ISRAELI TROOPS KILLED MORE PALESTINIANS IN 2011: REPORT

An Israeli soldier argues with a Palestinian activist who was prevented from reaching Palestinian lands in the West Bank village of Beit Omar on February 25, 2012.

A human rights group says the number of Palestinians slain by the Israeli military rose dramatically in the past year.

B'Tselem has released a 63-page report showing that a total of 105 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip while 11 others were killed by Israeli troops in the West Bank and East al-Quds (Jerusalem) in 2011. 

"The picture is harsh, not because of dramatic events or a sudden deterioration, but precisely because of the routine," AFP quoted the report as saying. 

The group expressed concern that no change is in sight in the Israeli conflict with Palestinians as the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands enter its 45th year. 

"This year, we enter the 45th year since Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip. What was supposed to be a temporary situation appears firmly entrenched with no change in sight," B'Tselem said. 

In 1967, the Israeli regime occupied the West Bank, the Golan Heights, East al-Quds and the Gaza Strip during a war, but it withdrew from Gaza in 2005. 

The B'Tselem report said Israel’s prolonged occupation only exacerbates human rights violations. 

"Human rights violations are inherent in a military occupation, and the protracted nature of Israel's occupation only exacerbates human rights violations," the report added. 

According to B'Tselem, Israeli forces killed a total of 68 Palestinians in 2010.

GERMANY TO SELL ISRAEL NEW NUKE-CAPABLE SUBMARINE

Germany has announced that it will sell Israel a sixth Dolphin-class submarine capable of carrying nuclear warheads with an operating range of 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles).

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere announced the decision on Tuesday in a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Barak in Berlin. 

"A further boat will be delivered to Israel and there will be financial help," said Maiziere, confirming that Germany would shoulder part of the cost of the submarine. 

In November, a German government source had said that the country would pay a contribution of 135 million Euros ($178 million), a third of the cost. 

Three earlier-model Dolphin submarines had been delivered to Israel between 1998 and 2000. 

In 2006, Israel placed its fourth and fifth orders for two more advanced subs. 

The fourth one is scheduled for delivery by 2013. The fifth and the sixth orders are due for delivery in 2014 and 2016 respectively. 

This is while Israel is the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and it has never allowed inspections of its nuclear facilities nor has it joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty based on its policy of nuclear ambiguity. 

A survey conducted by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS) in twelve Arab countries reveals that 51 percent of the respondents believed Israel to be the first major threat to the Arab world, while 22 percent considered the US. 

Another survey conducted in 2011 by the Berlin-based Friedrich Ebert Foundation shows that more than 50 percent of European people believe Israel is the most serious threat to global security. 

Germany has recently sold heavy weaponry to autocratic regimes in the Middle East, including 200 Leopard tanks worth billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia, a regime which has helped suppress the popular protests in Bahrain.

ATTACKING IRAN TO HAVE DISASTROUS CONSEQUENCE: RUSSIAN FM LAVROV

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister says a possible attack on Iran over its nuclear energy program will have disastrous consequences as it may lead to an arms race in the region.

"The CIA and other US officials admit they now have no information about the Iranian leadership taking the political decision to produce nuclear weapons," Sergei Lavrov told Moscow's Kommersant FM radio on Tuesday. 

"But I am almost certain that such a decision will surely be taken after (any) strikes on Iran," he added, AFP reported. 

The pre-recorded interview was aired shortly after Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned enemies of Iran that the country is ready to strike back against an attack "at the same level as they attack us." 

Lavrov argued that his country is not simply defending an ally, but is trying to avert a broader conflict or possible nuclear arms race from breaking out in the Middle East region. 

He added that Israel's threats against Iran were only pushing other nations on poor terms with the West to consider pursuing their own nuclear weapon drives. 

Lavrov noted that if a real attack happened, it “…will force a lot of Third World countries to pause and realize that if you have a nuclear bomb, no one will really bother you.” 

He particularly raised the case of North Korea and its decision to both develop and test nuclear weapons -- a move that was never followed by a threat of an attack from the United States. 

"But we are all behaving responsibly [toward North Korea]. We are not proposing to bomb North Korea. We are all insisting on the immediate resumption of negotiations and looking for ways to make these negotiations productive,” Lavrov said. 

"Scientists of almost all nations...agree that strikes against Iran can slow its nuclear program. But do away with it, close it, eliminate it -- never," he added. 

The US and Israel have been escalating their war rhetoric against Iran in recent months, claiming that there is diversion in the country’s nuclear energy program towards a military program. 

Tehran refutes their claims noting that as a member of International Atomic Energy Agency and signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has every right to peaceful uses of the nuclear energy.