Middle East Inside Line: Britain Expelling Israeli Diplomat, Cost of Settlements, Israel on Rising Insecurity

London Expels Israeli Diplomat over Dubai Assassination: Britain is expelling an Israeli diplomat over the use of forged British passports in the assassination of Hamas chief Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, according to a British Foreign Office official.

The British Foreign Office said Foreign Secretary David Miliband is making a statement on the matter at 1530 GMT.

The Cost of the Israeli Settlements: According to a study by the Macro Center for Political Economics, Israeli settlements in the West Bank encompass 12 million square meters of roads, homes and factories that cost more than $17 billion to build.


Macro director general Dr. Robi Nathanson said: "The logic behind the economic calculation is to assess the cost of construction and infrastructure in the settlement enterprise. This isn't market value, but rather the cost of building infrastructure."

The Israel Air Force bombed a Gaza City weapons storage facility overnight Monday. On Tuesday morning, the Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said, "The IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm the citizens of the State of Israel and will continue to operate firmly against anyone who uses terror against it."

On Tuesday, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi briefed the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on the security situation along Israel's border. He talked about three topics: the Iranian nuclear issue, increased firing of Qassam rockets from the Gaza Strip, and Hezbollah's situation in Lebanon.

On the Iranian nuclear issue, he said: "The Iranians are pressing ahead with their nuclear program. I hope that the trilateral sanctions will prove effective." He also added that it would be a mistake to rely on the opposition within Iran to neutralize the program's progress, as "the [Iranian] regime is strong and effective".

As for the northern border, he said that it is quiet "but that could change" since "Hezbollah is deploying more forces north of the Litani River."

Ashkenazi stated that Hamas was not behind the attacks from Gaza but added that the IDF will retaliate against Hamas targets since they see Hamas as "the sovereign group" in the territory.

Meanwhile, the IDF is investigating two West Bank incidents in which Israeli soldiers shot dead four Palestinians in less than 24 hours.

Middle East Inside Line: Netanyahu's Iran Speech, Obama's Next Middle East Message, Syrian-Israeli Peace?, and More...

Netanyahu's Iran Speech: Speaking to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Tuesday depicted Iran as a runaway train and the international community as a rail car waiting on the edge. "There is a technological clock and a diplomatic clock. The technological clock is like a runaway train and the international community like a car that is about to decouple."

On the diplomatic clock, Netanyahu mentioned the Israeli delegation in China and described a "wide range of mutual interests" between Beijing and Israel. Netanyahu stated that he was not successful in obtaining Moscow's consent to tougher sanctions on Tehran but said he witnessed "more understanding there regarding the dangers the Iranian nuclear program poses to us, to regional peace and world stability".

Obama Administration's Next Message to be in Israel: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden is due in Israel on March 8, for a three-day visit that will also include the Palestinian Authority. An Israeli political source has told Haaretz that Biden would like "to make a speech that is important and significant for Israeli-American relations". The aims of this high-level visit to Israel are to ensure that Israel's response will be restricted with the diplomatic track and to give a strong "alliance" message to Israelis as President Obama gave in Turkey and Egypt last year.


Syrian-Israeli Agreement on Phased Withdrawal Plan?: Gabrielle Rifkind, the director of the Middle East Program at Oxford Research Group, told Haaretz via e-mail that Syria is willing to consider peace and gradual normalization with Israel. According to this plan, following an Israeli withdrawal from half the territory it holds on the Golan Heights, the two states would declare an end to the state of enmity between them as a first step.

Although Syrian officials insist on pressing ahead through Turkey's mediation, Rifkind emphasized the importance of Damascus in the region:

From a conflict resolution perspective, reaching out to Syria will involve bold steps, and experience would suggest that if Syria and Israel managed to establish an agreement on the Golan, the view from the leadership may be significantly different. There could be a potential role for Syria as a mediator between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah which could drastically improve the chances of a long-term truce - or even a permanent resolution - between these parties.

Hamas Disowns Yousef: After it was released that Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of one of Hamas's founder Sheikh Hassan Yousef, had worked for Israel's security service Shin Bet; Hamas Web sites published a letter saying the father disowned his son on Monday.

IDF Blacklisting Israelis?: It has been reported that the details of license plates of a number of left-wing activists during demonstrations at the villages of Bil'in and Na'alin were given to IDF by Israeli police. In the document entitled "Data of vehicles used by left-wing Israeli activists and anarchists to reach demonstrations in Na'alin and Bil'in", registration numbers of 11 vehicles are listed. The IDF did not deny the report and said the organization is using information on Israelis who demonstrate against the separation fence.

Hamas Accuses Egypt & Jordan: Hamas has reportedly claimed that the security forces of an Arab state were behind the assassination of a senior group operative in Dubai. Mahmoud Nasser, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said that agents from Jordan and Egypt took part in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh.