Hamas has condemned the arrest of the speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Aziz Dweik, and calls for the European parliament to to intervene
Jan
19
Israel may have taken a step back from bombing Iran – but for how long? | Harriet Sherwood
The chair of the US joint chiefs of staff who is in Israel to discuss Iran will warn of the dire consequences of a military strike
When Israel's defence minister, Ehud Barak, said this week that his country was "very far off" from taking a decision about whether to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities, General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, may have allowed himself a moment of relief before boarding his flight to Tel Aviv on Thursday.
But, mindful of Israel's record of blowing hot and, well, less hot on the issue, Dempsey will still deliver a strong message to Barak, the president, Shimon Peres, the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, and his Israeli military counterpart, Benny Gantz: a military strike on Iran would have dire consequences; sanctions need more time; Israel and the US must work in partnership.
Events over the past fortnight have increased US anxieties that – despite Barak's words, aimed at cooling the febrile atmosphere – Israel is actively considering steps which could plunge the region (and beyond) into a catastrophic war. Hence Barack Obama spoke directly to Netanyahu on the subject last week, the US defence secretary, Leon Panetta, privately sought assurances over Israel's intentions, and Dempsey flew in for a series of face-to-face meetings.
Iran's claim on 8 January that it planned to start nuclear enrichment at its underground Fordow plant, near Qom, "in the near future" was seen as coming perilously close to one of Israel's "red lines". It was followed a few days later by the assassination of an Iranian nuclear scientist, an operation widely attributed to the Mossad, Israel's fabled intelligence agency. Israel has maintained its usual omertà on the hit, with only Peres saying that "to the best of my knowledge" the country was not involved. Meanwhile, Iran's threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has exacerbated tensions.
This latest round of escalation comes only two months after intense speculation that Israel was gearing up for an imminent strike, with reports that Netanyahu was striving to persuade his divided cabinet to back such action. Some suggested that public sabre rattling was an attempt to persuade the international community to impose stiffer sanctions on Iran.
And, indeed, Netanyahu gave an interview last weekend in which he suggested sanctions were working. "For the first time, I see Iran wobble," he told the Australian. Three days later, he said the opposite: sanctions were ineffective, he told an Israeli parliamentary committee. US officials are uncertain how to read Israel's intentions given such contradictory statements.
But there does appear to be a real debate within Israel's political and defence establishment over the merits of military action, and one that does not necessarily run along left-right, dove-hawk lines.
The consequences of a strike are the dominant consideration. Tehran would be expected to order Hezbollah to launch a barrage of rockets from Lebanon in response. Hamas in Gaza may be instructed to do likewise, although since its relations with Tehran have cooled, there is less certainty it would comply. Even without a direct military response from Iran, Israel could find itself engaged in serious conflict on two of its borders with organisations which have significantly rearmed in the past couple of years.
Another reason for debate concerns timing. The Obama administration is unwilling to get embroiled in a military conflict in an election year. Some believe that November's poll could produce a US president more sympathetic to Israel's inclination to strike. Others say it will be too late by next year, and in any case Obama may still be in the White House.
There is another possible reason why Israel may decide not to strike, or at least not yet. Some suggest that covert operations, such as assassinations, are not just intended to impede Iran's nuclear progress but also to goad Tehran into action of its own or on its behalf by its proxies providing Israel – and the US – with a casus belli.
In his brief visit, Dempsey will attempt to identify Israel's true intentions as well as delivering a strong message. Meanwhile, the US is stepping up practical contingency plans against the possibility of war, according to the Wall Street Journal. And, in the interview in which Barak said a decision was "very far off", he also said that Washington and Israel "respect one another's freedom of decision". The implications of that will not be reassuring to American ears.
IsraelIranUnited StatesMiddle East and North AfricaHarriet Sherwoodguardian.co.ukJan
18
Two Palestinians killed on Gaza-Israel border – video
An Israeli air and ground strike killed two Palestinians in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Jan
18
Syria: Zabadani ceasefire broken -Wednesday 18 January
• Free Syrian Army resistance forces brief truce in Zabadani
• Obama looks to further 'international pressure' against Syria
• Syria excepts extension to Arab League mission
Read the latest summary
6.08pm: Here's a summary of the main developments today:
Syria• Russia says it will block any attempt to get UN support for the use of force against Syria. Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said: "If some intend to use force at all cost ... we can hardly prevent that from happening. But they won't get any authorisation from the UN security council." He also defended a suspected arms shipment to Syria.
• A coalition of 140 human rights organisations has urged the Arab League to withdraw its monitors from Syria and called on the UN to take action to stop the violence. The coalition, which claims to represent organisations working in 19 Arab countries, sent a trenchant letter to the secretary general of the Arab League, Nabil Elarabi, saying it feared for the credibility of the League if it does not take decisive action.
• A temporary ceasefire in Zabadani, a town 20 miles north west of Damascus, is holding, according to Reuters. There were reports of renewed army shelling of the town this morning, and a claim that the Free Syrian Army broke the truce. A resident said there has been shelling on the edge of town but says this could have been cover fire for all the army to pull out.
