Israeli ex-intel chief slams PM's Iran stance

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The former head of Israel's Shin Bet security agency has accused the country's political leaders of exaggerating the effectiveness of a possible military strike against Iran, in a striking indication of Israel's turmoil over how to deal with the Iranian nuclear program.

Yuval Diskin said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak - who have been saber-rattling for months - have their judgment clouded by "messianic feelings" and should not be trusted to to lead policy on Iran. Diskin, who headed Shin Bet until last year, said a strike might actually accelerate the Iranian program.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. Israel, like the West, believes that Tehran is developing weapons technology, but there is intense debate over whether international economic sanctions accompanying the current round of negotiations might prevent Iran from developing a bomb, or whether at some point a military strike should be launched.

Diskin's comments deepened the sense that a rift is growing between the hawkish Netanyahu government and the security establishment over the question of a strike.

In Israel, security figures carry clout well into retirement. Although they frequently pursue political careers, Diskin had been seen as relatively apolitical, perhaps lending his words even greater weight.

"I don't have faith in the current leadership of Israel to lead us to an event of this magnitude, of war with Iran," Diskin said at a public meeting Friday, video of which was posted on the Internet the next day and quickly became the lead news item in Israel.

"I do not believe in a leadership that makes decisions based on Messianic feelings," he continued. "I have seen them up close. They are not messiahs, these two, and they are not the people that I personally trust to lead Israel into an event."

Diskin said it was possible that "one of the results of an Israel attack on Iran could be a dramatic acceleration of the Iran program ... They will have legitimacy to do it more quickly and in a shorter timeframe."

Spokesmen for Netanyahu and Barak both refused comment on the issue.

Israeli security officials have taken issue with the political leadership on several issues: whether sanctions will make a strike unnecessary, whether a strike will be militarily effective, and whether Israel should strike unilaterally if it cannot gain American approval.

Diskin's speech came days after the country's current top military commander, Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, also seemed to disagree with the country's leadership on the likelihood that Iran will pursue a nuclear weapon.

Gantz told The Associated Press this week that Iran is seeking to develop its "military nuclear capability," but that the Islamic Republic would ultimately bow to international pressure and decide against building a weapon. The key to that pressure, he said, were sanctions and the threat of a military strike.

One of the first criticism voiced by a security figure came last summer from Israel's recently retired spy chief Meir Dagan. He called a military strike against Iran's nuclear program "stupid." Dagan, who headed the Mossad spy agency, said an effective attack on Iran would be difficult because Iranian nuclear facilities are scattered and mobile, and warned it could trigger war.

Other senior figures with security backgrounds have questioned whether Israel should act alone, as Netanyahu insists the country has a right to do.

Last month Shaul Mofaz - a former military chief and defense minister who has since been elected head of the opposition Kadima Party - said the threats of an imminent military strike are actually weakening Israel. Mofaz, who was born in Iran and moved to Israel as a child, said Israel "is not a ghetto" and that despite its military might must fully coordinate with the U.S. on any plan to strike Iran.

Dan Halutz, who led the military from 2005 to 2007, also criticized Netanyahu last month for invoking Holocaust imagery in describing the threat posed by a nuclear-armed Iran. "We are not kings of the world," Halutz said. "We should remember who we are."

A recent poll suggested the public agrees. The survey, conducted by the Israeli Dahaf agency for the University of Maryland, said 81 percent of Israelis oppose a solo attack on Iran. At the same time, it said two-thirds of Israelis would support military action if coordinated with Washington. The poll, released last week, questioned 500 Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.

In a recent report the U.N. nuclear agency found Iran continues to enrich uranium - a key step toward developing a bomb. Although few in Israel would dispute that a nuclear-armed Iran is an existential threat, debate has revolved around the cost-benefit analysis of an attack.

On the cost side is the possible retaliation, in the form of Iranian missiles as well as rocket attacks by Iranian proxies Hezbollah and Hamas on its northern and southern borders. Especially daunting is the prospect of sustained missile strikes on Tel Aviv, a bustling business and entertainment capital whose populous is psychologically ill-prepared for a homefront war.

It also would likely cause oil prices to skyrocket at a time when the global economy is already struggling - risking a new recession for which Israel would absorb much if not most of the blame. Some also fear that Iran might attack American targets in response to any Israeli strike - a scenario that could directly influence the outcome of this fall's U.S. presidential election.

Gunmen kill 2 guards in attack on Afghan governor

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- Two Taliban militants hiding small guns in their shoes slipped into a provincial governor's compound in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, setting off a fierce gunbattle that left two security guards and both attackers dead.

Also, a roadside bomb killed 10 Afghan security forces in eastern Wardak province, officials said.

