יום שלישי, 15 באוקטובר 2013

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Elder of Ziyon Daily News

Link to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Iran's Supreme Leader: Zionists are behind all intra-Muslim problems

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 05:06 PM PDT

The Hajj message of Iran's "Supreme Leader" Ayatollah Khamenei says that every single problem in the Muslim world is caused by Zionists and the West. Not a single Muslim is guilty of any crimes, terrorism, civil war, chemical weapons usage, infighting or anything else unseemly - it is all controlled by the expansive network of Zionists and their allies.

I particularly like how he positions the Syrian regime as a Muslim nation when it has been largely secular and anti-Islamist.

...The existence of civil wars, religious and denominational prejudices and political instabilities, the prevalence of cruel terrorism, the emergence of extreme groups and orientations- which like savage tribes in history, cut open the chests of human beings and rip their hearts out with their teeth- the emergence of armed mercenaries who kill women and children, cut off the heads of men and rape women and who do such horrible and disgusting crimes in the name of religion are all the products of the satanic and arrogant plots of foreign intelligence services and their regional agents.

Such plots are implemented in countries in which the ground is prepared before-hand and as a result, they create a disastrous situation for these nations and peoples. In such conditions, it is clear that one cannot expect Muslim nations to remedy their material and spiritual shortcomings and to achieve security, welfare, scientific progress and international dignity which are the results of achieving awakening and finding one's true identity.

These disastrous conditions can abort the progress of Islamic Awakening, destroy the mental awareness which has been created in the world of Islam, drag Muslims- once more- towards stagnation, isolation and decline and consign to oblivion important and fundamental issues such as the liberation of Palestine and other Muslim nations from the transgressions of the USA and Zionism.

The most important cure for this situation can be summarized in two key phrases, both of which are among the clearest lessons of hajj:

First: unity and brotherhood of Muslims under the flag of monotheism.

Second: knowing the enemy and confronting his plans and methods.

Strengthening the spirit of brotherhood and cooperation is a great lesson of hajj. During hajj, even quarrelling and arguing with others is forbidden. During hajj, wearing the same clothes, following the same practices, making the same moves and behaving in a kind way,all mean equality and brotherhood for all those who believe in and rely on monotheism.
This means that Islam strongly rejects any idea and belief which views a number of Muslims and believers in Ka'bah and monotheism as people who are outside the circle of Islam. These orientations which are based on takfirism, which have become playthings in the hands of the treacherous Zionist politicians and their western supporters- commit serious crimes and shed the blood of Muslims and innocent people, and the people who claim to be religious, who call themselves clerics and who fuel the fire of fitna between Shia and Sunni and other denominations- should know that the hajj pilgrimage will thwart their claims.

I, like many Islamic scholars and sympathetic personalities in the Islamic Ummah, announce that any statement or action which fuels the fire of discord among Muslims, any insult to the sacred beliefs of each one of the Muslim denominations and any act of takfirism against Islamic denominations equals serving the camp of atheism and polytheism and betraying Islam. All of these things are haraam.

Knowing the enemy and its methods is the second important factor. First, we should not forget about the existence of a spiteful enemy. Performing the ritual of the stoning of the jamarat during hajj is a symbolic sign of this awareness. Second, we should not make a mistake in knowing the main enemy, who in the present time is global arrogance and the criminal Zionist network.

Third, we should properly identify the methods of this hostile enemy which is creating discord among Muslims, promoting moral and political corruption, threatening and tempting outstanding personalities, exerting economic pressures on all nations and arousing doubts about Islamic beliefs. Moreover, we should identify their agents and those who are, knowingly or ignorantly, dependent on them.

Arrogant governments, headed by the USA, conceal their true character with the help of comprehensive and advanced propaganda tools. By claiming that they support human rights and democracy, they deceive public opinion in different countries. They speak about the rights of all nations while each day Muslim nations feel- with their bodies and souls- the fire of discord more than the past.

For decades, the oppressed Palestinian nation has been receiving strikes as a result of the crimes of the Zionist regime and its supporters. In the countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, terrorism - which originates from the policies of global arrogance and its agents in the region - has ruined the lives of the people.