• A Syrian tribal leader from the eastern city of Deir Ezzor says he was forced at gunpoint to back Bashar al-Assad. Protests in the city decreased in size after his apparent endorsement of the Assad regime last year.
• European Union foreign ministers are preparing to impose new sanctions against 22 members of the Assad regime and eight companies. "As long as the repression continues we will step up our restrictive measures," an EU diplomat said.
• Syria is reported to be ready to let Arab monitors extend their mission, amid claims that the league is preparing to condemn the Assad regime in a report about the initiative. "Nobody thinks it will be good for Syria," a league source told the Independent.
Egypt
• Hosni Mubarak's chief defence lawyer has said the army- and not the president - were in control of the country when protesters were killed during the uprising against the dictator, AFP reports. 41 But Farid al-Deeb said he believed that the army did not open fire "so the question is who killed and caused the injuries?" Deeb also reportedly said that the protests against Mubarak had been violent due to possible infiltration by foreign elements. Meanwhile, a Swiss prosecutor has frozen the assets of Mubarak's wife, Suzanne, and those of her Women for Peace organisation.
• Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi has stepped up the rhetoric ahead of planned protests against the Supreme Council of Armed Forces to mark the anniversary of the revolution that brought down Hosni Mubarak. He warned of "grave dangers" to Egypt and also referred to schemes and conspiracies against the country.
Bahrain
• Activists defying a ban on holding a protest in the capital Manama were attacked by riot police using rubber bullets, stun grenades and teargas, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) claimed. The opposition al-Wefaq group had been denied permission for the rally. The BCHR said protesters were also attacked in Sitra and Abu Saiba.
Yemen•A parliamentary debate in Yemen on a controversial deal to grant president Saleh immunity from prosecution in return for standing down has been delayed again, according to reports. Yemen's spokesman in Washington said the latest delay came after a request from the prime minister.
Libya
• The BBC says it has seen evidence that a man was tortured and killed in detention, after clashes between rival militia groups in Libya at the weekend. Members of Izzedine al-Ghool's family say he was accused of siding with the regime of the late Muammar Gaddafi, a claim they deny. Earlier this month, Transitional National Council leader Mustafa Abdel-Jalil warned of civil war if militias were not brought under control.
5.54pm: The Local Co-ordination Committees report that the Free Syrian Army has clashed with the regular army in Dera'a. It says the FSA destroyed two buses and killed or injured more than 11 people.
They claim that 13 people have been killed by the security forces so far today, including nine in Homs. The tally includes two women and two military defectors.
The reports cannot be independently verified.
5.31pm: A Swiss prosecutor has frozen the assets of Hosni Mubarak's wife Suzanne and those of her Women for Peace organisation, al-Ahram reports (Arabic link).
It said the decision was based on investigations into suspected money laundering.
Suzanne is the only Mubarak not on trial or in jail.
Earlier this month, in a profile of her, Newsweek wrote:
With her husband on trial for his life, Egypt's former first lady has all but vanished. She reportedly suffered a panic attack in May, after being detained and questioned over illegal acquisition of wealth. She was released quickly after forfeiting $3.4 million and a Cairo villa—though some estimates place the family wealth in the billions. She is in touch with few friends, and Newsweek's many efforts to reach her went unanswered.
Since her brief stint in custody last spring, the Illicit Gains Authority has continued to pursue her. The Swiss have frozen $340 million worth of bank accounts belonging to the Mubaraks, and Egyptian authorities expect to discover even more hidden money. (Their lawyer, Farid el Deeb, told Foreign Policy magazine that the money was acquired outside Egypt, when the sons worked abroad.) Estimates of the Mubaraks' wealth range from $2 billion to, wildly, $70 billion.
Today, Suzanne Mubarak passes her time at a villa outside Cairo, spending her days visiting her husband as he awaits trial. Gamal and Alaa are in jail—in the same cell that once held Saad Eddin Ibrahim, he says. The state of Egypt pays for Hosni Mubarak's health care, according to his lawyer, and Suzanne lives off her husband's pension, $15,500 a month. The average Egyptian employee earns about $100 per month.
5.02pm: Video footage from Zabadani purports to show tanks stationed outside the city today preparing to leave after the announcement of the ceasefire.
According to our colleague Mona Mahmood, a voice in the clip says:
Assad's army is stationed at the entrance to Zabadani. Now they look as if they are going to leave the town. They are withdrawing after a strong attack from the Free Syrian Army.
A clip posted on Tuesday claims to show military defectors in the area pledging to attack "strategic targets" after the passing of a deadline for the withdrawal of troops.
The man reading out a statement said:
As the deadline has run out, for Assad's occupation forces to pull out of Zabadani and Madaya, we will start to implement our threats.
He claimed that the defectors had forced out of action a telecommunication tower run by regime insider Ramil Makhlouf.
He also claimed that 35 members of the security forces had been killed by the defectors.
The claims in both clips cannot be independently verified.
4.50pm: The claim by Guardian columnist Jonathan Steele that the western media has failed to acknowledge that the majority of Syrians want Assad to stay in power has made it onto the website of the Syrian state news agency, Sana.