In the attack on the governor of Kandahar province, the assailants made it through a pair of security checks without their weapons being detected before a guard at the last check - in the reception room for the governor's office - noticed something suspicious and stopped them, said Gov. Tooryalai Wesa.

The militants then pulled out the guns hidden in their shoes, shot the guards and took their weapons, Wesa said.

That sparked a gunbattle with security forces that lasted about 30 minutes and left both attackers dead, said Parwiz Najib, a spokesman for the governor. One guard was wounded in the fighting.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi claimed responsibility for the attack.

The assault is another reminder of the insurgents' ability to strike in even some of the most secure areas of the country. Earlier this month, militants launched a large-scale coordinated attack on the diplomatic center of the capital, Kabul, and three other cities in which 36 insurgents and 11 others were killed.

Wesa said he was in his office meeting with constituents when he heard shooting out in the reception room.

"There was an explosion," Wesa said, but he did not know whether the blast was caused by grenades or something else.

He and his guests escaped out a back door to the press office, where they waited for the fighting to stop.

Wesa said the assailants came under the pretext of asking for him to intercede on behalf of relatives that had been detained - a common request.

"The insurgents are not stupid. They had hidden very small guns in their shoes and at two checkpoints they didn't catch them," Wesa said.

Wesa's office said in a statement that it was the ninth attack targeting the governor in the past three years.

Police also discovered two cars parked outside the compound that had been rigged with explosives, apparently ready to be set off if there was a surge of people out into the street, Wesa said. The police defused those bombs, he said.

The roadside bomb in Wardak province's Chak district killed 10 members of the Afghan security forces driving in a pickup truck, officials said, speaking anonymously because they were not authorized to release the information.

The dead were members of the Afghan Local Police, a government-sponsored militia that works alongside the Afghan army and the national police.

Kiir, back from China, says Heglig belongs to South Sudan

South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, back from an official visit to China, said on Friday that his armed forces had not damaged the contested Heglig oilfield they seized for 10 days earlier this month because it belongs to South Sudan.

Both South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan and became independent last July, and Sudan claim the Heglig oilfield. South Sudan said its forces withdrew from the area last Friday after coming under intense diplomatic pressure to pull back.

“Panthou and the oil on top of it is ours ... it is impossible that we would damage or destroy (the facilities),” Kiir, using South Sudan’s name for the Heglig oilfield, told tens of thousands of supporters after his return from China.

“One day, if there is law in this world, Panthou will come back to us by law ... That’s why this talk about us damaging (the oilfield) is a lie,” he said. “We have no reason to damage the oil refineries in Panthou or any other contested areas because these areas are ours.”

Satellite images have shown serious damage to some of the infrastructure. Each side has accused the other of damaging the facilities, part of a war of words that has accompanied local fighting along the 1,800 km (1,100 mile) contested border in what was once Africa’s largest country.

The skirmishes have threatened to escalate into a full-blown conflict, which neither can afford. Most of the two nations’ economically vital oil production has been shut down. Oil provides about 98 percent of South Sudan’s state revenue, and Heglig accounts for half Sudan’s 115,000 bpd output.

Kiir said South Sudanese forces withdrew from Heglig only to avoid being diplomatically isolated. Their seizure of Heglig was sharply criticized by the United Nations. Sudan says its forces ejected the South’s troops from the area.

“To be condemned internationally is not good,” Kiir told a boisterous crowd at the John Garang mausoleum.

China, which has significant oil and business interests in both countries, and the African Union have stepped up diplomatic efforts in the past week to try to bring the rivals back to the negotiating table.

The Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC), the consortium which runs the Heglig field, is run by state-owned China National Petroleum Co (CNPC), Malaysia’s Petronas and India’s ONGC.

Fighting across the disputed border erupted in late March after Sudan and South Sudan failed to resolve a number of contentious issues including oil export fees and citizenship.

Since pulling out from Heglig, South Sudan has accused Khartoum of cross-border air raids, which Sudan denies. Witnesses and South Sudanese military officials said Sudanese warplanes struck the South’s Unity state on Monday, killing two people.

Earlier on Friday South Sudan said a Sudanese-backed rebel militia had attacked a town in the South's oil-producing Upper Nile state, potentially broadening the conflict.

“A militia that is supported by the Sudanese Armed Forces attacked a place...near Malakal and the SPLA (South Sudanese army) has repulsed them,” said SPLA spokesman Philip Aguer.

“There are no details on casualties,” he said.

Sudan’s army spokesman, al-Sawarmi Khalid, could not immediately be reached on his mobile phone. Khartoum denies supporting any rebels in South Sudan.

