Scores of Israelis, all former members of elite army units and the Israel Security Agency were part of a secret operation to train Arab militiamen and missionaries in the Persian Gulf to defend the world’s biggest oil wells,  and the art of fighting terror and guerilla warfare. The covert operation began in mid 2007 and ended in December last year.
Details of the operation were published in an exclusive report by Yedioth Aharonoth, Friday.

John Holmes, the United Nations Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs criticized Egypt’s plans to block the smuggling tunnels leading into Gaza warning that it will spell a disaster for the Palestinians living in the narrow strip. He also called on Israel to remove the blockade imposed on Gaza since the bloody Hamas takeover in 2007.

The arrest of a middle aged American female convert to Islam revealed attempts to recruit members of a suspected Al Qaida network in Ireland, to assassinate Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks. In Belgium, the trial of nine members of an alleged Al Qaida cell has begun, one of the suspects is a middle aged woman with dual Belgian and Moroccan citizenship.

In a warm speech delivered at Tel Aviv University, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden proved he is a real friend and staunch supporter of Israel and that his country’s bond with Israel is impervious to any change. Biden said he accepted Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s explanation concerning the building of housing units at Ramat Shlomo but cautioned that the U.S will hold both sides accountable for anything that enflames the talks, the process must begin, he said.