In an article entitled "Senior Former Guardian Correspondent: Western Media Coverage of Events in Syria Is Unfair and Biased, Has Turned into a Propaganda Weapon", Sana reports:
Political commentator Jonathan Steele criticised in an article in the British Guardian newspaper the foreign media coverage of the events taking place in Syria, accusing it of bias and suppressing the facts that "go against the dominant narrative about the Syrian crisis".
Steele, the Guardian's former international affairs correspondent, said the western media coverage has turned into "a propaganda weapon" against Syria as all the key issues related to the popularity of President Bashar al-Assad, the Arab League observer mission and the US military involvement have been "distorted in the west's propaganda war".
4.12pm: Ahram Online has explained why it deleted the article: "Mubarak lawyer blames army for protester deaths" (see 3.47pm). It says that lawyers inside the court denied that this statement was made.
Story titled "Mubarak lawyer blames army for..." has been pulled, as other lawyers inside the court denied to @AhramOnline this statement.
— Ahram Online (@ahramonline) January 18, 2012
Presumably the Ahram story was based on wire copy. In effect, it is now saying it does not have confidence in the wire copy.
3.47pm: Interestingly, Ahram Online has deleted an article in which it said Hosni Mubarak's lawyer blamed the army for the death of protesters during the revolution that toppled him
Borzou Daragahi, a Middle East correspondent for the FT, took a screengrab of the RSS feed showing the article before it was deleted.
An attempt to find the article via Google now returns a message on Ahram Online saying page doesn't exist.
It has been replaced with a much blander account of today's proceedings, which says: "Cairo's criminal court has adjourned the trial of toppled president Hosni Mubarak until Thursday."
It merely notes that "the former strongman's defence team continued its arguments during Wednesday's session for the second day running".
The deletion of the article comes after it was reported, on Monday, that Egypt's military leader Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi has ordered the formation of a committee of high-ranking army generals to ensure the armed forces get positive media coverage. There is already a Morale Affairs Department which is supposed to review any media coverage of the military before broadcast or publication.
Whatever the reasons for Ahram Online's actions, it hasn't stopped AFP reporting the claims by lawyer Farid al-Deeb. He is quoted as saying:
Mubarak used his constitutional power and issued an order imposing a curfew across Egypt and put the army in charge of security from 4:00 pm, January 28 ...Therefore, it does not make sense that police ordered the killing of protesters. The police did not have the jurisdiction or authority to issue any orders since the authority had been transferred to the head of the army.
But, perhaps wary of the possible consequences of making such claims, Deeb added that the army and officers "have clearly said, and there is no question about it, that they (army) did not open fire and I believe the army because it doesn't lie. The army's duty is to protect people and property ... so the question is who killed and caused the injuries? This is the main point of the case."
3.30pm: Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has defended a suspected Russian armed shipment to Syria.
AFP quoted him saying:
We do not feel we have to explain or justify anything because we are not violating any international agreements or UN Security Council resolutions.
We are only trading items with Syria that are not banned by international law.
3.25pm: The BBC says it has seen evidence that a man was tortured and killed in detention, after clashes between rival militia groups in Libya at the weekend.
Members of Izzedine al-Ghool's family say he was accused of siding with the regime of the late Muammar Gaddafi ...
The fighting is said to have erupted when members of the Gharyan militia went to arrest people suspected of having ties to the former Gaddafi regime in the town of Assabia, about 16km (10 miles) to the south-west ...
The BBC has seen marks on his legs and buttocks that suggest he was subjected to brutal treatment ...
A military officer at the mortuary denied the BBC permission to interview the doctor who conducted the autopsy.
But a nurse who was present when the body was examined said Mr Ghool had been subjected to electric shocks and savagely beaten.
Earlier this month, Transitional National Council leader Mustafa Abdel-Jalil warned of civil war if militias were not brought under control.
Separately, the BBC's Mark Urban has written the "inside story of the UK's secret mission to beat Gaddafi". He says - as widely suspected - that UK special forces were deployed on the ground.
3.16pm: A funeral has taken place for 15 members of the armed forces in Syria, the state news agency has announced.
It said the men were killed by "armed groups" in the Damascus countryside, Idlib, Hama and Dera'a.
Those killed include a first lieutenant and a colonel, according to Sana.
3.07pm: Yemen expert Gregory Johnsen is keeping count of the number times parliament has delayed debating the immunity deal for president Saleh and his inner circle (see 11.32 am).
#Yemen delays parliament debate on immunity for Salih and co, yet again.This makes, I believe, time number 5.
— GregorydJohnsen (@gregorydjohnsen) January 18, 2012
2.48pm: A peaceful rally in the Bahraini capital, Manama, has been attacked by riot police using teargas, stun grenades and rubber bullets, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) claims.
#ManamaRally suppressed by riot police, protesters hunted inside Manama, stun Grenada and rubber bullets shot at protesters #bahrain
— Bahrain Human Rights (@BahrainRights) January 18, 2012
The demonstration appears to have been organised by the al-Wefaq opposition group.
