יום רביעי, 9 בינואר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder of Ziyon

Wife of Hamas MP: A Woman's Role Is to Instill Love of Jihad and Martyrdom in Her Children

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:41 PM PST

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ MEMRI
Umm Osama: Women in Palestine play a great role in raising their children and in encouraging them to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah. This is absolutely the most glorious thing a woman can do. Women play their role and are not inferior to men. When a man goes to wage Jihad, his wife does not say "Don't go" or try to stop him. She encourages and supports him. She is the one who prepares his equipment, bids him farewell, and welcomes [his Jihad]. She instills in her children the love of Jihad and martyrdom for the sake of Allah. If every mother were to prevent her son from waging Jihad for the sake of Allah, who would wage Jihad? Who would support Palestine? Palestine is dear to us, and its price is paid with our body remains and our lifeblood. Is not Allah's reward precious? Allah's reward is Paradise. Paradise requires from us our blood, our body remains, and our efforts for its sake.  
[...] Sister, Jihad is ordained for us. It is our duty to wage Jihad, because either we wage Jihad or...  
Interviewer: We want to die as martyrs.  
Umm Osama: Indeed we do. I am constantly praying: "Allah, make the end of our days be in martyrdom." I pray for this even for my husband and my children. None of us want to die in our beds. We pray that Allah will grant us Paradise. [...]

Hamas Sentences Fatah Terrorist to 15 Years in Jail

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 06:45 PM PST


Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Ma'an News Agency
A military court in Gaza City on Tuesday sentenced a Fatah military leader to 15 years in jail. Muhammad al-Sakani told Ma'an that his brother Zaki was accused of terrorism and illegally possessing explosives and weapons. 
Muhammad condemned the verdict as unjust and vowed to appeal the decision. Zaki, from Gaza City's Shujaiyya neighborhood, was detained four years ago and held in a Gaza jail. 
Fatah denounced the verdict in a statement, describing it as "unjust because it was issued by an illegitimate court, and because the motive behind the verdict was merely political." "The man was a prominent leader of Fatah's al-Aqsa Brigades and one of its best fighters."
What exactly did al-Sakani do?
Al-Sakani, born in 1965, was once wanted by Israeli authorities for his role in explosives-manufacturing, according to Fatah-affiliated websites. 
As the second Palestinian intifada entered its second year, according to Fatah sources, al-Sakani along with late Fatah leader Abdul-Muti al-Sabaawi designed the first homemade mortar shell and went on to produce hundreds of shells. 
As a result, the Israeli intelligence tried to hunt him down through several targeted assassinations, including one which injured him in Gaza City while he was launching mortar shells at an Israeli settlement, before Israeli forces disengaged from the coastal enclave. 
After Hamas took control of the Gaza Strip in July 2008, the security services of Hamas stormed his home in the Zaytoun neighborhood, but he escaped, Fatah sources said. Hamas forces confiscated his handgun, a homemade projectile and several mortar shells and explosives, as well as a computer. On July 25, 2008 five high profile leaders of the Hamas' military wing were killed in an explosion near the beach in Gaza City and about 40 civilians were injured. Hamas then accused al-Sakani of being behind that explosion. 
In August 2008, the Hamas-affiliated website Palestine Today quoted sources privy to the details as saying that security services in Gaza detained four suspects including Zaki al-Sakani, a Fatah-affiliated explosives expert. Al-Sakani was in al-Shifa hospital when he was arrested and jailed, having survived an assassination attempt a day earlier. A group of gunmen had opened fire on al-Sakani and he underwent a surgery before he was jailed by Hamas' security.

