Iran: We’ve caught up with all the latest news this evening on our LiveBlog.
Josh Shahryar lets loose his frustrations at Will Heaven: “Next time, if you’re going to write on this subject, please, inform yourself about the many terms you used and try to show the real picture.” Scott Lucas offers another perspective with a tribute to the bravery of two Iranian Twitterers no longer with us.
Videos from last night’s international football game between Singapore and Iran are posted in a special section. Iranian State TV reportedly cut the soundtrack to block the sound of the very political, pro-green, chants being heard throughout the stadium.
Israel/Palestine: EA’s Ali Yenidunya analyses the various statements and asks whether change could be in the air over the peace talks.
Israel: We report on an article in today’s Jerusalem Post which compares and contrasts the current Prime Minister Netanyahu with former PM Ariel Sharon.
Gaza: Following a call from Hamas rulers on Wednesday, protesting at the delay of an international aid convoy, a policeman has died and many activists have been injured following clashes between them and Egyptian forces.
An article by The Jerusalem Post’s Gil Hoffman questions Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire for peace and accuses him of being a student of the “Sharon school of thought”.
It is a curious accusation. Netanyahu was critical of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s 2004 Engagement Plan. He not only vetoed the Gaza pull-out plan in the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, but also submitted his resignation prior to the approval of the plan by the Parliament.
Recent events, however, have forced a reassessment. Sharon’s spokesman Ra’anan Gissin has no doubts. He states that Netanyahu, like Sharon, moved to the center of the political map after becoming prime minister, formed a national-unity government, and is expected to approve a prisoner exchange with the Palestinians. He continues:
Those who claimed to be Sharon’s successor failed because the tsunami waves that came after his disappearance were too much for them. The tragedy is that his fiercest critics such as Netanyahu turned out to be his real successors. Netanyahu hasn’t formed a Kadima [Party], but he has realigned his own party in the Center to allow himself to make the decisions he has to make regarding the fate of the Palestinians.
Hours before the start of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli policemen. The clash, which broke out after15 religious Jews tried to enter the complex known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary), injured 17 policemen and 13 protestors; 11 demonstrators were arrested.
Last week, Farouk al-Kaddoumi (pictured), a senior Palestine Liberation Organization leader, told al-Jazeera that Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas played a role in Yassir Arafat’s death in 2004. He said that he had protocols from a 2004 meeting between Israeli, American and PA representatives that clearly indicated a plan to poison Arafat. He added that former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Mohammed Dahlan, the former Palestinian security chief in Gaza, were involved in the plot.
The first reaction to the story came last Wednesday. Mahmoud Abbas suspended the operations of al-Jazeera in the West Bank. The Information Ministry stated that the station’s operations were halted until a court ruled on the case. Walid Al Omary, Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Jerusalem, said: “We are sorry about this decision, which we consider a violation of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in this country.”
On Thursday, Abbas rejected the accusations and said that “Kaddoumi claims to be in possession of five-year-old documents that prove (his allegations), so why did he not reveal them immediately?” Abbas added that the “lie” was aimed at torpedoing the sixth Fatah Party General Congress, scheduled to convene August 4. He continued, “He (Kaddoumi) knows full well that this information is false; he has released it to undermine the convention, but we are continuing with the preparations.”
While the Palestinian Authority was having problems with the Qatar-based station, the political risks of Abbas’s decision increased with the entry of Hamas into the discussion. Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman, accused the West Bank government of trying to silence the media and “cover up what is going on in the West Bank”. Thus, the Arafat conspiracy theory was converted into a current political manoeuvre: Hamas is the “democratic” party seeking truth while its rival engages in “tyranny”.
Iran: We’ve caught up with all the latest news this evening on our LiveBlog.
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Last week, Farouk al-Kaddoumi (pictured), a senior Palestine Liberation Organization leader, told al-Jazeera that Palestinian Authority chief 
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