On Tuesday Bahrain's chief of public security Major-General Tariq Al Hassan announced on Tuesday that the march would not be permitted.
If the procession goes ahead, it will in violation of the law, adding that legal steps will be taken against violators, Bahrain's ministry of information reported him saying.
In this video, purportedly showing the attack, police can be seen jogging down the street.
Shots can be heard and smoke seen rising.
The BCHR claims protesters have also been attacked in Sitra and in Abu Saiba, in north Bahrain.
1.53pm: A coalition of 140 human rights organisations has urged the Arab League to withdraw its monitors from Syria and call on the UN to take action to stop the violence.
The coalition, which claims to represent organisations working in 19 Arab countries, sent a trenchant letter to secretary general of the Arab League Nabil Elarabi.
It said:
The mission's credibility and efficacy has also been questioned due to a lack of transparency, inadequate staffing and expertise of monitors, inability to protect witnesses and staff, to operate independently from the Syrian government and its inaccessibility to activists and victims on the ground.
We fear the credibility of the League of Arab States will be damaged irreparably despite the leadership it has shown during the past year, unless the League:
• Publicly release the monitoring mission's report.
• Recognise flaws that have undermined the work of the monitoring mission.
• Withdraw the mission and call for the Security Council to take action to address the ongoing violence in light of the Syrian government's failure to implement the terms of the Arab League protocol and the Arab roadmap.
• Demand an immediate cessation of the use of force against the Syrian people and ensure that the perpetrators of crimes are held accountable.
Citizens of the Arab world share the desire to see an end to the bloodshed in Syria and to see the Arab League play a more active and instrumental role in ending these grave human rights violations against the Syrian population.
The Arab world cannot wait for the crisis in Syria to grow uncontrolled, with a clear and immediate threat to the region's security, stability and prosperity.
Syria cannot wait!
1.43pm: A new Reuters reports suggest the Zabadani ceasefire is still holding. A resident said there has been shelling on the edge of town but says this could have been cover fire to all the army to pull out.
"Everyone is waiting to see if the tanks will pull out, but there is intermittent tank fire on the edges of the town and on nearby farmland," Abu Assad al-Khair, a retired public servant, said by phone from Zabadani, a town of 40,000 near the Lebanese border.
"It seems it is covering fire to enable them to pull out several armored vehicles and tanks that the rebels had hit or destroyed," he added.
There was no immediate comment from the Syrian authorities and state media have not mentioned the Zabadani cease-fire or five days of fighting that preceded it.
Tight Syrian media restrictions make it hard to verify events in the ground.
The cease-fire, negotiated days before the Arab League meets to decide the fate of its monitoring mission, would be the first successful agreement in the 10-month-old revolt, if it holds.
An attempt to negotiate a cease-fire during battles in the central town of Rastan in July fell apart and an armored force regained control after 10 days of fighting rebels.
Activists said Zabadani, linked to old smuggling routes in the rugged mountains separating Syria and Lebanon, is more difficult to storm than Rastan, surrounded by flat farmland.
"I think the regime agreed to the truce because they know that with the mountainous terrain, if their forces fought on they would suffer much heavier losses than the rebels despite the difference in weapons," said Maher Ismail, a spokesman for the Free Syrian Army, an umbrella group for loosely organised army defectors that says it is helping defend the town.
"Our calculation as of now is that the regime will stop firing, but it will not back away. We imagine they may just be planning a new strategy for attack," he added.
Kamal al-Labwani, an opposition leader from Zabadani who fled to Jordan last month, said keeping tanks nearby was part of pressure by the authorities on residents to give up their guns.
"The regime is pushing through intermediaries for the rebels to hand in their arms, but I don't think it is going to happen," Labwani said.
Labwani said earlier that one person had been killed and 50 wounded in Zabadani during the attack. About 30 pro-Assad soldiers had also been killed, as had an unknown number of soldiers who had defected to the rebels, he added.
Activists from Zabadani said the cease-fire agreement was reached on Tuesday between town leaders and Deputy Defense Minister Assef Shawkat, Assad's brother-in-law.
1.29pm: David Cameron accused Iran of shipping arms to Syria and branded Syrian ruler President Bashad al-Assad a "wretched tyrant", PA reports.
The prime minister said evidence had been uncovered pointing to Tehran as the provider of weapons for Syrian security forces cracking down on protesters demanding democracy.
Mr Cameron said Britain would "lead the way" in tightening sanctions and asset bans against Syria.
But, speaking at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons, he added: "There is now growing evidence that Iran is providing a huge amount of support.
"There have been interceptions of some shipments by Turkey which are particularly interesting.
"People should also know that Hezbollah is an organisation standing up and supporting this wretched tyrant who is killing so many of his own people."
The United Nations estimates at least 5,000 people have been killed since pro-democracy protesters took to Syrian streets last year as part of the Arab Spring uprisings sweeping the Middle East and North Africa.
Tory MP Richard Graham (Gloucester) said: "If things there are to get better not worse, the world must stop selling arms to Syria."
