Sarkozy warned?

[simplesimon]

Speculation:

Interesting sequence of news reports about Hungarian Jewish President of France, Sarkosy:

[karlos]

An Israeli soldier shot himself in the head.
I think it is a major event.
Ofcourse they were playing it down by pretending he had simply fainted.
Sarkozy is one of the gang.
As zionist os Olmert/Blair/Brown etc

[simplesimon]

karlos wrote:

[Mark Gobell]

Only yesterday, Sarkozy was reported calling for a two state solution . . .

I watched this event as it was being covered this afternoon.

First it was an "incident".

Then it became a suicide on the tarmac !!!!

[Mark Gobell]

From Times Online
June 25, 2008

Israeli 'suicide cop': family refute claims that he killed himself

The family of Raid Asaad Raid Ghanan, an Israeli guard who was shot in the head during the farewell ceremony for President Nicolas Sarkozy at Tel Aviv airport, refuted claims today that he committed suicide.

Mr Ghanan, 32, of the northern Druze village of Beit Jan, could not have killed himself said a family member to the local press.

"We scornfully reject the claims that our son took his own life. He was a kindhearted and happy person. He had a family and there was no reason for him to do such a horrible thing."

The officer's father, Asaad Ghanan, said he had last seen his son in good spirits. "He had a family, he had friends, he had plans for the future and had no reason to commit suicide.”
Related Links

It took police representatives several hours to reach the family, who live in a remote village in Israel’s north. Naif Ghanan, the officer’s brother, said that officials who came to inform the family of the death said that the circumstances of the incident were still being investigated.

"It is unthinkable that my brother took his own life. We believe this was an accident, or even an incident in which my brother was accidentally shot by one of the security officials in the area."

Mr Ghanan’s mother, Hanna, was killed in an accident several years ago. He was survived by his father, wife, two children, three brothers and five sisters.

New details emerged of the extraordinary incident, which sent the French President, Israeli Prime Minister, and Israeli President, scrambling for cover during the farewell ceremony for the French delegation yesterday at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv.

Mr Ghanan was securing the outer perimeter of the area, positioned on a roof approximately 200 meters away from the VIP delegation. Police officials said that the initial investigation revealed that he shot himself, and then fell from the roof to the ground below.

Mickey Rosenfeld, a police spokesman, said that it was in no way an assassination attempt.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4209639 .ece

[Mark Gobell]

Nicolas Sarkozy assassination scare: Mystery over suicide policeman

By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem
Last Updated: 8:13PM BST 25/06/2008

The policeman who shot himself as French president Nicolas Sarkozy left Tel Aviv airport on Tuesday has been named as Raeed Ghanem, a 32-year-old member of Israel's Druze minority.

But while police sources said they were confident he committed suicide, there was no explanation of why he might have taken his life.

Suicide is stigmatised by the Druze and his family insisted it was an accident.

The mystery stirred interest among Hebrew bloggers who came up with conspiracy theories including one suggestion that he was looking down the telescopic sight on his rifle at the VIP party prompting army snipers to take him out.

Members of his family in the village of Beit Jan in northern Israel said he had been married for eight years with two children and owned his own house.

"We scornfully reject the claims that our son took his own life," a family member said.

"He was a kindhearted and happy person.

"He had a family and there was no reason for him to do such a horrible thing."

His brother, Nayef, said he did not believe in the suicide theory.

"He had no reason to take his own life," he said.

"It may have been an accident or he was unwittingly killed by another Israeli guard.

His father Assad said his son was in good spirits when he left home to join his unit on Tuesday.

"He had a family, a house, friends and plans for the future, he had no reason to commit suicide," he said.

Israel's Channel 2 television channel reported last night the preliminary results of the police investigation into the shooting.

Burn marks were found on one of Ghanem's hands and traces of explosives on the other, which is consistent with him having held the muzzle of the gun next to his head and pulled the trigger with his other hand.

His family hired a lawyer to ensure there is a "complete and detailed" investigation and to gain access to security video footage from the airport.

The Druze are a sect loosely connected with Islam who made their homes in the mountains of the Holy Land. Today they are found in Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Unlike Israeli Arabs, they are a minority which is allowed by Israel to take full part in the country's security apparatus, including the army and police force.

As a relatively poor community many of the community's young men opt for a life in the Israeli security forces.

Ghanem's cousin, Mouin, said that the officer was born and raised in Beit Jan.

"He excelled in everything, starting at school, through his military service in the Givati Brigade, and later continued to serve the State when he joined the Border Guard."

