1. CRISIS IN PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY BEFORE ELECTIONS…There is widespread confusion in the Palestinian leadership on Thursday, hours after the deadline passed for parties and candidates to register ahead of the January parliamentary elections. It appears as though there are two separate lists of candidates from Fatah; one, the official list as chosen by Palestinian leader Mahmoud ‘Abbas, the other describing itself as Future, an independent list. Several members of the Palestinian Authority says this latest split could signal the demise of ‘Abbas and his replacement with Marwan Barghouthi. However, Barghouthi is currently serving a life sentence in an Israeli jail for what Jerusalem says is his role in planning terror attacks.
2. ISRAEL SAYS HITS EXPLOSIVES-LADEN GAZA CAR…Israel says the car it struck with missiles on Wednesday was filled with explosives en route to carry out a large scale terror attack. Palestinian officials say four members of the Popular Resistance Committees were killed in the attack. Jerusalem maintains the four were on their way to attack the Karni crossing, which is on the border with Israel. Since the suicide bombing in the Israeli city Netanyah a week ago, Israel has announced it is resuming its policy of targeted killings. Various armed Palestinian organizations have joined Islamic Jihad in declaring they are no longer observing any form of truce.
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3. HRW: IRANIAN MINISTERS IMPLICATED…Two Iranian government ministers allegedly played a role in “grave human-rights violations,” according to Human Rights Watch. The organization says it has documented credible allegations that Interior Minister Mustafa Pour-Mohammadi was possibly involved in crimes against humanity in connection with “the massacre of thousands of political prisoners.” HRW says Information Minister Gholamhussein Mohseni Ezhei should be investigated with regard to the killing of a dissident.
4. BUSH SPEAKS OUT AGAINST IRANIAN PRESIDENT…United States President George W. Bush has joined the growing number of leading international politicians criticizing Iran’s president for his recent verbal attacks on Israel. On Wednesday Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad suggested the Holocaust was a myth and the Jewish state should be moved to Europe or North America. Bush described Iran as “a real threat,” during an interview for Fox News. Bush says he is concerned about a theocracy with little transparency, that calls for the destruction of Israel and is ignoring the rest of the world when it comes to its nuclear ambitions.
5. SAUDI ANALYST: $35 A BARREL…The Saudi state budget for 2006 will be based on the assumption that oil prices will fall to $35 dollars a barrel during the next 12 months. That is the assessment of Samba Financial Group Chief Economist Brad Bourland. Oil prices have been in excess of $60 for much of 2005. Other experts are less optimistic, putting the price at some $40 – $45.