Neturei Karta spokesman reiterated that the community of Orthodox Jews has always and will constantly pray to God for the immediate and peaceful disintegration of the Zionist Regime and the Israeli state, adding, "according to the religious teachings of the Torah, Jews must live in exile and avoid establishing any state in any part of the world and they must live among other nations of the world peacefully and under their sovereignty and they must remain loyal citizens wherever they live."

Neturei Karta said that the anti-Zionist Jews have always accompanied the Palestinians in their campaign against the Zionists. "We believe as long as the Israeli state exists, there will be no possibility for restoration of a sustainable peace".

The spokesman of the anti-Zionist Jewish movement of Neturei Karta stressed that the goal pursued by the delegation's visit to Iran is to show to the world that the West's propaganda against Iran aimed at convincing the world that the Islamic Republic is anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic is but a lie.

Referring to a wrong quotation published in the Tehran-based daily 'Sharq' on Sunday, Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss said, "we have just come to visit Iran in order to show to the world public opinion that the West's propaganda so implying that Iran is anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic is all a lie and that Jews are living along their Iranian brothers peacefully."

He also stated that the second goal pursued by the trip is reconfirmation of the very fact that Judaism is totally different from Zionism and that the two are completely in opposition.

Rabbi Weiss rejected Sharq's article that the visit has been arranged in order for their participation in a Tehran conference on the Holocaust and reiterated, "we have mentioned every where that the above goals constitute our motivation for visiting the Islamic Republic. We have never stated such a thing and all the media present there can testify to that, actually we have never even heard of such a conference."

Weiss and the other members of the delegation had stated in a press conference at Fars News Agency on Saturday that the goal of their visit is to show to the world that the west's propaganda against Iran is but a lie and that Zionism and Judaism are different issues.

The documents were presented to the High Court of Justice during the hearings for petitions submitted by residents of Bilin and the Peace Now organization against the construction of hundreds of apartments on village lands and against the route of the fence that bisects them.

In a highly confidential letter sent in November 1990 to the coordinator of activities in the territories, Plia Albeck, who was in charge of the civil department of the State Attorney's office, wrote that "because this area was apparently purchased by the Hakeren company, and it therefore hold the rights to this area and because it asked from the supervisor of government property to manage it, then this area is apparently government property," even though the senior representative of the Ministry of Justice is not convinced that Hakeren indeed purchased this land legally, and as proof thereof she inserts the word "apparently" twice, she permits the area to be declared "government property."

Albeck asks to maintain complete confidentiality claiming that the revelation of the deals may endanger the sellers' lives. It should be noted that one of the parties to this deal was land dealer Shmuel Einav, who's name was linked during Aryeh Deri's trial to a big land deal in the Har Shmuel neighborhood adjacent to Jerusalem, where Palestinian lands were obtained with the aid of falsified documents.

Itzhak Levanon, Israel's U.N. ambassador in Geneva, rejected Dugard's allegations as "misinformed and inaccurate."

Dugard's report "is guided by a clear political agenda, and bears little relation either to the facts or existing principles of international law," Levanon said in an e-mailed statement to The Associated Press.

Israel has previously rejected Dugard's reports on the Palestinian-Israeli dispute as being one-sided, noting that he has been assigned only to investigate violations by the Israeli side.

Dugard said settler violence has been particularly egregious in the West Bank city of Hebron. His 22-page report made no reference to Palestinian terrorism, but said Hebron settlers "terrorize the few Palestinians that have not left the old city and assault and traumatize children on the way to school."

"It seems that settlers are able to terrorize Palestinians and destroy their trees and crops with impunity," Dugard said, adding that he himself was a victim of settler abuse while visiting the city in June 2005.

Dugard prepares regular reports for the U.N.'s human rights watchdog during visits to the region, but receives no cooperation from the Israeli government.

Next week's meeting comes as U.N. member states debate replacing the discredited Human Rights Commission with a new body. The commission has been widely criticized for allowing some of the worst rights-offending countries to use their membership to shield each other from condemnation.

Dugard filed his report before Hamas won Palestinian elections in January and made no mention of the Islamic militant group, which is sworn to Israel's destruction and refuses to renounce violence.