Syria has come under the attack of arrogant powers and their regional agents because of supporting anti-Zionist orientations and it has experienced a bloody civil war. In Bahrain and Myanmar, Muslims have been ignored and their enemies are supported. Other nations are threatened by the USA and its allies with military attacks, economic sanctions and different acts of sabotage. Taking a general look at all these countries can reveal to all people throughout the world the true face of these leaders of global arrogance.
....
I ask Allah the Exalted to bestow peace on Muslims and to foil the plots of the enemies. ...
More in an upcoming post about how the symbolic "stoning of the devil" during Hajj has now become a symbolic "stoning of Zionists."

10/14 Links Pt2: PA Benefits from Offshore Gas, Facebook buys Onavo for $200 Mil

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 03:00 PM PDT

From Ian:
The Diplomatic Bonus of Gaza's Offshore Natural Gas
Despite its location, the field belongs to the PA rather than the Hamas regime in Gaza. It was discovered by a British company, BG (formerly British Gas), which continues to hold the license. The PA, seeking a greater share of the revenues, is now negotiating a revised concession agreement with BG and another investor, Consolidated Contractors Company, a Palestinian-owned, Greek-based engineering group. Israeli acquiescence is needed for security reasons, since the gas lies in an area patrolled by the Israeli navy. Yet former prime minister Ehud Barak conceded ownership of the field to the Palestinians in 2001 as a goodwill gesture, adjusting the notional maritime boundary in the area so that the whole of Gaza Marine lies in Palestinian waters rather than crossing into Israel's Exclusive Economic Zone.
David Singer: World Bank Exposes PLO's Disastrous Miscalculations
Regrettably those affected by the PLO's political stance – the West Bank Arab population – are denied any say in determining whether changes need to take place that would improve their economic and political fortunes.
PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas refuses to hold elections in the West Bank – preferring to continue with failed policies that threaten the future aspirations of the people he claims to represent – so clearly exposed in this damning World Bank Report.
Abbas continues to travel the world's capitols unsuccessfully seeking financial support whilst an ailing economy collapses before his very eyes – as the World Bank Report makes ominously clear:
Bedouin Myth No.1 – Indigenous?
Professor Ruth Kark of the Geography Department of the Hebrew University, considered an expert on conceptions of land ownership in traditional and pre-modern cultures, in an article that appeared in the "Middle East Quarterly," enumerated the generally accepted parameters of the term "indigenous," and explains why the Bedouins cannot be included in this category. Here is the synopsis of her conclusions.
The EU's misguided singling out of Israel
Instead of being one-sided in their criticism, the EU should redouble its efforts to promote economic development in the West Bank as opposed to taking punitive steps against one side. Perversely, a ban such as this would hurt struggling Palestinians more than it would hurt Israel.
Economic progress on both sides will do more to bring about the kind of solution the EU so wants. A true peace will only be decided in bilateral peace talks that both sides buy into.
Not accurate, not impartial: BBC report on murder in Brosh HaBika'a
Towards the end of the report we find a paragraph which is phrased in such a way as to imply to readers that there is reason to question Israeli definitions of terror attacks – including the murder of Tomer Hazan, which the perpetrator admitted was intended to extort the release of a relative imprisoned for terror offences.
"The dead man is the third Israeli to be killed in what Israel characterises as "terror attacks" in the last month in the West Bank. Two serving soldiers have also died."
BBC template response to audience complaints about Psagot
Several readers have informed us of responses they have received from the BBC in reply to complaints regarding the fact that the attack in Psagot on October 5th did not receive any coverage from the BBC until four days after the event when two suspects were arrested in Al Bireh.
All those readers received the exact same reply from the BBC News website's Middle East desk, the body of which reads:
The paper which hates Britain? Guardian leaks 'worst blow to British intel ever'
The Guardian's editor Alan Rusbridger, typifying the vitriol directed against the West by many within the leftist intelligentsia, in defending his paper's right to publish classified documents, referred to George Orwell's book '1984' and argued that US and British intelligence gathering went "beyond Orwell's imagination". However, Orwell understood the advantages of even flawed democracies over totalitarian regimes and realized the danger of an intellectual elite which doesn't understand such stark moral differences.
In 1945, Orwell published "Notes on Nationalism" which argued that within the leftist intelligentsia there is "a derisive and mildly hostile attitude towards Britain [that] is more or less compulsory", and that that, to such intellectuals, political outrage is inevitably directed not towards truly totalitarian regimes, but "almost entirely against Britain and the United States."
Al-Hiwar TV: Islamists' Loudspeaker in Europe
The Muslim Brotherhood, despite having officially renounced violence, has been known for inciting often-violent political and social instability; it also openly claims responsibility for the installation of Hamas, a terrorist organization committed by its charter to the destruction of Israel.
