ALGERIAN SUICIDE BOMBERS HEAD FOR ISRAEL

Algeria: Eight would-be suicide bombers 'headed to Gaza', says report (ADN Kronos) (Hat Tip: Atlas Shrugs)

Algiers, 10 March (AKI) - Eight would-be suicide bombers left eastern Algeria a few days ago and are reportedly heading to the Gaza Strip to commit suicide attacks against Israeli soldiers, reported pan Arab daily al-Sharq al-Awsat on Monday.

The young men reportedly left their homes days ago without saying anything to their families.

Reportedly, their intent is to join Hamas' armed wing, the Izzadin al-Qassam brigades, considered a terrorist organisation by the European Union, the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

The report said that after a few days, two of the would-be bombers reached Gaza and called their parents saying they were in good health and that they wanted "to carry out a suicide attack against the Jews."

The eight men, aged between 18 and 24 come from the village of al-Raqiba in the province of Wadi, about 600 kilometres from the capital Algiers.

SARKOZY FACES ANTI-SEMITIC JIBES IN ALGERIA

Sarkozy faces antisemitic jibes in Algeria  (JC.com) 
French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s first official visit to Algeria this week was overshadowed after he became the target of antisemitic insults.

Only a few days prior to the visit, Algerian minister Mohamed Cherif Abbés claimed in the El–Khabar newspaper that Mr Sarkozy had been elected through the manoeuvres of “the Jewish lobby” and made reference to the president’s Jewish origins.

The Algerian authorities refused to apologise for the assault, and Socialist leaders Jean-Christophe Cambadélis and Pierre Moscovici pleaded for a rescheduling of the trip, stating the attack was “intolerable”.

However, Mr Sarkozy decided to push forward with the meeting, attempting to consolidate tense bilateral ties and to sign $5 billion (£2.5bn) of energy deals.

Mr Abbés’s comments were not the first antisemitic attacks launched against Mr Sarkozy. Extremist leader Jean-Marie Le Pen has pointed at Mr Sarkozy’s ancestors, saying “he is Jewish through his mother”, and several weeks ago Mr Sarkozy was even accused of spying for Israel’s Mossad intelligence service. But Mr Abbés’s assault was the first public antisemitic attack made by an Algerian official and was followed by the Algerian authorities’ refusal to allow entrance to one of Mr Sarkozy’s guests on the visit, a French-Jewish singer of Algerian descent, Enrico Macias. The French Jewish umbrella group CRIF said it was “disgusted” by these decisions.

FRANCE HELPING ARAB STATES WITH NUKE PROGRAMS

France helping Arab states with nuke programs (JPost)
France is acting to provide several Arab countries with peaceful nuclear programs, in order to wean the region off oil and boost Franco-Arab relations, a senior French Foreign Ministry official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

France has forged a nuclear cooperation deal with Libya and has discussed the possibility with Algeria and the United Arab Emirates.

The French have made sure that the programs would be only for "peaceful civil programs," the official said - mainly to supply drinking water by desalination.

"To move away from dependency on oil, an alternative must be introduced. That alternative is a civilian nuclear program," the French Foreign Ministry official said. "The position of the French government is clear - that we are in favor of a civilian nuclear buildup, but in a controlled framework."

WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?

ALGERIAN JOURNALIST CONVICTED OF SPYING FOR ISRAEL

Algerian Journalist Convicted Of Spying For Israel, Spain (MEMRI)
A criminal court in Tizi Ouzo (Kabylia) convicted, on July 7, Algerian journalist Said Sahnoun of spying for Israel and Spain, and sentenced him to 10 years' imprisonment. A police officer accused of supplying the journalist with information was acquitted.

According to the charges, Sahnoun was recruited while working at the Le Matin and La Paix newspapers in Benin and the Ivory Coast, during which period he published an article calling Shimon Peres "a man of peace." This article reportedly led to an invitation to Israel, by way of Thailand, where he then attended a two-week course on information-gathering techniques.

According to press reports, Sahnoun traveled in the Middle East and North Africa and sent back reports to Israel, and later worked as a press attaché for the Spanish embassy as well. He is said to have gathered information relating to terrorism and Algerian troop movements.

The defense claimed that the charges were an exaggeration of the facts, and that the documents found in Sahnoun's possession were of a purely journalistic nature.