Chris Dolyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, said Graham visited Syrians in Lebanon last week.
Richard Graham MP who was on @caabu's visit last week to #Lebanon to meet Syrians asks Cameron at #pmqs about states who are arming #syria
— Chris Doyle (@Doylech) January 18, 2012
1.22pm: A reporter for the US broadcaster NBC says he and his crew were arrested and forced to delete video after filming queues for petrol in Damascus.
Filming long queues at petrol station with a ministry of information permit. Plain clothes police men have appeared
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) January 18, 2012
Taken to police station in #damascus. Despite having permits we were forced to delete video of people waiting in line.
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) January 18, 2012
Police in #damascus have let us go after about an hour and deleting our video of long petrol lines #syria
— Ayman Mohyeldin (@AymanM) January 18, 2012
12.55pm: Here's a summary of the main developments so far today:
Syria• Russia says it will block any attempt to get UN support for the use of force against Syria. Foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said: "If some intend to use force at all cost ... we can hardly prevent that from happening. But they won't get any authorisation from the UN Security council."
• A temporary ceasefire in Zabadani, a town 20 miles north west of Damascus, appears to have broken down. There were reports of renewed army shelling of the town this morning, and a claim that the Free Syrian Army broke the truce.
• A Syrian tribal leader from the eastern city of Deir Ezzor says he was forced at gunpoint to back Bashar al-Assad. Protests in the city decreased in size after his apparent endorsement of the Assad regime last year.
• European Union foreign ministers are preparing to impose new sanctions against 22 members of the Assad regime and eight companies. "As long as the repression continues we will step up our restrictive measures," an EU diplomat said.
• Syria is reported to be ready to let Arab monitors extend their mission, amid claims that the league is preparing to condemn the Assad regime in a report about the initiative. "Nobody thinks it will be good for Syria," a league source told the Independent.
Yemen•A parliamentary debate in Yemen on a controversial deal to grant president Saleh immunity from prosecution in return for standing down has been delayed again, according to reports. Yemen's spokesman in Washington said the latest delay came after a request from the prime minister.
Egypt
• Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi has stepped up the rhetoric ahead of planned protests against the Supreme Council of Armed Forces to mark the anniversary of the revolution that brought down Hosni Mubarak. He warned of "grave dangers" to Egypt and also referred to schemes and conspiracies against the country.
12.42pm: Egypt's military ruler Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi has stepped up the rhetoric ahead of planned protests against the Supreme Council of Armed Forces to mark the anniversary of the revolution that brought down Hosni Mubarak, AP reports.
He said:
Egypt is facing grave dangers it has not seen before ...The armed forces is the backbone that protects Egypt. These schemes are aimed at targeting that backbone. We will not allow it and will carry out our task perfectly to hand over the nation to an elected civilian administration.
He also referred to "conspiracies" against the country and saidsaid that the armed forces were "pushed into the political fray only to protect Egypt from the enemies of the nation and people".
Egypt watchers will be familiar by now with the military's warnings of "schemes and conspiracies" threatening the country's very existance.
12.36pm: Al-Arabiya has details of an extraordinary story published today, which claims that Iran wants to do a deal with the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood that would allow the group to enter power in Syria. It says:
Iran has offered the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood a deal that includes giving the Islamist opposition group all of the government, but under the condition that President Bashar al-Assad remains as the country's premier, an official said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.
Mohammed Taifour, the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood's deputy superintendent and one of its representatives in the country's main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, told the London-based al-Hayat Newspaper that via a Turkish businessman he knows, three Iranian merchants requested to see him.
12.17pm: A Syrian tribal leader from the eastern city of Deir Ezzor says he was forced at gunpoint to back Bashar al-Assad, Reuters reports.
Sheikh Nawaf al-Bashir, who has since fled to Turkey, said he in fact wanted the overthrow of the Syrian government which has cracked down violently on anti-Assad protesters.
Bashir, who heads the main Baqqara tribe in rebellious Deir Ezzor province, disowned his comments supporting the Syrian government made under duress in October after a spell in jail.
"I apologize to the Syrian people for the words I have said. I now declare that we want nothing but to topple the regime," he told a news conference in Istanbul.
An article in the National, written before Bashir's press conference, said protests in Deir Ezzor decreased in size after his apparent endorsement of the Assad regime
Nawaf al-Bashir, a well known pro-democracy campaigner and leading member of the Baqara tribe, supported protests.
He was arrested at the end of July, just as a military assault was looming, and held for 69 days without charge. In an interview on state-run television the day after his release he announced a dramatic U-turn, saying foreign agendas had brought violent chaos to Syria, and that protesters should "give a chance for the political reforms under the leadership of President Bashar Al Assad".
Earlier that day, a group of 13 sheikhs from the Baqara clan, excluding Mr al- Bashir, met senior regime officials in Damascus and, according to tribal figures with knowledge of the talks, pledged to keep their cousin from going "astray" after being told they would be held personally responsible.
"We used to regularly have 20,000 a day protesting but after Nawaf changed his mind, we get 5,000. It's only the very active who ignored the tribal leaders who still came out," said an opposition figure.
