Israel to free 200 Palestinians

The Israeli cabinet has voted to release some 200 Palestinian prisoners as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Officials said the actual release would take place around 25 August, but the list of inmates is yet to be finalised.

Mr Abbas' aide described the move as "a step in the right direction", but said more prisoners should be set free.
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Israeli security officials must still approve the list, but it is likely to include two Palestinians implicated in deadly attacks against Israel in the 1970s.

Yes, set them free so they kill more people.

And of course the palestinians want more:[that's not a typo; here's their capital P.]

Palestinian PM: Israel should free more than just 200 prisoners

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday welcomed Israel's decision to release close to 200 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture to the Palestinian Authority, but said Israel should release even larger numbers of prisoners.

The cabinet approved the release of the Palestinian prisoners, including two prisoners "with blood on their hands," meaning they were directly involved in the killing of Israelis, during the weekly cabinet meeting Sunday morning.

"We welcome the release of any Palestinian prisoner. It is considered a victory for Palestinians," he told The Associated Press during a tour of the northern village of Tubas. "We ask Israel to change its conditions for releasing prisoners and we ask for the release of all prisoners without exception."

Baghdad suicide bomber kills 15

A suicide bomber has killed at least 15 people and wounded 29 near a mosque in a mainly Sunni part of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, security sources say.

The attacker rode up on a motorcycle before setting off a bomb in the Adhamiya district.

The dead include Faruq al-Obeidi, a local leader of a US-backed Sunni militia fighting al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Iran flexes jets against Israel

Iran said its warplanes can reach Israel.

Iranian warplanes have had their range extended and now have ranges of up to 1,800 miles, Tehran state television quoted air force chief Ahmad Mighani as saying Sunday.

At their closest points, Israel and Iran are about 500 miles apart.

The report, which gave no technical details, was greeted with skepticism from independent experts who noted that Iran's air force is largely antiquated.

As international scrutiny grows on Iran's nuclear program, its leaders have recently made a series of saber-rattling comments, apparently in hope of warding off any preemptive strikes by Israel or the United States.

Gov't Acts to Stop Arab Water Theft, Confiscates Piping

(IsraelNN.com) The Arabs have been stealing some 3 million cubic meters of water each year in parts of Judea, and the government has now taken action: The Civil Administration confiscated some 50,000 kilometers' worth of water piping this week from Arabs living in the South Mt. Hevron region.

The Arabs steal the water by hooking up pipes to the central pipelines that deliver water to the Jewish towns in the Mt. Hevron Regional Council.

The Civil Administration is the body that governs Judea and Samaria in the name of the Israeli Government.

Despite the considerable size of the confiscated haul, the Civil Administration estimates that it is merely a drop in the bucket. The Arabs still retain some 85% of the piping through which they stream the stolen water to the Arab villages.

Bear in mind that upstream form this, the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) is at a disastrously low level.




'IDF detects Syrian rocket test'

Syria test-launched a series of ground to ground missiles in recent months, Channel 2 reported Monday.

According to data released by the military censor, Damascus has been testing rockets over a period of time, and the tests have been detected by Israeli radar systems, including the systems linked to Israel's missile defense systems.

Most of Syria's long-range missiles are based on the Scud design, Channel 2 reported.
While Syria's arsenal of missiles is based mainly on antiquated soviet ware upgraded and improved in Syria, the missiles - with a range of 300-700 km. - can still reach any target in Israel.

Turkish warplanes 'bomb PKK base'

Turkish warplanes bombed a hideout of the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq late on Saturday, the Turkish army says.

It says the jets "successfully" hit the PKK base in a cave in the Avasin-Basyan area and returned to their bases.

The Turkish army did not give any details of casualties.