by Hillel Fendel(IsraelNN.com) A 4-page pamphlet distributed in synagogues around the country this past Sabbath is devoted to one topic: Getting Shas to quit the government. It warns that Olmert is using the continued presence of Shas in the government to formulate an agreement endangering Jerusalem, other areas of the land of Israel - and hundreds of thousands of Jews.
Shas chairman Eli Yeshai appeared to backtrack on previous promises to quit the government as soon as negotiations over Jerusalem begin.  On Monday, however, he changed "begin" to "continue."  Speaking before a Conference of Presidents audience in Jerusalem, Minister Yeshai said the final decision to quit or remain will be made by his party's rabbinical leaders, but "if negotiations on Jerusalem continue, Shas will immediately leave the government."
No address, organization or publisher is printed on the pamphlet calling upon Shas to leave.  However, it does feature a full-page article by Yossi Elituv, long-time Shas affairs commentator and writer for the weekly Mishpacha magazine.
The top article is headlined, "Israel has Secretly Agreed to Divide Jerusalem," and cites a PA source bragging that major progress has been made in "the secret talks, especially regarding Jerusalem."  The source said, "Today we ...   more »

In letter of condolence to Hizbullah secretary-general following Imad Mugniyah's assassination, Revolutionary Guards commander says, 'In the future we will bear witness to the disappearance of this cancerous bacterium, Israel'
Dudi Cohen
General Mohammad Ali Jaafari, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, has sent a letter of condolence to Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah following the assassination of the organization's senior commander Imad Mugniyah, saying he believed "the cancerous bacterium called Israel" would vanish soon, the Iranian news agency Fars reported Monday. 
According to Jaafari, "I am convinced that with every day that passes Hizbullah's power increases, and in the near future we will bear witness to the disappearance of this cancerous bacterium, Israel, by the Hizbullah's fighters." 
In the letter comforting Nasrallah over the death of the "shahid" (martyr) Mugniyah, Jaafari wrote, "There is no doubt that the death of this loyal fighter will strengthen the determination of all the revolutionary and warrior Muslims in their battle against the Zionist regime, and particularly the determination of those fighting alongside this shahid."  
Mugniyah was considered close to the Revolutionary Guards, and particularly to the Quds Force, which was recently designated by the United States as a supporter of terror. Together ...   more »

Israel has deployed a battery of US-made Patriot air defense missiles near the northern port city of Haifa as part of precautions against a possible attack by Lebanon's Hizbullah in response to the assassination last week of the group's top commander, Israeli security officials said Monday.
The officials said the battery was put on standby Sunday for the first time since Israel's monthlong war with Hizbullah in the summer of 2006, when the Lebanese guerrillas fired nearly 4,000 rockets into northern Israel. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Patriot batteries were first deployed in Israel during the 1991 Gulf War, but they failed to stop most of the 39 Scud missiles launched by Saddam Hussein's Iraq. They were originally designed to intercept aircraft, and Israeli media reported their role in the current situation would be to shoot down bomb-laden pilotless planes as well as rockets.
The IDF said it was not its policy to comment on what a spokesman called "operational readiness,"
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israel is "prepared on all fronts" for an attack.
Hizbullah and its Iranian backers swiftly blamed Israel for last week's assassination of top Hizbullah commander ...   more »

Dan Izenberg
The state informed the High Court of Justice on Monday that the government will start building security rooms for 3,200 homes in a range of 4.5 kilometers from the Gaza Strip border pending cabinet approval.
The state's brief came in response to a petition by Sderot residents demanding that the state build security rooms for 800 housing units in the city that have tiled, instead of concrete, roofs.
According to the plan, which was approved on Sunday by a special ministerial committee, 2,100 security rooms will be build in Sderot and 1,100 in the surrounding rural communities including Nir Am, Kissufim, Miflasim, Carmiya, Gavyam, Erez, Zikim, Netiv Ha'asarah, Ivim and Nahal Oz.
The state told the court that the plan will be brought before the cabinet for approval no later than March 2.
Original Source
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