12.12pm: The full results of the election for Egypt's lowerhouse, the People's Assembly, will be announced on Saturday, al-Masry al-Youm reports.
Some results have already been released but there remains some doubt about how the party list seats will be calculated.
However, there is no doubt about who the biggest winners have been so far with the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party (FJP) out in front, followed by the Salafist al-Nour party.
The Arab Institute's Jadaliyya website estimates that the FJP has won 45% of the seats and al-Nour 25%, although this was before the run-offs for round three had taken place.
Al-Masry al-Youm also reports that the FJP is planning to support Mansour Hassan, the head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces' advisory council, for president but says he "has not shown any desire to run in the presidential election"
The Brotherhood is deliberately not fielding its own candidate for president as in a bid to assuage concerns about Islamists having too much power.
Hassan is quoted today as saying that expediting power transfer and holding the presidential election early - as demanded by some revolutionaries but not the Brotherhood - is "nonsense".
11.32am: A parliamentary debate in Yemen on a controversial deal to grant president Saleh immunity from prosecution in return for standing down has been delayed again, according to reports.
Yemen's spokesman in Washington said the latest delay came after a request from the prime minister.
#Yemen: #Yemeni parliament failed again to discuss & vote on the immunity bill. Session postponed to Monday per #YUG PM #Basendowah request
— Mohammed Albasha(@Yemen411) January 18, 2012
11.26am: The Guardian's Jack Shenker is launching a new book about Cairo's changing urban landscape in the city tonight.
Cairo Divided is a free publication in a newspaper format "exploring the capital's rapidly-mutating urban landscape" against the backdrop of revolution, which Jack has put together with documentary photographer Jason Larkin over a two-year period.
Cairo Divided's official website says:
For fourteen centuries, Egypt's capital has risen within a pair of stubbornly-persistent natural boundaries – the Moqattam clifftops to the west, and the Saharan desert to the east. Now for the first time Cairo is bursting its banks, sending boutique villas and water-hungry golf courses tumbling into the sand dunes, and reshaping the political and psychological contours of the largest megacity in Africa and the Middle East.
Amid an uncertain tide of political change, the controversial 'satellite cities' project is dramatically transforming peripheries into new urban centres and consigning old focal points to a life on the margins.
The satellite cities programme was conceived by Anwar Sadat's government to draw people away from the overcrowded capital.
If you are in Cairo, tonight's launch event is being held at 7pm at the Contemporary Image Collective. People in the UK can order copies from the official website.
11.10am: AP confirms that shelling has resumed in Zabadani.
Activists say Syrian troops have shelled a town near the border with Lebanon, and living conditions are deteriorating there after six days of siege.
A resident and activist of the mountain resort of Zabadani describes the town as a "war zone." He says dozens of anti-government army defectors are deployed at the entrances to prevent any attempt by forces loyal to President Bashar Assad to storm the area.
The man who identified himself only as Fares for fear of government reprisals told The Associated Press by phone that the town was shelled with mortars shortly before noon Wednesday.
The sound shelling can be heard in this clip of the town.
10.25am: The ceasefire in Zabadani appears to have been broken by the Syrian army.
Speaking via Skype a local activist said: "Intermittent bombing resumed by Assad forces two hours ago."
The man, who gave only his initials, MA, said: "There was a ceasefire agreed between the regime's forces and some of the dignitaries and the Free Syrian Army.
"You can't trust such an regime [to keep an agreement]. It was calm last night, but it was broken this morning.The Free Syrian Army are trying to defend the town."
MA said he was speaking from near Zabadani and was in regular contact with residents of the town. He said "hundreds" of military defectors, armed with light weapons, including RPGs, were defending civilians.
He added:
The number of injured people has risen to 60, three are in a critical condition. One of FSA officer was killed. He is former Syrian army officer Moutaa Dakdo.
There is a shortage of bread in the town. Telecommunications are not fully working. There is no medicine. Official hospitals cannot admit any of the injured.
9.32am: Brian Whitaker takes issue with our former colleague Jonathan Steele over his claim that the majority of Syrians support Assad (as Enduring America notes).
Writing on his own blog, Brian points out that the figure cited by Jonathan is based on a small sample.
No one can sensibly put a figure on it or claim that Assad's supporters form a majority.
The 55% figure comes from an internet survey by YouGov Siraj for al-Jazeera's Doha Debates. Just over 1,000 people across the Arab countries were asked their opinion of Assad and an overwhelming majority – 81% – thought he should step down.
However, al-Jazeera says the picture inside Syria is different: "Syrians are more supportive of their president with 55% not wanting him to resign."
What is the basis for this statement? A look at the methodology of the survey shows that 211 of the respondents were in Levantine countries and that 46% of those were in Syria. In other words, the finding is based on a sample of just 97 internet users in Syria among a population of more than 20 million. It's not a meaningful result and certainly not adequate grounds for such sweeping conclusions about national opinion in Syria.
9.17am: Four tanks and seven armoured vehicles have been destroyed by military defectors in Zabadani, according to US-based Syrian dissident Ammar Abdulhamid.