Ofcom, in 2009, found Al-Hiwar in breach of British broadcasting regulations after the Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood leader, Rachid al-Ghannouchi, used the channel to praise Hamas's military operations and "the use of bombs." In explaining its decision, Ofcom said Al-Hiwar's fault was to be guilty of "not challenging" Al-Ghnnouchi's statement. Al-Ghannouchi nonetheless remained a regular guest on Al-Hiwar TV, delivering his messages to millions of viewers.
Holocaust-denying Romanian minister attends memorial
Dan Sova, Romania's minister for national projects and infrastructure, addressed a crowd of dignitaries on October 9 in the Romanian capital at a ceremony held on Romania's national Holocaust Memorial Day — a date marked officially for the third time since its introduction in 2010.
Earlier this year, Sova apologized for statements he made during a 2012 television interview in which he said that "no Jew suffered at the hands of Romanians" during the Holocaust.
Clinton Foundation Received Millions from Saudis, Qatar, Iran
A senior Muslim Brotherhood operative recently arrested in Egypt worked for years at the William J. Clinton Foundation. The Clinton Foundation has also received millions of dollars from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a foundation that is an Iranian regime front.
The current Egyptian government, which was put in power after the military overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood, has launched a sweeping crackdown on the Brotherhood and calls it a terrorist organization. One of the senior officials arrested is Gehad (Jihad) el-Haddad.
From 2007 to 2012, el-Haddad was the Egyptian director for the Clinton Foundation. El-Haddad's father is Essam el-Haddad, a member of the Brotherhood's Guidance Bureau.
Czech President: My Kotel Wish Came True
Zeman placed a new note with a new wish on it in the cracks between the stones on Sunday's visit as well.
"I am excited to stand here in front of the holy stones, this exalted place of worship, with the prayer books that accompany the Jewish people everywhere in the world. Here and in Prague, people pray from the same prayerbook," he noted.
Does Nobel winner Higgs support an Israel boycott?
"It is very ironic that Israeli scientists are dominating the Nobel prizes yet again, and the British winner of the Nobel prize is, in effect, boycotting them," Middle East commentator Tom Gross said, after writing on his site last Wednesday that Higgs "is calling for an academic boycott of Israel."
But how much evidence is there to support the charge?
The most substantive allegation revolves around an Israeli prize Higgs refused to accept.
Facebook buys Onavo
Israeli mobile analytics company Onavo has announced its sale to Facebook. The deal is being reported to be worth between $100 million-$200 million.
Onavo is one of Tel Aviv's hottest startups. It developed the award-winning Onavo mobile utility app and Onavo Insights, the first mobile market intelligence service based on real engagement data.
Security control room in a smartphone
When a baby is choking somewhere inside the winding cobblestoned streets of Jerusalem's Old City, or in any Israeli neighborhood, locals powering motorcycles with ambulance gear give help before the paramedics arrive. This is thanks to Israel's one-of-a-kind volunteer emergency response organization United Hatzalah.
To maximize response time, Hatzalah contracted local developers to create a smartphone app to help deploy volunteers closest to the emergency –– or to send mission alerts to doctors with certain specialties.
70 years after revolt, Sobibor secrets are yet to be unearthed
It was the most successful prisoner revolt during World War II, but the Sobibor uprising never became a primary symbol of the Holocaust. Seventy years later, archeologists at the former death camp are rewriting what's known about Sobibor's design, and unearthing haunting glimpses of its Jewish victims.
Their work, however, is now in jeopardy, as bureaucratic tensions and a stymied struggle on the part of the lead Israeli archeologist Yoram Haimi to protect the site's integrity have delayed authorization from Polish authorities to open a new excavation season at Sobibor.
Ingathering and digitizing the Diaspora's rare Hebrew books
In a project as ambitious as the Great Library of Alexandria — which, starting in the 3rd century BCE under the Ptolemies, endeavored to copy all scrolls that entered the port — Israel's National Library is seeking to digitize and store all of the world's Jewish texts.
Last week, the National Library, located on the campus of the Hebrew University at Givat Ram, Jerusalem, took a major step forward in this quest by reaching an agreement to produce high-definition images of one of the world's premier collections of Judaic manuscripts. The National Library and Italy's Biblioteca Palatina in Parma signed a deal to convert centuries of parchment and paper Hebrew documents to high-quality digital files which will be available to Israeli scholars. A selection of those files will be uploaded to the Internet for general access.
IDF Blog: 40 Years Since the Yom Kippur War No.2: The Counterattack
After a surprise attack that sparks the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the IDF must regroup and act quickly against Egypt and Syria. The enemies' anti-aircraft missiles overwhelm the Israel Air Force, forcing the IDF to rely almost completely on its ground and naval forces. The proximity of Israeli villages and towns to the Syrian border poses an urgent challenge, pushing the IDF to confront enemy forces in battle.