Photos of Robert Levinson Released, Iran Seen as Responsible

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 04:03 PM PST

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ The Associated Press

Two years after a hostage video and photographs of retired FBI agent Robert Levinson raised the possibility that the missing American was being held by terrorists, U.S. officials now see the government of Iran behind the images, intelligence officials told The Associated Press. 
Levinson, a private investigator, disappeared in 2007 on the Iranian island of Kish. The Iranian government has repeatedly denied knowing anything about his disappearance, and the disturbing video and photos that Levinson's family received in late 2010 and early 2011 seemed to give credence to the idea. 
The extraordinary photos — showing Levinson's hair wild and gray, his beard long and unkempt — are being seen for the first time publicly after the family provided copies to the AP. The video has been previously released. 
In response to Iran's repeated denials, and amid secret conversations with Iran's government, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement in March 2011 that Levinson was being held somewhere in South Asia. The implication was that Levinson might be in the hands of terrorist group or criminal organization somewhere in Pakistan or Afghanistan. 
The statement was a goodwill gesture to Iran, one that the U.S. hoped would prod Tehran to help bring him home. 
But nothing happened. 
Two years later, with the investigation stalled, the consensus now among some U.S. officials involved in the case is that despite years of denials, Iran's intelligence service was almost certainly behind the 54-second video and five photographs of Levinson that were emailed anonymously to his family. The tradecraft used to send those items was too good, indicating professional spies were behind them, the officials said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk publicly. While everything dealing with Iran is murky, their conclusion is based on the U.S. government's best intelligence analysis....
Levinson's family runs this website.

Israeli Intelligence Likely Saved Thousands of Syrian Lives

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 11:05 AM PST

Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ New York Times
In the last days of November, Israel's top military commanders called the Pentagon to discuss troubling intelligence that was showing up on satellite imagery: Syrian troops appeared to be mixing chemicals at two storage sites, probably the deadly nerve gas sarin, and filling dozens of 500-pounds bombs that could be loaded on airplanes. 
Within hours President Obama was notified, and the alarm grew over the weekend, as the munitions were loaded onto vehicles near Syrian air bases. In briefings, administration officials were told that if Syria's increasingly desperate president, Bashar al-Assad, ordered the weapons to be used, they could be airborne in less than two hours — too fast for the United States to act, in all likelihood.  
What followed next, officials said, was a remarkable show of international cooperation over a civil war in which the United States, Arab states, Russia and China have almost never agreed on a common course of action.
Read the rest.

Egypt’s Constitution May Prevent Bahais from Enrolling in Public Schools

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 08:45 AM PST


Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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CHALLAH @ Egypt Independent
The education minister has repeated remarks that Bahais cannot enroll in public schools, saying it violates the Constitution. "The Constitution only recognizes the three Abrahamic religions," Ibrahim Ghoneim told Akbar Al-Youm newspaper Saturday. "And as religion is a subject taught in schools, they do not meet the requirements for enrollment." 
Ghoneim had told Al-Sabah newspaper the same statement in November, when he was asked, "What is the position of the ministry concerning the children of Bahais? Do they have the right to enroll in a [ministry-affiliated] school?" The minister responded by saying, "The state only recognizes three religions, and the Bahai faith is not among them. Thus their children do not have the right to register in government schools."
An Egyptian official admitted on Monday that Bahai children will face major problems enrolling in state-run schools as a result of the new Constitution. Mohamed al-Sorougy, the Education Minister's media adviser, told Ona news agency that Egyptian Bahais will face problems enrolling because the new Constitution only recognizes three religions: Islam, Christianity and Judaism. 
Sorougy didn't confirm or deny statements by Education Minister Ibrahim Ghoneim saying that Bahais are forbidden from enrolling in public schools because of the Constitution. He said, however, that 2 million children enroll annually in the schools and that creating a problem for a few of them is not right. 
The problems facing Bahai children are further complicated by Article 60 of the new Constitution, which mandates religious education in state schools. Muslims and Christians study their own religions, but the government is unsure how to offer Bahais religious instruction if they enroll in schools.

Head of Iran's Quds Force Met with Morsi Advisors

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 07:30 AM PST


Guest post by Challah Hu Akbar, aka CHA or Challah

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Around a week ago reports started appearing in the Arabic press, sometimes quoting the Israeli media, suggesting that the head of Iran's Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, recently met with an adviser to Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.

The Times now confirms the reports.
Egypt's Islamist Government has enlisted covert help from Iran to strengthen its grip on power, dealing another blow to Cairo's fragile relationship with the West. Qassem Suleimani, Iran's spy chief, visited the Egyptian capital just after Christmas for two days of talks with senior officials close to President Mohamed Morsi, The Times has learnt. 
Mr Suleimani, who oversees Iran's proxy militias across the region, including Hezbollah and Hamas, travelled at the invitation of Mr Morsi's Government and his powerful backers in the Muslim Brotherhood. 
The spy chief met Essam al-Haddad, foreign affairs adviser to Mr Morsi, and officials from the Brotherhood to advise the government on building its security and intelligence apparatus independent of the national intelligence services, which are controlled by Egypt's military. 
… Two members of the Muslim Brotherhood's "guidance office" Maktab al-Irshad confirmed details of Mr Suleimani's visit. "The government requested a high-level meeting with Iranian officials. Iran sent Suleimani," said one official. 
"The meeting was intended to send a message to America, which is putting pressure on the Egyptian government, that we should be allowed to have other alliances with anyone we please."
Soleimani was recently deemed the "World's Most Dangerous Person."

