From the headlines in Israeli newspapers, it is difficult to forecast what will happen on the northern front this summer. On the one hand, there are dozens of quotes from senior politicians, high ranking officers and "specialists," about the inevitable war with Syria this summer. If one follows Bashar al-Assad statements, it is clear that the Syrian president is not interested in a war: his numerous appeals to Washington and Tel Aviv to open peace negotiations are almost pathetic. If there will be a war between Syria and Israel, this summer or later on, it definitely will be an Israeli-American initiative: George Bush and the smaller and smaller neo-conservative gang surrounding him are pushing for a military confrontation with Syria, which is still in the Washington axis of evil.

Yesterday (18 July), the  Israeli Parliament approved, in preliminary reading, a bill that calls for all lands under the control of the Jewish National Fund (JNF) to be allocated to Jews only. In this way Israel strikes another blow against democracy, fueling discrimination and Apartheid. The proposal of the bill, initiated by the Israeli right wing, Kadima and Likud, prevents non-Jews from participating in bids to purchase land owned by the JNF (Jewish National Fund), 13 percent of all state land.