Obama, Israel and Iran

Israeli press reported that a senior Iranian ayatollah said that the United States must change its policies toward Israel to improve ties with Iran. “Whatever the U.S. president says about forgetting the past and starting a new phase of relations with Iran, the first condition should be a policy change toward Israel,” Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said at Friday prayers in Tehran.  The ayatollah was referring to U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech to the Muslim world Thursday in Cairo, in which he said instead of remaining trapped in the past, the United States was prepared to move forward in its relations with the Islamic republic. “The problems we have with the U.S. are fundamental and not minor ones,” said Jannati, the head of the senate-like Guardian Council. “Israel is one of the fundamental issues, and the question is what you – Obama – want to do with Israel. If you continue the support, then there will be the same old story again,” added the ayatollah, who is prominent in the country’s hard-line faction and close to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Schalit talks resume?

Indirect talks have resumed for the release of Gilad Schalit, an Arab newspaper reported. A top Hamas leader visited Cairo to continue the negotiations for the release of the kidnapped Israeli soldier, the London-based Al Hayat reported Thursday. Schalit was captured in June 2006 in a cross-border attack from Gaza. Former Mossad senior operative Haggai Hadas was named chief negotiator in the Schalit case Sunday, and met with the Schalit family the following day.

PA kills Hamas operatives

Palestinian police killed two Hamas militants last Thursday after the men opened fire at security forces that had surrounded their underground hideout, Palestinian officials said. One officer was also killed in the operation, part of an intensifying crackdown on Islamic militants in the West Bank.

Death threats to top general

Israel’s top army general in charge of the West Bank, Maj-Gen. Gadi Shamni, has received letters containing death threats. “You are tainted with anti-Semitism and hatred of real Jews,” one letter read. “We will know how to get to you and your children will see their father for the Satan he is,” read the letter, which also threatened Shamni’s family. The writers refer to themselves as the Orange Ones, and say they will not evacuate settlements. Shamni’s home has been the site of settler protests, Ha’aretz reported. His car’s tires were slashed recently in his driveway.

Olmert’s surgery a success

Former prime minister Ehud Olmert underwent surgery in the United States to remove a cancerous growth from his prostate. Physicians at the Weill Cornell Medical College in New York state said the operation was successful and there were no complications.  Olmert is currently recovering at the hospital, and is expected to stay in the U.S. for several weeks to undergo a series of tests. The former prime minister was first diagnosed in October 2007. Experts advised him to undergo immediate surgery to remove the growth once his term as prime minister ended.

Madonna coming to Israel

Madonna’s plans to bring her Sticky & Sweet Tour to Israel were officially confirmed. The pop superstar will perform only one show, on Sept. 1 at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park.  The upcoming concert marks the pop diva’s second performance in Israel. She first appeared at Hayarkon Park 16 years ago as part of her Girlie Tour, and also visited Israel in 2006 during the Jewish High Holidays along with 2,000 other students of Kabbalah.  
– Files from JTA and Ha’aretz