPER: DOCTORS HID SHARON’S CONDITION FROM PUBLIC BEFORE FINAL STROKE… Israel’s mass circulation daily Haaretz has published the results of an inquiry it carried out regarding public disclosures of incapacitated Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s real medical condition. The paper found that Sharon suffered from serious cardiac and cerebral diseases that were kept from the public. Following what was termed a “minor stroke,” doctors said they found a tiny hole between the chambers of Sharon’s heart that would be corrected through a surgical procedure. But according to the newspaper, doctors withheld the fact that a large aneurysm had been discovered in his septum – a condition that is believed to have led to the first stroke. Sharon also had a shunt that caused blood to flow in the wrong direction in his heart and, according to Haaretz, “other conditions in the cardiac septum that created further risks of blood clots that could wind up in the brain.” Other media reports since Sharon’s massive stroke on January 4 revealed that doctors knew that Sharon had a condition known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), which is liable to make cerebral hemorrhaging extremely hard to treat. That, of course, proved to be the case. Haaretz is reporting that senior officials in the Prime Minister’s Office deny that they knew – or that Sharon’s family knew – of the severity of his illness.
4. GERMAN CHANCELLOR MAKES ISRAEL, P.A., HER FIRST FOREIGN DESTINATION… German Chancellor Angela Merkel has chosen Israel and the Palestinian Authority as her first destinations for foreign travel. A spokesman for the German government said Iran’s nuclear program will be the primary topic of talks during her trip next Sunday and Monday. No other details of Merkel’s visit have been released.
5. AMERICAN LARGESSE LEADS TO PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY’S FIRST SOFT-MONEY SCANDAL… Candidates running for seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council want to know whether the $2 million the Bush administration spent to shore up Fatah’s public image violates laws prohibiting foreign campaign contributions. On Sunday, the Washington Post revealed that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) had distributed the money for a number of events and projects with the intention of providing the public with tangible examples of what the incumbent Fatah-led Palestinian Authority has done for the people. But nowhere is the public informed that what they are seeing is funded by American contributions. The initial report by the Washington Post left no doubt that the funding was aimed at supporting Fatah at the polls. But since the story broke, administration officials have been backpedaling, denying that the spending spree is in any way connected to the election. The $2 million sum is more than any party is spending. Candidates from parties other than Fatah are demanding an investigation. One candidate, Mu’stafa Barghouthi, told The Media Line in a recent interview that he found it incredible that “the U.S. and others are demanding a free and open election, but are also demanding who the winner should be.”