Gazans tell of life under siege. Egyptian siege.

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 01:00 PM PDT

From Ma'ariv, translated by Yoel:
The crisis between Hamas and the new regime in Egypt is worsening: in Egypt there is no intention in the mean time to scale down on the military operation in Sinai, which started after the toppling of the Muslim Brotherhood regime. The Egyptians accuse Hamas of collaborating with jihadi elements operating in the peninsula, and the foreign minister, Nabil Fahmy, declared that if the need arises the Egyptian army will use military force against the Gaza Strip. Military sources even said that a target list for Gaza was drawn up to allow an aerial attack.

After years of an Israeli siege, in the last weeks the residents of Gaza are dealing with an Egyptian siege due to the wide-scale military operation against terror infrastructures in Sinai and against the smuggling between Gaza to the peninsula.

"The reality we were used to has changed completely. Life was always hard, but now it is almost unbearable", one resident said.

The Egyptian activity is mostly focused on the smuggling between the strip and the Sinai peninsula, which is part of the struggle against the Hamas movement. According to reports, 95% of the tunnels are not functioning today. "The smuggling has almost completely stopped and the prices of the products that go through the tunnels have skyrocketed", says Hamdan Abdallah, a resident of the Gazan part of Rafah, in a conversation with NRG. He told me a liter of fuel costs more than seven shekels today, as apposed to three shekels before the military operation. [That's the price Israelis pay. - EoZ]

Abdallah even has some good words for Israel. "For years we were complaining about the Israeli siege of Gaza, but now it is the only one which lets in food and fuel through the Kerem Shalom crossing", he said. "Egypt has almost completely closed the Rafah crossing, which used to be the life line for the residents here. It's a one-way door. You can only enter Gaza. Exiting it is very difficult, it's almost an impossible mission".

A Rafah resident who preferred to stay anonymous said he couldn't understand why the residents of the strip of all people had to pay the price for the actions of radical groups. "The Egyptian security forces are dealing with armed groups in Sinai, and they also blame Hamas for collaborating with them. This may be true, but the question is why do we the residents have to pay the price. But that's the way it is, we've gotten used to it - when there are troubles in the world it's the Palestinians who are responsible for them, and it's they who are punished", he said sadly.

Too bad Ma'ariv didn't get a chance to ask the Gazans what they thought of their government building tunnels to kidnap Israelis instead of houses and apartments.

Bolonium

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 11:00 AM PDT

Over the weekend, the Lancet published an article called "Improving forensic investigation for polonium poisoning" which is being misrepresented by the media, especially Arab media.

AFP reports:
Swiss radiation experts have confirmed they found traces of polonium on clothing used by Yasser Arafat which "support the possibility" the veteran Palestinian leader was poisoned.

In a report published by The Lancet at the weekend, the team provide scientific details to media statements made in 2012 that they had found polonium on Arafat's belongings.
This is not the results of the tests done on exhumed samples from Arafat. This is simply a regurgitation of what the Swiss researchers said last year, just published in a new place.

The very end of the AFP report confirms this:
Beatrice Schaad, head of communications at the Vaudois University Hospital Center which is in charge of the institute, said the case report was the "scientific version" of what was given to the media.

"There is nothing new compared with what was said" in 2012, she told AFP. "There is still no conclusion that he was poisoned."
For those who cared, the specific results were published last year as well. And the numbers still don't add up.

The current Lancet article says:
According to biokinetic modelling (see appendix), the measured activities of ²¹⁰Po of several mBq per sample are compatible with a lethal ingestion of several GBq in 2004.
As I noted last year, Arafat's underwear urine stains were measured to have an astounding 180 mBq, over one hundred times the expected amount one would have expected to see in 2012, based on radioactive decay, of a dosage of polonium that would kill a man in a month.

Again, not that I am a fan of conspiracy theories, but these results would make sense only if the polonium was planted afterwards.