His mother Hanna was killed in an accident several years ago. He was survived by his father, wife, two children, three brothers and five sisters.

The sound of the gunshot as President Sarkozy and his wife Carla prepared to leave Israel caused momentary chaos as the area was swamped by armed security guards.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/2194374/Ni colas-Sarkozy-assassination-scare-Mystery-over-suicide-policeman.html

[Mark Gobell]

Nicolas Sarkozy's son faces court over traffic crash

By Peter Allen in Paris
Last Updated: 8:09PM BST 25/06/2008

The son of French president Nicolas Sarkozy has appeared in a Paris court accused of fleeing the scene of a scooter accident in the French capital.

Jean Sarkozy, a 21-year-old law student who this year made his own political debut as a local councillor for his father's UMP party, pleaded not guilty.

Mohamed Bellouti, a BMW driver, said he was hit by Mr Sarkozy's moped from behind as he drove across the busy Place de la Concorde on October 10, 2005.

Mr Bellouti said he managed to note down the scooter's registration number and tried several times through his insurance company to get Mr Sarkozy to pay the £210 worth of damage he allegedly caused.

Mr Bellouti, who told French radio that he expected the court to let Mr Sarkozy go without penalty because he was the president's son, was also seeking £3200 compensation.

Mr Sarkozy, in turn, told the court: "I was not at any time implicated in a traffic accident."

He first appeared in court to answer the charges in December but the case was postponed in order for an independent expert to draw up a report on the incident.

He has been charged with fleeing the scene of an accident, reckless driving and failing to maintain a proper distance from other vehicles.

On Monday, Mr Sarkozy announced he will become the head of the ruling UMP party in the local council of the Hauts-de-Seine department near Paris.

He was earlier this year elected to a local position in Neuilly, the upmarket suburb of Paris where his father started his own political career 30 years ago.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/2194566/Nicola s-Sarkozy%27s-son-faces-court-over-traffic-crash.html

[Mark Gobell]

From Times Online
June 25, 2008

Ehud Olmert survives after last-ditch talks

Ehud Olmert has launched a blitz of initiatives to try to stave off the collapse of his coalition

Sheera Frenkel, Jerusalem

The government of Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, somehow remained intact today following all-night negotiations with coalition partners who had threatened to bring down his administration.

The embattled Prime Minister defied the expectations of government insiders by striking the last-minute deal, which would see his Kadima Party hold internal leadership primaries before September 25 of this year.

The Labour Party, Mr Olmert’s main coalition partner, agreed not to support a right-wing sponsored bill to disband the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, which was due to come to a vote today. That vote has been deterred indefinitely, preventing the country from going to national elections this autumn.

Mr Olmert's Kadima party and its Labour partners had both sought to avoid a general election, with opinion polls showing the right-wing Likud, headed by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, well ahead in the polls.

Ratification of the bill to dissolve the Knesset would have undermined the government at a time when Mr Olmert is trying to meet a US deadline for a peace accord with the Palestinians, pursue Turkish-mediated talks with Syria, assemble a prisoner swap with Lebanese Hezbollah, maintain a ceasefire in Gaza and monitor Iran's nuclear programme.

Tzachi Hanegbi, a Kadima MP, said that they deal had been struck for the good of the country.

"The real meaning of this (agreement) is that the state of Israel has been extricated from its daily preoccupation with holding new national elections," he said.

Early responses from the Israeli public indicated that there would be an uproar over the government's wheeling and dealing.

Radio morning shows were swarmed with callers berating Mr Olmert and Ehud Barak, the Labour leader, for acting according to self-interest.

"The public has demanded elections, but our leaders are selfish, and care only about saving their own skin," said Pnina Mizrachi, one caller, from Tel Aviv.

Mr Olmert has survived a series of scandals which have battered his reputation, but left his government intact.

Last month, police announced that they were investigating charges that Mr Olmert received more than $15,000 from Morris Talansky, an American financier. Mr Olmert has denied any wrongdoing but has pledged to resign if indicted.

His party will meet to decide the date of the Kadima primaries after the cross-examination of Mr Talansky.

A number of Kadima members are expected to run in the primaries. The current frontrunner, Tzipi Livni, the Foreign Minister, has played a role in many of Israel’s diplomatic initiatives. She is the only Kadima member to openly call on Mr Olmert to stand down, after a commission heavily criticised the government over the 2006 Lebanon War, but then was seen to have lost much of her influence by still choosing to remain part of his government.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article4210058 .ece