Shorts: Mideast

Israel dubious of Palestinian security reforms

gaza city (ap) | The appointment of new commanders to lead a reformed Palestinian Authority security force would seem to be a step toward meeting one of the authority's key obligations under the "road map" peace plan.

Yet far from winning plaudits for authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the move has hardly moved Israeli officials, who remain skeptical of Abbas' ability to root out Palestinian terrorism.

The new Preventive Security Service chief, Rashid Abu Shbak, 50, was commander of the service's Gaza branch for two years and spent 17 years in Israeli jails. His appointment follows a pattern of clearing away the late Yasser Arafat's top allies and installing fresh leadership.

Abu Shbak, the new security chief, has had a rocky relationship with Israel, which only recently removed him from its list of wanted Palestinian fugitives.




Group: 400 sign up for suicide bombings

tehran (ap) | More than 400 young men and women have volunteered to carry out suicide bombing attacks against Americans in Iraq and targets in Israel, a militant group said this week.

The recruiting effort was detailed during a ceremony organized by the Headquarters for Commemorating Martyrs of the Global Islamic Movement, a shadowy group that has been seeking attackers for nearly a year.

"Some 440 volunteers, most of them women, signed up today," said group spokesman Mohammad Ali Samadi.

Samadi said members have already carried out suicide attacks inside Israel against military targets. But his group is not among those that have claimed responsibility for any previous attacks there.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said this week that the time has not come for a military strike against Iran's nuclear program, but urged the world to put diplomatic pressure on the Tehran government.




Israel decries British union's boycott

jerusalem (ap) | Israel's Foreign Ministry denounced as "scandalous" a decision by Britain's largest university teachers' union to boycott two Israeli universities.

The 40,000-member Association of University Teachers said Haifa and Bar Ilan universities had undermined Palestinian rights and academic freedom. The union also asked its executive committee to consider a boycott against the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The union targeted Haifa because it said the university was threatening to fire an Israeli political science lecturer for supporting a student's research into allegations of killings by Israeli troops.




Arson suspected at gay and lesbian pub

jerusalem (jps) | A Jerusalem gay and lesbian pub was set on fire Sunday evening, April 24, in what police are calling an arson attack.

No injuries were reported in the blaze, which took place at the Shushan pub, but the place was damaged. Firefighters put out the blaze and police were investigating.




NFL deals could impact Israeli broadcasts

jerusalem (jps) | New agreements that the NFL has made with television networks NBC and ESPN could reduce the number of regular season and postseason games broadcast in Israel.

Beginning with the 2006-07 season, "Monday Night Football" will be broadcast on ESPN instead of ABC, its home for 35 years and a sister company under the Disney corporate umbrella. The local ESPN affiliate has been broadcasting Monday Night Football since 2000, and that should not change.