Sweden flatly rejects Israeli request for media quiet

Sweden has turned down a demand that it condemn the recent publication of an article that links Israeli soldiers to the death of Palestinian civilians with the motive of obtaining their organs.

In an article published earlier in the week, Sweden's best-selling daily Aftonbladet recounted grotesque incidents dating as far back as 1992 in which Israeli soldiers allegedly abducted Palestinian youths and returned their bodies mutilated a few days later.

The publication infuriated Israeli officials who labeled the news piece as 'blatantly racist' and full of 'vile anti-Semitic themes'.

In response to the publication, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman called on his Swedish counterpart, Carl Bildt, to officially rebut the 'shocking and appalling' piece.

Tel Aviv's envoy to Sweden, Benny Dagan, was to make a similar request during a Friday meeting with the kingdom's deputy foreign minister.

Bildt, however, responded that he would not condemn the article, asserting that such a measure would be in violation of freedom of expression and counter to the Swedish constitution.

Condemnation of anti-Semitism is "the only issue on which there has ever been complete unity in the Swedish parliament", the Swedish minister wrote in a blog post on Thursday, apparently rejecting the idea that disapproving criminal conduct amounts to anti-Semitism.

The Swedish refusal to denounce the allegations against the Israeli army by the high-circulation daily may shake diplomatic ties between Tel Aviv and Stockholm.

There is media speculation that Israel might respond by canceling the Swedish foreign minister's visit to the occupied West Bank scheduled for the next 10 days.

Obama gives deadline to Israel for Palestine'

US President Barack Obama gives Israel a two-year deadline for the finalization of a two-state solution amid sharply opposing positions in Washington and Tel Aviv over the issue of Palestinian statehood.

President Obama raised the issue of an independent Palestinian state with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the Israeli official's visit to Washington last month, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

According to the report, the plan envisions a Middle East peace deal by 2011.

Haaretz quoted a source in Cairo as telling the London-based A-Sharq al-Awsat that Israel's Netanyahu is expected to respond to the proposal within six weeks.

President Obama, who was in Egypt last week to address the Arab and Muslim world, discussed his proposed plan with Egyptian intelligence chief Omer Suleiman and Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

The US president has urged the Netanyahu government to set up a Palestinian state and has been "very clear about the need to stop building settlements, to stop building outposts" on occupied Palestinian territories.

Snubbing international calls to halt its settlement expansion, Israel seems adamant to stubbornly pursue the activities.

Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai declared on Sunday that he would use all resources in the Interior Ministry, "its branches and its influences over local government" to expand Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The Israeli premier, for his part, has halted all Israeli-Palestinian negotiations aimed at the creation of an independent Palestine and has called previous US-backed agreements into question.

In April, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman sparked controversy by saying that Tel Aviv is not bound by the 2007 US-sponsored Annapolis deal, under which Israel agreed to the creation of a Palestinian state.

Poll: Israeli gov't most corrupt in world

Poll: Israeli gov't most corrupt in world
A poll conducted by an anti-Corruption organization has revealed that the majority of Israeli's believe their government is not seriously fighting against Corruption.

The annual Global Corruption Barometer report released by Transparency International shows that 86 percent of Israelis --the highest level in the world--say the government's efforts to fight Corruption are ineffective.

Only 13 percent of Israelis believed that the government is taking the necessary measures to fight Corruption, Haaretz reported.

In 2006, 66 percent of those questioned did not believe in their government's anti-Corruption efforts.

The global public opinion survey represents the views of citizens from 69 countries around the world, including 500 in Israel.

The survey asks people about their attitudes toward local Corruption and their own personal involvement in such corrupt acts as bribery.

Senior Israeli officials including Israel's incumbent Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman are charged with being engaged in several cases of financial Corruption.

Many other Israeli former officials including former president Moshe Katsav, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, former Israeli finance minister Avraham Hirshson and Knesset (Parliament) member Shlomo Benizri have been involved in corruption cases.

Doron Navot of the University of Haifa and the Israel Democracy Institute says in Israel "not only do the government and elected officials not fight political Corruption, but in recent years they see politicians and elected officials fighting the guardians - those battling against Corruption - and trying to weaken them and advance reforms that harm the fight against Corruption."

Lebanon dismantles 25 Israeli spy cells

Amid an ongoing crackdown on active espionage networks in Lebanon, Israeli cells are being dismantled one after the other throughout the country.

Citing senior army sources, Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported Friday that 25 Israeli spy cells have been uncovered this year.

Ten more people were charged with espionage activities on Friday, four of which are already in custody while the other six remain at large.

The sources said the army also arrested a three-member spy network last week in the country. According to the sources the network might have been "the most dangerous" spy cell with "highly developed techniques techniques".

Two others were also arrested on suspicion of spying in the southern town of Ain Qana earlier this week.

So far, Lebanon has charged at least 55 people for spying and has arrested almost 100 others on suspicion of espionage since it launched a major crackdown on spy networks almost two months ago.

Obama changes tone on Iran nuclear issue

US President Barack Obama has admitted Washington's past mistakes toward Tehran, saying Iran has right to peaceful nuclear technology.

In a keynote Thursday speech at Cairo University, Obama said "any nation -- including Iran -- should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."

Tehran has repeatedly argued that as an NPT-signatory, it has the right to use nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

This is while Israel -- believed to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East -- has so far refused to sign the treaty.

"No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons," Obama said.

In a reference to Israel, Obama said he understood protests "that some countries have weapons that others do not", adding that there should not be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

The US president acknowledged that it will be hard to "overcome decades of mistrust" but said he is committed to moving forward in relations with the Islamic Republic with mutual respect and without preconditions.

Since taking office as the US president in January, Obama talked of a policy change toward Iran, saying the US would extend a hand of peace to Iran if it "unclenched its fist".

Iran was invited to an international conference on Afghanistan in March. Washington has also backed Tehran's participation in a G8 meeting on Afghanistan and Pakistan later this month.

Tehran demands that Washington manifest a 'genuine' change in action rather than a change in tone by withdrawing its allegations against the country and lifting anti-Iran sanctions which were extended for another year by the Obama administration.