Aipac update

www.aipac.org June 24, 2008
Qassam Rockets Strike Israel, Shatter Calm

IAEA Chief: Iran Could Build Nuclear Bomb in Six Months

Israel Sends Truckloads of Goods into Gaza

Intel Officials Warn of Hizballah Attacks Worldwide

Senators Voice Support for Israel's Quest for Peace

House Subcommittee Approves U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation


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Qassam Rockets Strike Israel, Shatter Calm In direct violation of Hamas' commitment to Egypt to halt all terrorist activity aimed at Israel, three Qassam rockets slammed into the Israeli town of Sderot on Tuesday, shattering a nearly week-long calm along the Israel-Gaza border, The Jerusalem Post reported. The night before, Palestinian terrorists in Gaza also fired a mortar at Israeli civilians. Hamas leaders have stated in the past that any lull in attacks against Israel is merely a "tactic" in the group's long-term war against the Jewish state."It is normal for any resistance... to sometimes escalate, other times retreat a bit... Hamas is known for that," Hamas' Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashaal said recently. "In 2003, there was a cease-fire and then the operations were resumed." Click here to read more about the threat of Hamas.
IAEA Chief: Iran Could Build Nuclear Bomb in Six MonthsIAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei recently said that with Iran's current nuclear capabilities, the country would need "six months to one year" in order to produce one atomic bomb. "It would need this period to produce a weapon, and to obtain highly enriched uranium in sufficient quantities for a single nuclear weapon," ElBaradei said. The interview, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on June 20, was translated by MEMRI. In recent months, Iran has accelerated its efforts to enrich uranium—a key step toward developing nuclear weapons—violating multiple binding U.N. Security Council demands that the Islamic Republic suspend its illicit nuclear program. Click here to learn how you can take action to stop Iran's nuclear program.
Israel Sends Truckloads of Goods into GazaIsrael on Sunday boosted supplies of food and medicine into the Gaza Strip by about 50 percent and said it would consider further transfers of non-humanitarian goods to the coastal strip in the coming days, The Christian Science Monitor reported. Gil Karie, a spokesman for the Israeli army's civil liaison office, said 90 truckloads of humanitarian supplies, including food, diapers and clothing, were allowed into Gaza on Sunday, up from about 65 truckloads on previous days. The Erez border crossing was also opened, allowing Gaza residents requiring medical care to be treated in Israel. The Jewish state has consistently, despite the risks involved, worked to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians.
Intel Officials Warn of Hizballah Attacks WorldwideAmerican and Canadian intelligence agencies are warning that the Lebanon-based terrorist army Hizballah has activated sleeper cells to carry out a terror attack against Jewish targets outside of the Middle East, ABC News reported. "They want to kill as many people as they can, they want it to be a big splash," said former CIA intelligence officer Bob Baer. "They cannot have an operation fail... and I don't think they will. They're the A-team of terrorism." In Washington, the FBI recently put its domestic terror squads on alert for any threats against synagogues or other Jewish centers in the United States. Hizballah has been responsible for attacks against Jews around the world, including a string of bombings in Buenos Aires, Argentina in the mid-1990s that killed 115 people. Click here to learn more about the threat of Hizballah.
Senators Voice Support for Israel's Quest for PeaceIn a strong show of bipartisanship, the Senate on Tuesday sent a letter to President Bush in support of Israel's quest for peace. The letter called on Arab states to support Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by normalizing relations with the Jewish state and supporting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as he pursues peace with Israel. Seventy-seven senators, including John McCain (R-AZ), signed the letter, which was spearheaded by Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) reinforced the Senate letter with an additional letter of his own. The two letters reaffirm American support for Israel's right to self-defense and underscore the importance of U.S. support for Israel at the United Nations. Click here to urge your member of Congress to sign the House version of the letter.
House Subcommittee Approves U.S.-Israel Energy CooperationThe House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water last week passed an energy bill that includes $2 million in funding for U.S.-Israel cooperative programs aimed at reducing the two countries' dependence on oil. "I can think of no two countries that have more of a strategic interest in overcoming a reliance on foreign oil, and no two nations more capable of using their resources to do so, than the United States and Israel," said Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), a champion of the initiative and a member of the subcommittee. The new funding will advance joint programming in the fields of solar, wind, biomass, geothermal and wave and tidal energies, as well as energy efficiency and advanced battery technology.