Khartoum and Juba accuse each other of supporting rebel militias to destabilize their opponents, and each denies the other’s charges. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in July after five decades of intermittent civil war.

Malakal is the administrative center of Upper Nile, a volatile area bordering Sudan and Ethiopia. It is also a base for many U.N. agencies and international aid groups

Jordan’s demonstrators slam new PM, insist on reforms

Jordanian demonstrators on Friday criticized premier-designate Fayez Tarawneh, a day after he replaced Awan Khasawneh, accused by King Abdullah II of delaying much-needed reform.

“The people want to change policies, not only governments,” read a banner among the more than 1,000 protesters, including opposition Islamists, other political parties and youths, who marched in central Amman.

“Tarawneh, if the people did not elect you, you will not be able to take decisions,” they chanted, criticizing him for taking part in Jordanian-Israeli negotiations that led to the signing of a peace treaty in 1994.

On Thursday, the king accepted the resignation of Khasawneh, six months after forming a government mandated to bring in change.

“In Jordan, fast food delivery takes up to 45 minutes, but changing a prime minister takes only 30 minutes,” read a banner.

Salem Falahat, the former leader of Jordan’s powerful Muslim Brotherhood, said the country faces a “governing crisis.”

“The nation is in danger. Jordanians have realized that governments, MPs and the regime do not care about the country and do not belong to it,” Falahat, a top Brotherhood dove, told the demonstrators.

“The corrupt are powerful and protected, seeking to keep Jordan in this mess. We need somebody who gets the people’s message and never lies to Jordanians.”

Khasawneh, 62, an International Court of Justice judge, formed his cabinet last October to become the third premier of 2011.

His successor, Tarawneh, was prime minister and royal court chief in the late 1990s. He is expected to form a government next week, facing a tough challenge to address pressing popular demands for change.

Jordan has seen relatively small but persistent Arab Spring-inspired demonstrations almost every week since January 2011, demanding sweeping reforms and a tougher fight against corruption

Gaza armed groups urged to abduct Israelis to free Palestinian prisoners

Islamic leaders in the Gaza Strip called on Friday for armed groups to kidnap Israelis and use them as bargaining chips to secure the freedom of thousands of Palestinians prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Human rights groups say up to 2,000 prisoners have joined an open-ended hunger strike to protest against jail conditions and thousands of Palestinians staged a rally in the Gaza Strip to support their cause.

“We should work hard to get (Israeli) prisoners in our hands in order to secure the freedom of our prisoners,” Khaled al-Batsh, a senior member of the Islamic Jihad, told the crowd.

“I say to all armed factions, the way to free the prisoners is through swaps ... An arrest for an arrest, and freedom for freedom. This is the way,” he said, according to Reuters.

Israel last year freed some 1,000 Palestinians in return for the release of Gilad Shalit, a soldier seized in 2006 and held by the Islamist group Hamas in secret captivity for five years.

Human Rights groups say at least 4,700 Palestinians remain in Israeli jails, many of them convicted for violent crimes. Palestinian leaders say they should be treated as prisoners of war, something Israel rejects.

Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader in Gaza, said Palestinian armed factions would “never abandon” the prisoners.

“The swap deal was a message to the (Israeli) occupation that the resistance and the Palestinian people will pursue every difficult avenue to break the chains of these heroes,” he said.

“We are in a battle for the prisoners, and we will either win, or we will win,” he added.

Friday’s rally saw participants waving both the green and black flags of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad -- a sign of growing ties between the two groups, which share the same Islamist ideology and advocate the destruction of the state of Israel.

Prisoners are seen as heroes in their communities and the mass hunger strike is putting pressure on the leadership to respond. Israel struck deals with two prisoners earlier this year to end their hunger strikes, but is resisting demands for further concessions.

A mass hunger strike by at least 1,200 was launched on April 17 and the Addameer prisoners’ association has said a further 800 have since joined the movement.

On Wednesday, Israel’s Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a Palestinian prisoner who has been refusing food for more than seven weeks to protest being held without charge, his lawyer told AFP.

Hassan Safdi, 31, was arrested on June 29, 2011 and has been held without charge under a procedure called administrative detention, which means a prisoner can be held for renewable periods of up to six months.

He has been on hunger strike since March 5.

Safdi’s lawyer Osama Maqbul told AFP he had lodged an appeal against the administrative detention order with an Israeli military court last month but it had been rejected.

A second appeal, this time to the Supreme Court, was also rejected, Maqbul said, with the court urging Safdi to end his protest.

“The court advised him to eat because he will not be released.”

After 52 days on hunger strike, Safdi had lost 30 kilograms (66 pounds) and was “in critical condition,” Maqbul said, indicating that the prisoner was suffering kidney problems.