He points several videos claiming to show an army bombardment of the town and its aftermath.
He also highlights this clip purporting to show one of the tanks destroyed by the Free Syrian Army.
8.46am: Radwan Ziadeh, a leading member of the opposition Syrian National Council has confirmed reports of the ceasefire in Zabadani.
The BBC quotes him saying:
The Syrian government is under pressure from the Arab League since the next meeting of the Arab League is approaching, and they don't need to put more pressure from the international community on them.
But at the same time, they are surprised at the strength of the Free Syrian Army, and the support they have among the population, and the Syrian dissidents there.
8.12am: (all times GMT) Welcome to Middle East Live.
Internal and external pressure against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad appears to be growing. For the first time military defectors are reported to have secured a ceasefire in a key town close to Damascus. Meanwhile, the Arab League is said to be preparing a critical report on its monitoring mission which is due to end tomorrow, and Barack Obama said he is looking to increase international pressure on the Assad regime.
Here's a round up of the latest developments:
Syria• Syrian troops fighting rebels in the town of Zabadani, 20 miles north west of Damascus, have agreed a ceasefire, according to reports. Al-Arabiya quotes a resident of the town saying: "Tank bombardments have stopped. Preachers are broadcasting the agreement from the minarets of Zabadani. I think stiff resistance and defections among the attacking forces have forced the regime to negotiate. We will see if it will stick to the deal."
• Zabadani is just 20 miles north-west of Damascus, but it could be on another planet, Ian Black reported from the town before the apparent truce.
For nearly a month the mainly Sunni town of 40,000 has effectively been liberated territory, though it is a fragile liberty that is under constant siege. Last Friday government troops launched a large-scale assault backed up by artillery and up to 50 tanks. It is unlikely to be the last. Shelling was reported again on Tuesday. Nearby Madaya was also under attack, a thick pall of smoke hanging over it. Water and electricity have been cut off. Many residents have fled.
• Syria is ready to let Arab monitors extend their mission, Reuters reports as Barack Obama said he was looking to increase international pressure on Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad to step aside. Damascus opposes broadening the scope of the Arab League observer mission, a source at the League said, but would accept a one-month extension of its mandate which expires on Thursday. Meanwhile speaking after with Jordan's King Abdulla, Obama said:
We will continue to consult very closely with Jordan to create the kind of international pressure and environment that encourages the current Syrian regime to step aside.
• The Arab League is preparing to launch unprecedented condemnation of the Assad regime in a report on the its monitoring mission, according to the Independent. A source told the paper: "Everyone is saying it will be bad. There was a meeting today with delegates from across the region. Nobody thinks it will be good for Syria."
• The western media has failed to acknowledge that most Syrians want president Assad to remain in power, argues Jonathan Steele. He points to a poll conducted last month which found that 55% of Syrians want Assad to stay to prevent a civil war. The media ignored the finding because it goes against the current narrative on Syria, Steele claimed. He added that similar bias effects coverage of the Arab League mission, which Steele says should be given more time:
In spite of the provocations from all sides the league should stand its ground. Its mission in Syria has seen peaceful demonstrations both for and against the regime. It has witnessed, and in some cases suffered from, violence by opposing forces. But it has not yet had enough time or a large enough team to talk to a comprehensive range of Syrian actors and then come up with a clear set of recommendations. Above all, it has not even started to fulfil that part of its mandate requiring it to help produce a dialogue between the regime and its critics. The mission needs to stay in Syria and not be bullied out.
Egypt• The legal fightback of ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak has begun, Jack Shenker reports from Cairo.
To cheers from his team of volunteer lawyers, the 83-year-old's attorney said the image of a corrupt, bloodthirsty tyrant painted by the prosecution bore no relation to the honest, noble and above all patriotic president stretched out before them, now clad in prison overalls and following proceedings wordlessly from within a secure metal cage ...
Few observers will give any credence to the idea that Mubarak – who used his vast security apparatus to brutally repress political dissent for a generation – was secretly aligned with those who sought to overthrow him.
But questions over the prosecution case are mounting, and they strike at the heart of what the "trial of the century" means to Egypt and the wider Arab world.
Israel and the Palestinian territories• The European Union should consider legislation to prevent or discourage companies and organisations in member states doing business which supports Israeli settlements, according to a confidential report drawn up by EU diplomats in Jerusalem. The recommendation is contained in the EU Heads of Mission Report on East Jerusalem, which assesses the impact of settlement growth and other factors on the prospects for Jerusalem as the future capital of two states, Israel and Palestine.
Yemen• Presidential elections to replace Ali Abdullah Saleh look set to be delayed after the foreign minister said it would be difficult to hold them next month as scheduled. In an interview with Al-Arabiya Abu Bakr al-Qirbi said: "In light of the security deterioration in the country, it would be difficult that the presidential elections could be held on its scheduled time on February." His remarks will add to fears that Saleh is backing out of Gulf-brokered deal to transfer power.
