THE HAGUE - A United States ambassador said Thursday that Washington was concerned about how aggression will be defined as an international crime. "I would be remiss not to share with you my country's concerns about an issue ... to which we attach particular importance: the definition of the crime of aggression," US war crimes ambassador Stephen Rapp told a gathering in The Hague of the International Criminal Court's Assembly of State Parties (ASP).
The court's founding Rome Statute, of which the United States is not a signatory, determines that the ICC can try aggression, though no legal definition has been agreed upon.
read more @ middle east online
2. special IOF explosives lab attracts international experts -- they know *EVERYTHING* there is to know about IEDs. kay?
Over the past decade, a small compound of single-story buildings at the IDF base in Tel Hashomer has become a Mecca for munitions and explosives experts from the world over. These buildings host the materials laboratory for the experiments and quality assurance units at the technological division of the ground forces.
The lab is considered to be one of the world's top centers in the field of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a kind of weapon the IDF has been dealing with for decades, and which in the last few years began taking a high toll among American and British soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Any weapon component that reaches the IDF - whether confiscated from smugglers, captured in raids on terrorist explosives labs, or collected and pieced together as shards of shrapnel from bombs aimed at IDF soldiers and vehicles - finds it way to this lab sooner or later. The lab's commander, Lt. Col. Eran Tuval, can outline the developments in a terrorist organization's methods by tracing the ingredients of the bombs and their construction.
read more @ haaretz
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1129505.html
3. court rejects Miliband bid to suppress CIA evidence we're not torturing anyone OK?
The high court today flatly rejected claims by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, that releasing evidence of the CIA's inhuman and unlawful treatment of UK resident Binyam Mohamed would harm Britain's relations with the US by giving away intelligence secrets.
Evidence that the foreign secretary also wants to suppress is believed to reveal what British intelligence officers knew about Mohamed's treatment. Mohamed, 31, an Ethiopian, says he was tortured in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay.
...The court has heard that a British security service officer interrogated Mohamed in Pakistan and officials passed information about him to the CIA. It was clear, the judges said, that the relationship of the UK to the US in connection with Mohamed "was far beyond that of a bystander or witness to the alleged wrongdoing".
In one stinging passage, the judges said yesterday the foreign secretary "was not prepared either to produce evidence or address argument to us".
read more @ guardian4. Hamas submits new list to Israel for prisoner exchange Israel will be the decider about which people can be released OK?
Hamas has handed over to Israel a new prisoner list as part of the efforts to complete a swap for captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit, Fox News reported Thursday, adding that such deal is nearing completion. According to the report, the new list includes 70 news names aimed at replacing 70 detainees that Israel strongly objects to releasing.
A source involved in the swap talks told Fox News that Israel informed the German mediator that the 70 prisoners in dispute will not be released under any circumstances, even if it means Shalit will remain in captivity. According to the source, the new list submitted by Hamas will be examined in the near future by Israel's negotiation team.
On Thursday, Palestinian sources told Ynet that according to recent indications, the efforts to finalize a swap have seen major progress, and that the deal may be completed by year's end.
source: al manar tv
5. 2006: Gilad Shalit reported to be in Egypt - probably walking around free since we the US pay our good buddy dictator Hosni Mubarak lotsa money to be good friends with our best friend Israel, but he probably wants to come home soon to the big hero's welcome that will be a huge PR distraction they're getting the balloons ready now ok?
Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Israeli soldier captured in June by Palestinian resistance fighters, Gilad Shalit, is believed to now be in Egypt as the last details of a prisoner exchange deal are drawn up.
A Palestinian source has reported that Gilad Shalit is in Egypt pending completion of a deal between Israelis and Palestinians to release prisoners. The source also confirmed that the leader of the Hamas-affiliated Al Qassam Brigades, Mohammad Ad Daif, is also in Egypt receiving medical treatment after being injured during an Israeli raid on a house in Gaza where he was holding a meeting with the Brigades' leadership in July.
According to the London-based newspaper 'Al Hayat', the source added that Hamas has now agreed to Egyptian mediation on this matter. Previously, Hamas rejected proposals drawn up by Egypt as Hamas officials expressed doubt that Israel would keep its side of the agreement.
The source told the paper that the Egyptian guarantees became less solid after the war on Lebanon. Therefore, Egypt asked Saudi Arabia and Qatar for help to pressure the USA to then put pressure on Israel to be totally committed to the terms and conditions of the deal.
source: maan news agency
6. IOF spokesman says "Don't believe Schalit disinformation" -- just believe what we tell you kay?
Following various reports of progress in efforts to secure the release of captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit, IDF Spokesman Brig.-Gen. Avi Benayahu warned Friday against believing "disinformation."
"We're reading a lot of things in the media, some are true, but others are disinformation," he said in an interview with Kol Hai Radio.
Benayahu also apparently ruled out a military option for Schalit's release.
"When there is a military option, it is carried out - if it isn't carried out, that means that it apparently isn't feasible or not very practical," he said. "At the moment, efforts are being made on the negotiation channel. I can safely say of the IDF and the intelligence community, and I believe the government, that no efforts are being spared over the issue."
Fox News reported Thursday evening that Israel had agreed to release 380 out of the 450 prisoners requested by Hamas in exchange for Schalit's release, and that negotiations between Israel and Hamas on the subject through German mediation were picking up.
more @ jpost
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1258705147305
7. Israel shocked, SHOCKED, at the reaction to building more settlements. could you please clarify what the trouble is?
Although Israel has been insisting for quite a while that there is no crisis of relations with the United States, Israeli officials were surprised Tuesday by the harsh American, British, regional and International responses to the approval of building 900 new housing units in the occupied Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo.
A source in Benjamin Netanyahu's office clarified Tuesday evening that such approvals "are not handled by the Israeli prime minister."
Netanyahu's associates attempted to minimize the implications of the US and British criticism following the plan to expand the neighborhood, which is located beyond the Green Line, hinting that the Americans must clarify in public why they oppose the construction. "The Americans know very well that the Israeli agreement to freeze the construction does not include Jerusalem," one of the sources told Israeli media.
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