Safdi is one of eight Palestinian prisoners who have been refusing food for an extended period of time, with six of them now being held in the hospital wing of Ramle prison near Tel Aviv.

“Six prisoners who started their hunger strike several months ago have been placed in the medical ward of the Ramle prison and are on a drip,” Sivan Weizman, spokeswoman for the Israel Prisons Service said.

Five of them are being held in administrative detention, and two -- Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla -- are now entering their 57th day on hunger strike.

On Tuesday, their lawyer Jamil al-Khatib also filed an appeal at the Supreme Court after a military judge had on Monday rejected their appeals following a closed meeting with members of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security service.

A ninth prisoner, Ahmed Saqer, who had refused food for 32 days, was released last week after spending 43 months in administrative detention.

Egypt's Islamist forces call for million-man Friday demo to 'save revolution'

Major Egyptian Islamist parties and groups – including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Salafist Calling and Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya – have issued calls for a Tahrir Square demonstration on Friday under the banner of "Saving the revolution."

"Protests will take place in Cairo and in other Egyptian governorates," Brotherhood Secretary-General Mahmoud Hussein announced on the group's official website.

On Wednesday, Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, too, announced that it would take part in the scheduled demonstration "with the aim of protecting the revolution and ensuring that its demands are fulfilled."

Several non-Islamist revolutionary groups, meanwhile, have expressed their refusal to participate in the event. These groups include the United Maspero Youth, the Egyptian Brothers Independent group, and the Free Front for Peaceful Change.

"There's no reason to protest this Friday given the recent ratification of the disenfranchisement law and the fact that the ruling military council is keeping its promise to hand over power to an elected president by 30 June," read a statement released by the United Maspero Youth.

Egypt's so-called "disenfranchisement law" was approved by parliament on Monday and later endorsed by the ruling military council. The law effectively bars figures associated with the former regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak from participating in Egyptian political life for a five-year period.

According to members of the Free Front for Peaceful Change, the Brotherhood is calling for the demonstration in hopes of attracting non-Islamist groups in order to bolster its clout vis-a-vis Egypt's ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF).

The ongoing rift between the SCAF and the Brotherhood first began when the latter accused the former of planning to dissolve Egypt's newly-elected parliament – despite SCAF assurances that it had no plans to do so. "The Brotherhood wants to threaten the SCAF by flexing its muscles and calling for mass protests, which show its ability to mobilise the street," according to the Free Front for Peaceful Change statement.

Both the Brotherhood and the Salafists have held massive Tahrir Square protests on the last two Fridays. In a clear demonstration of power, the two Islamist groups – which together control roughly three quarters of parliament – have bussed in members and sympathisers from across the country. 

On 13 April, the two Islamist groups held a mass demonstration in the square to protest the participation of former regime figure in upcoming presidential elections. Non-Islamist revolutionary forces, for their part, boycotted the event.

One week later, several revolutionary groups, including the April 6 Youth Movement, joined Islamist forces arrayed in the square for a similar protest dubbed "Self-determination Friday." The event was considered the largest public demonstration – representing the widest spectrum of Egyptian political forces – since the first anniversary of last year's Tahrir Square uprising on 25 January.

Supporters of disqualified Salafist presidential contender Hazem Abu-Ismail, meanwhile, have continued their Tahrir Square sit-in for two weeks to protest the recent decision by Egypt's Supreme Presidential Elections Commission to exclude their candidate from the presidential race.

Egypt's last major Islamist-led demonstration was in July of last year, when hundreds of thousands of Salafists and Brotherhood members flocked to the flashpoint square. With many waving Saudi Arabian flags, participants chanted slogans demanding the implementation of Islamic Law. 

Courthouse bomb in Libya’s Benghazi injures one

A bomb exploded at a courthouse in the Libyan city of Benghazi on Friday, wounding one person and damaging surrounding buildings in a fresh challenge to the post-Gaddafi government’s struggle to restore stability.

A security official said three packages of explosives were planted by unknown suspects at a wall of the court. The blasts shattered windows of a nearby hospital, injuring one person inside.

The eastern city of Benghazi, the cradle of the county’s revolution, has simmered with dissatisfaction since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted last August. Residents complain they have been all but forgotten by the new leadership in Tripoli.

In late January, protesters stormed the local headquarters of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC), smashing its windows with stones and metal bars. On April 10, a home-made bomb was thrown at a convoy carrying the head of the United Nations mission to Libya but no one was hurt.

Hampered by the lack of an effective national army or internal security force, the NTC is grappling to disband dozens of powerful militias that effectively control various parts of the country.

Militia chiefs have resisted attempts to integrate their personnel into the official military and police forces.