Tuesday Morning Links

Posted: 08 Jan 2013 05:27 AM PST


From Ian:

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"Palestinian nationalism often seems a mirror-image of the Zionist project, but with this one crucial difference: Over the half century before the foundation of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement pre-built the institutions of a state. The Zionist movement built not only a proto-government and the elements of an army, but charitable institutions, educational institutions, even artistic institutions.The Jewish state, when it came, was voted by the UN. But it was in no sense a gift from anybody, let alone an international organization."

Abbas will not rush to issue "State of Palestine" passports, fearing a conflict with Israel, PLO officials claim.

"President Obama's nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense risks increasing the likelihood that Iran will develop nuclear weapons. It poses that risk because Hagel is well known for his opposition both to sanctions against Iran and to employing the military option if necessary. These views are inconsistent with the very different views expressed by President Obama. The President has emphasized on numerous occasions that he will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and will use military force if necessary to prevent that "game changer."

Something has gone badly wrong when a conference of Christians praises the side most prone to violence and least disposed to peace; presents falsehoods as facts, and even denies that there is serious persecution of their own brethren in the Palestinian territories. "Do Christian hearts not grieve for Jewish children forced to cower in bomb shelters, day in and day out? But none of these facts was mentioned by any of the speakers. Not one speaker at any point, in fact, had the honesty to say one word about the several wars started by Arab armies invading Israel, nor the thousands of Israelis killed and injured in terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings."

Fatah's heroes: Saddam Hussein, Dalal Mughrabi and the rifle

"It is well known that Al Jazeera's English language operation (launched in 2006) tones down its coverage in comparison to its less subtle Arabic department, which has fawned over the terrorist child-murderer Samir Kuntar and features as its most popular programme the weekly rantings of Qatari-based Yusuf Qaradawi – spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and a virulent homophobe and antisemite. Nevertheless, Al Jazeera English remains firmly on target as the vector of the Qatari regime's agenda, as some of its former employees have disclosed."

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I asked the Egyptian President about the blind Egyptian cleric who was convicted here in the United States in connection with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Omar Abdel-Rahman is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

"Israel stole just under $50 billion worth of sand"
This was reported by EOZ on January 07 2012 Report: Egypt demanding $500 billion from Israel for Sinai damage

Essam el-Erian, a top advisor to Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, has resigned from his position, Egyptian media reported Sunday. "Although the report said that el-Arian had willingly made the decision because he was "occupied with other work," analysts said that there was no doubt that he was pressure to quit – after inviting back to Egypt the descendants of Jews who were thrown out of the country, or who fled due to anti-Semitic violence."

On Monday, Egyptian authorities foiled a car bomb plot in the city of Rafah, near Gaza….Those behind the plot are currently unknown, though Al Arabiya quoted an Egyptian security source as saying that it was "probably radical Islamists whom security forces have been tracking for months." According to the Associated Press, "[t]he military said it suspects the gunmen preparing the car bomb are from the Gaza Strip and entered Egypt illegally through underground tunnels." Following the seizure of the explosives and weapons, Egyptian authorities announced a security alert. A military source has told Ma'an News Agency that "intelligence services have received information in the last few hours about planned attacks by groups in the Sinai."

"Some 5,000 Hezbollah fighters crossed from Lebanon into Syria last month to fight on the side of Bashar al-Assad's forces the Al Watan newspaper reported on Monday. According to the paper, nearly 300 of those fighters have been killed in the last several days."

"EndoChoice, an Alpharetta-based company that sells endoscopy devices, said Friday it plans to merge with an Israeli-based medical firm in a deal that would create 200 new jobs, mostly in metro Atlanta. The company also announced it raised $43 million from a well-known Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Sequoia Capital, to fuel its growth."

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