New Israel-Hezbollah war unlikely

Hezbollah has dismissed the speculations that another conflict between Israel and the Lebanese resistance movement is in the offing. 
While Israeli security officials claim that Hezbollah still seeks to attack Jews outside Israel, The movement's deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said on Monday that a war between the two sides was unlikely in a near future. 
"Hezbollah has repeatedly blamed Israel for the death of Imad Mughniyeh, something that increases the threat of terror against Israeli targets abroad," the Israeli Counter Terrorism Bureau said in a statement Monday. 
The alleged threat has triggered Tel Aviv to call for further security measures ahead of the Jewish holiday of Passover. 
Mughniyeh was killed in a February 2008 car bombing in Damascus. While Israel denies any involvement in the attack Hezbollah says it has evidence to proof Israeli spy agency's role in the assassination. 
Sheikh Qassem also welcomed a change in Britain's tone toward the movement. 
"We welcome this British revision and perhaps there will be meetings in the coming days," he told Reuters. 
British Minister of Foreign Office Bill Rammell had earlier said that his country was mulling over reconsidering its policy toward Hezbollah, hinting at possible dialogue with the movement. 
"There is no request for a meeting but we expect this to happen soon," the Hezbollah official said. 
The change in Britain's stance, however, has sparked outrage among Israeli officials with the Israeli Foreign Ministry condemning the British minister's remarks.

Abu Marzouk denies receiving Shalit videotape

Hamas' deputy politburo chief Moussa Abu Marzouk denies receiving a videotape showing the captured soldier Gilad Shalit during his recent visit to the Gaza Strip.
In an interview to the London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, Abu Marzouk said he had arrived in the Strip in order to meet his family members and did not meet with any leaders from the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing. 
Abu Mazouk also denied receiving a letter written by Shalit. "I have no information about him and I don’t know if he's alive or dead. The factions holding him know his fate, and they won't provide any information about him without a price. 
"The prisoner exchange issue is in Cairo's hands and there is nothing new on this matter, even if Israel is sending other mediators to us," he said. 
According to the Hamas leader, Israel is using other channels as well in a bid to secure Shalit's release. 
"Israel is sending English mediators and then German, French, Russian and Arab mediators… But we stress that this issue is in Cairo's hands and that we won't release Shalit unless all the 450 prisoners were demand are freed, in addition to 550 others, including minors, women, ministers and parliament members."

Arrest campaigns continued Israel arrests 24 Palestinians across west bank

The Hebrew radio has reported on Wenesday morning that the Israeli occupation forces had arrested 24 Palestinian citizens from various areas of the occupied west bank.
The radio added that the arrests took place in Hebron, Ramallah and Tulkarem, claiming that the arrested persons are "wanted" for Israel.

Pakistan minister escapes murder attempt

At least five people have been killed in an attempt to assassinate a provincial minister in Pakistan's troubled northwestern city of Peshawar. 

Unknown assailants on Wednesday opened fire on a vehicle carrying Bashir Bilour, senior minister of North West Frontier Province -- which is racked by militant violence. 

Bilour escaped narrowly from the attack, however, at least five passersby died in the deadly shooting, a Press TV correspondent reported. 

The minister was visiting a populated neighborhood in the city to inaugurate a project. 

Bilour, a senior member of the Awami National Party (ANP) leader, had also survived an assassination attempt last November. 

He blamed the latest incident on Taliban insurgents, saying that "those who want to see anarchy in the country are behind this attack." 

Peshawar, the capital of the NWFP, is the gateway to Pakistan's lawless tribal regions that border Afghanistan. The region has been a stronghold of insurgents since the 2001 US-led invasion in Afghanistan. 

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani said that the Islamabad government will bring the perpetrators of the terror attack to justice.

Fatah arrests Hamas, jihad members

Hamas and Islamic Jihad say Fatah has started a massive arrest operation against their members in the West Bank, amid reconciliation talks. 

Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that 30 members of the movement were arrested by security forces loyal to Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah faction in recent days. 

The movement accused Fatah of attempting to undermine reconciliation talks between Fatah and Hamas in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. 

"It is uprising that Authority apparatuses are carrying out these arrests at the time where the Ramallah government claims that it wants the Cairo dialogue to succeed," Abu al-Qassem, an Islamic Jihad senior member said. 

The arrest operation was more extensive in Jenin and Tulkarem and the Jihad members were reportedly nabbed at their homes or near mosques. 

Hamas also said the Palestinian Authority has arrested 39 members of the movement including the son of a parliamentarian. 

According to the movement, the arrests were made in Bethlehem, Ramallah, Qalqiliya, and the Jenin, Tulkarem, and al-Khalil areas. 

The arrests were made while Fatah and Hamas resumed their talks in Cairo in a bid to form a national unity government. Hamas demanded on Wednesday that Fatah respect the results of the 2006 parliamentary elections and allow Hamas to choose the next prime minister.

Survey: US jobless to reach 9.4% this year

The US jobless rate will reach 9.4 percent this year and remain elevated through at least 2011, a monthly Bloomberg News survey indicates. 

The peak in unemployment surpasses the 8.8% estimated last month, according to the median of 54 projections in a survey taken from March 2 to March 9. 

The average rate for the next two years will exceed the 25-year high of 8.1% reached in February, the survey shows. 

The White House projected the jobless rate will decline to 7.9 percent next year. A worse performance means President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan may not prove sufficient, analysts said. 

The unemployment rate in February was the highest since 1983, and employers cut 651,000 workers from payrolls, the government reported last week. The US has already lost 4.4 million jobs since the recession began in Dec. 2007. 

Federal Reserve policy makers in January estimated US long-term growth potential at 2.5% to 2.7%, with an unemployment rate of 4.8% to 5%, a level that will be exceeded for at least four years, according to the Bloomberg survey. 

The world's largest economy will shrink 2.5% this year, the most since 1946, and expand 1.8% next year, according to the survey median. Both figures were lower than estimated last month. 

As unemployment rises, more Americans will be unable to make mortgage or car payments, choking off growth and leading to even higher joblessness, said David Rosenberg, chief North American economist at Banc of America Securities - Merrill Lynch in New York. 

Rosenberg projected the jobless rate would reach 10% by the end of the year.

Hamas rejects appointment of Fayyad as premier

The Hamas Movement on Tuesday declared its emphatic rejection of Salam Fayyad as premier of the expected national unity government in the event the inter-Palestinian dialog ended in agreement over formation of such a government.
Ismail Al-Ashqar, one of the Hamas leaders and its representative in the security apparatuses committee in the national dialog, told the PIC in an exclusive statement that the nomination of Fayyad was "premature"
Mahmoud Abbas, the former PA chief, had nominated Fayyad to premiership of the national unity government.
Ashqar said that choosing the premier of such a government should be based on national consensus, and charged that Abbas's statement was putting hurdles in face of the dialog.
Hamas rejects Fayyad altogether because he champions an American agenda and due to his practices while chairing the "illegitimate government" in addition to the fact that his government had turned into a one primarily concerned with imposing security according to the Zio-American agenda.
The Hamas leader refused American influence in the Palestinian decision-making, and called for the formation of a Palestinian government that defends all Palestinians and the Palestinian agenda rather than the Zio-American agenda.
He said that his Movement's delegation to the Cairo conciliation talks was heading to the dialog with a strategic decision to end the inter-Palestinian rift taking into consideration the Palestinian people's higher interests. "Let's wait and see what the other parties are carrying," he concluded.