The report "ignores the fact that the Hamas, considered as a terrorist organization by the family of nations, controls the Palestinian authority and disregards the enormous efforts done by Israel to fight this terrorism while preserving humanitarian law and human rights," Levanon said.

Dugard said Israel's actions in Gaza violated the Geneva Conventions on warfare, which forbid "all measures of intimidation or of terrorism" against civilians in time of war.

In the first three months after the Gaza withdrawal, targeted assassinations by Israeli defense forces in the territory killed 18 civilians and injured 81, in addition to killing 15 militants.

Palestinians have launched rockets from Gaza against southern Israeli towns, and Israel has retaliated with artillery fire and airstrikes.

Hamas has observed a yearlong moratorium on suicide and shooting attacks. But Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz warned Tuesday that Hamas leaders, including the incoming Palestinian prime minister, will not be immune from pinpointed Israeli killings if the group were to resume attacks.

The world rightly condemned the 2001 slaying of hard-line Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Zeevi by PFLP militants. The Palestinian Authority was no less strident in deploring the crime but called upon Israel to stop the murders of leading Palestinians. That policy of eradicating key opponents, however, continued, culminating in the assassination of the two top Hamas leaders, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Al-Rantissi in 2004.

Now that the Israelis have stated publicly that they will, if they wish, kill Hamas politicians chosen by the electorate just six weeks ago, it will be instructive to see which Western governments, if any, denounce the policy for the international political thuggery that it is. The world ought to be looking closely also at the way that the new premier designate, Ismail Haniyeh, has been setting out his political aims, taking advantage of the invitation to visit Russia when other countries were hamstrung by their refusal to talk to Hamas. There is still no sign that Hamas will recognize Israel's right to exist until it ends the occupation nor renounce the violence which they see as a legitimate response to Israeli aggression. Such changes depend upon a corresponding agreement from the Israelis.

Meanwhile, Haniyeh is making it refreshingly clear that Palestine must no longer be used as a political football by outsiders intent purely on strengthening their own political agendas. Saddam Hussein obscenely offered to leave Kuwait if the Israelis pulled out of the West Bank and Gaza. Indonesia's Jemmah Islamia justified its crimes in the name of the plight of the Palestinians. And now Al-Qaeda's No. 2, Ayman Al-Zawahiri has once again tried to identify his terrorist organization's depravities with the Palestinian cause. Hamas' reaction has been to suggest Zawahiri and his partners in crime mind their own business. The Palestinian cause is no longer going to be hijacked by others. This is an act of statesmanship which demonstrates a Palestinian confidence and maturity that the outside world should take careful note of. For all the apparent complications of the Hamas election victory, the issue of Palestine may actually have become simpler. Palestinians have tried moderate, soft-talking leaders who, since Oslo, have been strung out by the Israelis and betrayed by the international community. Now maybe for the first time, Palestinians can negotiate with Israelis as equals, not oppressed supplicants. Israel of course will do what it can to avoid substantive talks by discrediting Hamas any way it can. Zawahiri's headline-grabbing intervention on Al-Jazeera might have helped them had not Hamas so swiftly and decisively rejected it.

The statement said the group had ordered all its cells to launch attacks inside Israel. It was unclear from the statement which Israeli leaders might be targeted.

An Israeli air strike on Monday killed two Islamic Jihad militants and three bystanders, including an eight-year-old boy.

Last week, the group's most senior commander in Gaza was killed by an explosion that tore through his car. Islamic Jihad blamed the Israeli army, which denied involvement.

Responsible for several recent suicide bombings and rocket attacks against Israel, Islamic Jihad has been a frequent target of Israeli air strikes and raids.

Monday's attack came on the eve of formal campaigning for Israel's elections on March 28 and after interim Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed to use an "iron fist" against militants.

On Tuesday, Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said Israel might target Palestinian Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas if the Palestinian election winner resumed attacks in the Jewish state.

Hamas is forming a government after winning Palestinian parliamentary elections in January. It called Monday's air strike a "massacre". Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said it was a "dangerous escalation" against the Palestinian people.

Hamas has masterminded at least 60 suicide bombings against Israelis since a Palestinian revolt erupted in 2000. But the militant group has largely abided by a truce declared last year.


© Reuters 2006.