Excerpts: Egypt Central Bank exceptional $ auction. Abbas hails Kerry's
efforts. Erdogan blames Syria for bombings.Failed Syria cyber attack on
Haifa water.Israel re Syria border clashes. Hizbullah backs Assad troops in
airport fighting May 25, 2013

+++SOURCE: Egypt Daily News 25 May ’13:”Central Bank offers US$800 million
in exceptional auction
SUBJECT:Egypt Central Bank exceptional auction
QUOTE:”second auction in last two months . . .to purchase staple
commodities”
FULL TEXT:On Wednesday[22 May], the Central Bank of Egypt conducted an
US$800 million exceptional auction, its second in the last two months, to
meet banks' demands for the currency they need to purchase staple
commodities

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 25 May ’13:Palestinian-Israeli peace deal ‘still
possible’:Abbas”, AAgence France Presse
SUBJECT: Abbas hails Kerry’s efforts
QUOTE: “Abbas: ‘end occupation of our lands’, evacuate setttlements and free
Palestinian prisoners”
FULL TEXT:AL-SHUNAH, Jordan — Peace between Israelis and Palestinians is
"still possible", Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday,
hailing US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to revive stalled talks.

In a speech to the World Economic Forum in the town of Al-Shunah on the
banks of the Dead Sea in Jordan, Abbas called on Israel to "end the
occupation of our lands", evacuate settlements and free Palestinian
prisoners.

"This is what will make peace and ensure security for you and for us," he
said.

The Palestinian leader praised Kerry's latest efforts to revive peace
negotiations with Israel, which stalled nearly three years ago.

"Recently, we have seen concrete actions and tangible attempts to restart
the peace process through the efforts of US secretary Kerry, and that brings
us hope," he said.

Kerry on Friday urged Israeli and Palestinian leaders to take "hard
decisions" to restart talks at the end of his fourth visit to the region
since he took office in February.

"It is clear that in the long run the status quo is not sustainable," Kerry
said at a Tel Aviv news conference, noting that the "one way" to peace was
through direct talks.

A Palestinian official in Ramallah told AFP on Tuesday that Abbas would meet
Jordan's King Abdullah II, Kerry and a number of European foreign ministers
on the sidelines of the forum. — AFP

+++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 25 May ’13:”Turkey’s Erdogan blames Syria over twin
bombings:, Associated Press
SUBJECT: Erdogan blames Syria re bombings
QUOTE:”Erdogan:Assad’s regime is ‘hopefully nearing its end”
FULL TEXT:ANKARA — Turkey's prime minister says Syrian President Bashar
Assad's regime is "hopefully nearing its end" and will pave the way for
refugees to return home.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was speaking Saturday[25 May] in Reyhanli, the town on
the Syrian border which was hit by two car bombings on May 11, killing 51
people.

Turkey blames Syria for the bombings.
Addressing Assad, Erdogan says those "who are trying to disturb the peace in
Turkey are the ones who are trying to maintain their dictatorship."
Erdogan also urged the people of Reyhanli not to allow friction to develop
between themselves and the influx of refugees.
He says the refugees would return to their country after the fall of the
"cruel Assad's dictatorship." —

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 25 May ’13:”Israel Targeted in Syria Cyber
Attack”, Agence France Presse
SUBJECT:Failed Syria cyber attack on Haifa water

QUOTE:” The attack . . .was carried out two weeks ago and failed”

FULL TEXT:An organization calling itself the "Syrian Electronic Army" has
launched a cyber attack against the water distribution system of Haifa,
Israel's third largest city, an expert said on Saturday[25 May].

The attack "by this organization which we don't know exactly who is behind"
was carried out two weeks ago and failed, said Professor Yitzhak Ben-Israel,
head of Israel's National Council for Research and Development, quoted on
Israeli radio.

The professor, a former cyber warfare adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu, said the attack was launched in retaliation for air raids on
Syria reportedly carried out by Israel since the start of the year.

In April, the Shin Bet domestic security agency said a mass cyber attack by
hacker groups targeting Israel had caused negligible damage.

SourceAgence France Presse

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 25 May ’13:”Israel Says Syria Seeks to Provoke
Conflict
SUBJECT: Israel re Syria border clashes
QUOTE:”Israel’s U.N. ambassador:’ This week’s events are part of a
disturbing pattern of events intendded to spark provocation with Israel ‘ “

Israel on Saturday [25 May] accused Syrian forces of trying to provoke
conflict as the two sides rowed over responsibility for a border clash.

Tensions around Golan Heights ceasefire zone between the two rivals have
escalated since Syrian forces fired across the U.N.-patrolled ceasefire line
and hit an Israeli military vehicle on Tuesday[21 May].

"This week's events are part of a disturbing pattern of events intended to
spark provocation with Israel," said Israel's U.N. ambassador Ron Prosor in
a letter to the U.N. Security Council.

"Responsibility for the event rests entirely with the government of Syria
which instructed its troops to fire on the jeep. Despite numerous
complaints, they have persisted in these acts of aggression," Prosor added
in the letter, which was released by Israel's U.S. mission.

"We expect the international community to hold the government of Syria
accountable for undermining international agreements and regional
stability," Prosor said.

Israel says the shooting and other recent incidents are a breach of the 1974
accord which set up the Golan ceasefire zone.

Other shells and fire from the Syrian side have landed inside Israel during
the 24-month Syrian conflict and U.N. observers have been abducted at least
three times by Syrian rebels in incidents inside the zone.

In a rival letter to the 15-nation Security Council, Syria said the Israeli
vehicle was targeted because it had crossed the ceasefire line and was
heading toward a village where rebels had made a base.

Syria's U.N. envoy Bashar Jaafari said President Bashar Assad's forces would
respond immediately to any other violation of its sovereignty. Syria expects
the Security Council "to put an end to Israel's violations," Jaafari said.

Jaafari said the Israeli vehicle had been headed for the village of Bir
Ajam. "The presence of armed terrorist groups in that village led the Syrian
armed forces to target the above-mentioned Israeli vehicle," he said.

Assad's government calls opposition fighters "terrorists."

Jaafari said Israel is interfering in Syrian affairs "through its provision
of logistical support for armed terrorist groups in Syria, including those
that are active in the area of separation of forces."

Israel's air force chief, Major Gen Amir Eshel, warned Wednesday[23 May]
that tensions with Syria could escalate into a "surprise war".

+++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 25 May ’13:”Syrian RegimecUnleashes Artillert
Barrage on Qusayr Backed by Hizbullah, Takes Key Town”, Agence France
Presse
SUBJECT: Hizbullah backs Assad troops in airport fighting

EXCERPTS: Syrian forces entered a key objective north of the besieged
central town of Qusayr on Saturday[25 May], the army said, battling rebels
inside the former military airport of Dabaa.

"The Syrian army infiltrated Dabaa airport from the northwest, and now
fighting is taking place inside the airport after they broke the rebel
defense lines," an army source said.

. . .

Pro-Assad troops, including fighters from Hizbullah, have been trying to
push rebels out of Qusayr. They have gained ground, but rebels have clung to
some positions.

==========
Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA