Hillary in is Egypt finally “tackling,” as they say, the Middle East. ATFP sums up the news from the region as of yesterday;

U.S. Secretary of State Clinton pledges $300 million in aid for Gaza at the international donors conference being held today in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt , while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warns the conference that reconstruction and aid funds alone are insufficient without a political solution . In an op-ed for the Gulf News, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon pledges to pursue a lasting peace for Palestine and Israel. The Israeli NGO Peace Now reports that Israel is planning to build 73,300 new housing units for settlers in the West Bank, a move which would significantly expand the size of the settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Claude Salhani: There Is Still A Danger of Another War

Next Step After Middle East Talks: A Major War?

It is clear that while the question of Palestine remains at the core of the Middle East’s problems, other sub-conflicts now command equal attention. (Abaca Press via Newscom)

A senior high-ranking foreign diplomat who is well acquainted with the Middle East said Friday in Washington that “a major regional war is not inconceivable.”

Although war in the Middle East is not imminent, the risk of a generalized regional conflagration nevertheless persists. Among the fuses that could ignite the next fire is the continued lack of progress with the all-but-dead peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis, and what many Arab leaders consider to be Iran’s interference in Arab affairs.

As one Lebanese official who asked not to be named pointed out, Iran is like an octopus with its tentacles touching every aspect of the multitude of problems plaguing the Middle East today.

Indeed, if U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration is unable to revive the Middle East peace talks and to convince the parties concerned to move toward a settlement of the crisis, the ‘natural’ reaction could be another large-scale regional war. A war that could be precipitated by an attack on Iran by Israel, or an attack by Hezbollah on Israel.”

Occupation News

IRAQ: The Iraqi Resistance Responds to President Obama
By Rafidan – Official English Transcript

There is no such thing as friendly occupation, and we advise you to revise your plans to vacate Iraq at a time suitable for our people and not suitable for your agents in the green zone.

AFGHANISTAN: Afghan “War” Occupation Should Last Until 2025: Ex-Commander
By Nathan Hodg

In testimony yesterday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Barno outlined a strategy that anticipates keeping U.S. troops there for another 16 years.

ISRAEL: THE MEDIA LINE NEWS AGENCY: Israelis Settlements Escalate

Israel is planning to build more than 70,000 new housing units in the West Bank, a move that could severely impede chances of reaching a peace deal with the Palestinians, Israel’s Army Radio reported.

The plans have been in the works of the Housing Ministry for the past few years, Army Radio reported, and include construction of 73,000 housing units.

According to the Peace Now organization, which compiled a report based on information from the Ministry of Housing, plans for at least 15,000 housing units in the West Bank have already been okayed and an additional 58,000 units are waiting for approval.

RAUL CASTRO SHAKES UP CUBAN GOVERNMENT

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuban President Raul Castro replaced eight ministers on Monday in a shake-up that tossed aside prominent figures linked to his older brother Fidel Castro in what was billed as a move to boost government efficiency.

The changes put Raul Castro’s stamp on the government a year after he took over as president following Fidel Castro’s resignation due to illness.

Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque was the biggest name to lose his post, while Carlos Lage, a vice president who many considered an economic reformer, was replaced as executive secretary of the Council of Ministers by a top military official, Jose Amado Ricardo Guerra.

Perez Roque and Lage were considered the most prominent members of a younger generation of Cuban leaders.

Another Obama Nominee With A Tax Issue

WASHINGTON – Ron Kirk, nominated as U.S. Trade Representative in the Obama administration, owes an estimated $10,000 in back taxes from earlier in the decade and has agreed to make his payments, the Senate Finance Committee said Monday.

The committee said the taxes arise from Kirk’s handling of speaking fees that he donated to his alma mater, and for his deduction of the full cost of season tickets to the Dallas Mavericks professional basketball team.