SyriaBashar al-AssadEgyptIsraelPalestinian territoriesYemenBahrainUS foreign policyArab and Middle East unrestMiddle East and North AfricaLibyaMatthew WeaverHaroon Siddiqueguardian.co.ukJan
17
Financials lead Asian shares lower
A drop in Citigroup earnings weighed on Asian bank stocks while the wider equity markets edged lower after Tuesday’s sharp gains
Jan
17
World Bank warns emerging nations
Even without a descent into a fresh crisis, economic forecasts are significantly lower than those in June 2011
Jan
20
Hacking away at Arab and Israeli stereotypes | Khaled Diab
Cyber-attacks on Israel shock those who see Arabs as backward – but on both sides such stereotyping is being challenged
Earlier this week, a hacker or group of hackers who claim to be Saudi scaled up their cyber offensive against Israel by paralysing the websites of El Al airline and the Tel Aviv stock exchange. This was the latest in a series of attacks over the past fortnight, which has also seen the credit card details of thousands of Israeli citizens leaked online.
The online guerrilla campaign has left many Israelis feeling vulnerable in a domain where they believed they had absolute regional supremacy: technology and IT. Although the nationality of the hackers is not certain, to restore their national honour and create what they called "deterrence", Israeli hackers were quick to retaliate against the stock exchanges in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.
"There was always a feeling that Israel is a technological 'superpower' and a hi-tech nation," Bar Shem-Ur, a young reporter on a popular current affairs programme broadcast by Israel's liberal Channel 10, told me. "I think that the recent attacks … broke some of the myths that surrounded the feeling that Israel can deal with anything in the cyber world."
Of course, Israel is the Middle East's undisputed technological powerhouse, but anyone who lives here can tell you that the reality is far creakier and more makeshift than the image. Moreover, Arabs are hardly in the technological stone age and Palestinians, despite the restrictions of occupation, are gradually bolstering their innovative credentials.
Nevertheless, many Israelis apparently do regard their nearest neighbours as being backward. "Many Israelis believe that Palestinians are not educated, are just farmers and labourers, and have no idea about technology, despite the fact that many work in Israel's hi-tech sector," says Khulood, who is from Nazareth and works for an international agency.
As an Israeli citizen who grew up among Israelis, Khulood speaks fluent Hebrew, is an independent, liberated and highly educated woman who lives alone, yet she finds many of her Jewish compatriots are convinced that Palestinian women are oppressed and locked up at home.
"It's not because [Jewish] Israelis don't encounter Arabs. It's just more comfortable for them to look down on us – it makes their colonial enterprise easier," she contends. "If they acknowledge that we are similar, this will raise the uncomfortable question of why they don't treat us as equals."
That said, demonisation is a two-way street, and Khulood acknowledges that Palestinians in Israel have their own negative stereotypes of Israelis, namely that they are devious, cunning and untrustworthy. Although there are Israelis who see this as a manifestation of classic antisemitism, Khulood believes these unflattering stereotypes have more to do with the reality of the conflict.
"We have an image of Israelis as people who only know violence, infringe on the rights of others and take their land," says Wajdi Kharraz, a qualified IT specialist from Nablus who now works in the family business. "In our daily lives, we only see soldiers and in the media we only hear about Israeli violations. We don't see much of the other faces of Israel."
Kharraz got the chance to see other facets of Israel and Israelis when he and a group of ordinary Palestinians went on a trip to Israel organised by a peace-building NGO. "My view has changed. I have overcome the fear barrier," Kharraz says, reflecting on the experience. "I used to see Israelis only as soldiers. But after meeting this group, all of whom have served in the IDF, I see they too are ordinary people like me. Now, when I go through a checkpoint, I see a person behind the gun; that this soldier is also human."
Likewise, a group of ordinary Israelis visited Palestinian towns in the West Bank, which Israeli law prohibits them from entering without a special permit. "Most of the Palestinians didn't know much about Judaism and their knowledge of Israel was mostly through the prism of the conflict," recalls Rachael, an Israeli university student from Jerusalem who is studying Islam. "Even though they were quite secular, they were pleasantly surprised to learn how similar Judaism and Islam are."
For her part, Rachael was encouraged by how eager the Palestinians were to learn about the Holocaust and the sympathy they expressed for Jewish suffering, despite all the talk in Israel of Arab Holocaust denial.
On a lighter note, she recalls that their group included a couple of fair-complexioned Palestinians, one of whom even had red hair. This apparently threw some of the Israelis who expected all Palestinians to look "Arab".
"After more than 60 years living together, we often look, dress and even act alike. In Israel, it can be very hard to tell an Arab from a Jew," Khulood said. "Despite the conflict, we have gained things from them and they have gained things from us."
And, with the failure of the formal peace process, it is perhaps this gradual, understated grassroots osmosis that offers some of the best hope for a future of greater equality and tolerance.
• Comments on this article are set to remain open for 24 hours from the time of publication but may be closed overnight
• This article was amended on 20 January 2012 to remove a quotation using the term "chosen', because it was at odds with Guardian guidelines.
IsraelPalestinian territoriesHackingMiddle East and North AfricaRace issuesKhaled Diabguardian.co.uk