December 2010: Former Fatah strongman Muhammad Dahlan has been banned from the faction’s meetings and is facing an internal investigation. Scores of Dahlan’s followers have been arrested by Palestinian Authority security forces in Judea Samaria, and government institutions have been instructed not to cooperate with him, according to international Arab news reporter Khaled Abu Toameh.

Last month PA security forces were ordered to stop guarding Dahlan’s private residence in Ramallah. Dahlan, who after the signing of the Oslo Accords founded and for years served as head of the PA’s Preventive Security Service in Gaza, was once considered a potential successor to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The 49-year-old Fatah leader was elected to the faction’s Central Committee during its August 2009 conference after having bounced back following the humiliating defeat of his forces in Gaza militia’s civil war with rival Hamas terrorists in June 2007. He is now being investigated by a commission of inquiry, over suspicion that Dahlan is trying to topple the PA leadership, starting with Abbas. In addition, the probe is focusing on the source of Dahlan’s personal wealth.

According to a statement released to the WAFA news agency, the Fatah Central Committee decided “unanimously to suspend Mohammed Dahlan from its meetings until the Commission of Inquiry completes its work.” The Committee also removed Dahlan from the faction’s Information and Culture Commission.

Nabil Abu Rudaineh, top aide to Abbas and his primary spokesman, was appointed to become Fatah’s chief spokesman as well. The AFP news service quoted an unnamed committee member who said Dahlan was accused of “subversion against… [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud] Abbas and members of the committee” and of having called them “incompetent.” The committee member said Dahlan had been notified of the charges, and the committee heard his testimony.

Dahlan’s office in Ramallah declined to comment, according to AFP, which reported that he is abroad, as he has often been in the past several months. Dahlan has been in the crosshairs of the PA leadership for months after having spoken against Abbas’s sons, Tareq and Yasser, themselves wealthy businessmen. In addition, he had criticized Abbas, at one point allegedly calling for his replacement.

December 2010: Initial drilling confirms that a huge gas field has been found off Israel’s Mediterranean shore. The amount of natural gas in the Leviathan gas field is estimated at 450 billion cubic meters – almost twice the size of the previous large gas discovery at the Tamar field. The find was announced in June but the size could not be confirmed until now.

About one month ago, the partners in the drilling project reached their target layer in an underwater geological structure 135 km west of Haifa. The Sedco Express rig drilled through 1,634 meters of water and penetrated to 5,100 meters under sea level. When it reached a layer of sand, advanced geological tests were conducted, and their results confirmed the presence of the gas.

One of the partners, Delek Energy, stated that of all the gas fields discovered in deep waters worldwide in the last ten years, the Leviathan is the largest. “This is happy news for the Israeli energy market, and the results have great economic and strategic importance,” it stated.

Trading in stocks of drilling partners “Delek Drilling,” “Avner Oil Searches” and “Ratio” were halted earlier after they announced they would issue a “meaningful report.” “We have received the most important energy-related news since the founding of Israel, that will undoubtedly bring a blessing and have a meaningful influence on many fields [of endeavor] in Israel.” Israel can use the gas to become a supplier of gas in the Middle East. The finds “will enable Israeli citizens to enjoy clean, cheap electricity production, and the income the state can expect following these discoveries.”

December 2010: All eyes are now on the restive Panjwaii district, where a power struggle is already playing out. The fallout from that turf war could have profound ramifications on NATO’s push into the horn-shaped hotbed of the insurgency.

The return of an influential tribal leader with close ties to the clan of Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatens to upset the balance of power in a key area of operations for Canadian troops in Kandahar. The new player’s bid to usurp Hajji Baran, the locally appointed governor of Panjwaii, seems to come as a welcome development. Some simply see Baran as ineffectual, while others have accused him of corruption and sympathizing with the Taliban.

All this perhaps explains the enthusiasm behind the return of Hajji Fazluddin Agha to his boyhood village of Zalakhan, southwest of Kandahar city. Agha is one of the Afghan president’s most important political allies in Kandahar. He ran Karzai’s campaign during last year’s flawed presidential elections. Once he was governor of Spin Boldak, another district of Kandahar. He is close to Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president’s half-brother and the kingpin of Kandahar politics.

That power and influence makes Agha a top Taliban target. Earlier this year, insurgents strapped a bomb to a donkey cart and blew it up outside Agha’s home. Agha was not hurt, but the blast killed three of his nephews.

The military is portraying Agha’s return to a village that once formed part of what troops in Panjwaii called the Taliban triangle as a sign the insurgency is waning there. In fact, NATO cleared insurgents from the area in September to pave the way for Agha’s return. Fifteen Afghan police officers will be stationed near Agha’s walled compound to protect him.

A recent shura, or meeting of tribal elders, at Agha’s home laid bare his political ambitions.In a deep voice that drowned out all others, Agha called for the release of local detainees. He loudly interjected when others spoke. At one point, he produced three men who he claimed to have freed from captivity with his political clout. Elders lined up to kiss his hand. Agha didn’t mask his political aspirations in a brief interview conducted with the help of a translator. He said he would take up the post if Karzai asked him to. Baran, who attended and spoke at the shura, insisted Agha is just a civilian who wields no political power.