And, as I have noted, there were major irregularities when Arafat's body was exhumed, in that the PLO insisted that Russians be involved in the exhumation, and that only a Palestinian Arab pathologist was allowed to physically take the samples, with no one else observing him. If someone wanted to get advice on how to plant polonium on the samples - as well as polonium itself - Russia would the first choice.

Maybe this is why the investigation has been taking so long. If the polonium was planted, the researchers would probably be seeing results that are inconsistent or that otherwise don't make sense.

10/14 Links Pt1: IDF Watching Tunnel For A Year, PA Celebrates Terrorist Murderer of French Tourist

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 09:00 AM PDT

From Ian:
Khaled Abu Toameh: How Jerusalem's Arabs Act Against Their Own Interests
Today, many Arabs in Jerusalem are not afraid to declare openly that they prefer to live under Israeli rule, and not under that of the Palestinian Authority or Hamas. The problem remains, however, that the overwhelming majority is still afraid of the radicals.
What is needed is a strong Arab leadership that would not hesitate to stand up to the radicals and question their goals. Such a leadership would have to make it clear that there should be a complete separation between the political issues and the day-to-day affairs of Jerusalem's Arab population.
Until such leaders emerge, the Arabs in Jerusalem will, by boycotting the municipal elections, unfortunately continue to act against their own interests.
A new type of settlement
Privately Palestinian leaders in Mr Abbas's orbit have toyed with admitting that, even if there is a deal with Israel, the refugees and their offspring will never return en masse to their old homes in Israel. With only 60,000 alive (8% of those who fled in 1948), there may soon be almost none left for the Israelis to allow home.
But leaving them put will do nothing to lessen the trouble they cause. Almost 70% of West Bank refugees already live outside camps. The refugee department of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, an umbrella group, is hoping Western countries will pay for decent new housing elsewhere. "We should settle the hills above Nablus with [Palestinian] refugees, not [Jewish] settlers," says Said Salameh, the department's head. A UN "beautification project", installing swimming pools in Roman ruins and demolishing houses to create town squares, has raised spirits in some of the West Bank's southern camps. So has a Qatari-funded housing project for refugees in Bethlehem. After 65 years of squalor, almost any new homes would be better.
Palestinian Suspects Admit to Brutal Murder of IDF Reserve Colonel
The Shin Bet, Israel's security service, has arrested two Arabs for the murder of IDF Col. (res.) Sraya Ofer. The attack occurred in the Jordan Valley early this past Friday morning.
The two men, Uda Farid Taleb, aged 18, and Bashir Ahmed Uda Haruv, aged 21, both from a village near Hebron, admitted they committed the murder, and implicated others during the investigation.
Netanyahu to Cabinet: 'We Have Witnessed an Increase in Terrorist Actions in Recent Weeks'
Addressing the discovery of a tunnel running from the Gaza Strip into Israel, the existence of which the IDF laid blame for on Hamas, Netanyahu said "an aggressive policy against terrorism, including preventive action, intelligence, initiated action, responsive action and, of course, Operation Pillar of Defense" has "led to the fact that this year has been the quietest in over a decade."
"However," he continued, "we have witnessed an increase in terrorist actions in recent weeks."
PA celebrates release of terrorist who killed French tourist
Khaled Asakra was one of the 26 prisoners who were released in the first group. Asakra was serving a life sentence for the murder of a 64 year-old French tourist, Annie Ley, whom he stabbed and killed in 1991.
PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake visited terrorist Asakra upon his release and presented him with an honorary plaque, which bears the PA symbol.
The day after the release of the terrorist who murdered a French citizen, the French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius signed an agreement with PA Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah granting a total of "24 million Euros" in aid from France to the PA. "€9,000,000 are direct aid to the Palestinian treasury," the official PA daily reported.
Former PA PM rejects Jewish gold medallion discovered near Western Wall


An underground walk toward Gaza
Edelstein revealed that the IDF had spotted the tunnel from the very beginning of its creation and that through a process requiring "the sort of determination I wish I could detail," had charted its path and exposed it.
Calling the terrorists' plans "ingenious," Edelstein said that Hamas had used 500 tons of Israeli-supplied cement to build the tunnel, that there were others like it, and that their construction, crossing into Israeli territory, constituted "an extreme violation of the ceasefire," which, he contended, Hamas had requested after Operation Pillar of Defense in November.
It keeps tunneling, but Hamas doesn't want escalation… yet
Yet make no mistake: Hamas has no interest in initiating a confrontation with Israel. Not right now, that is. On Sunday evening, Hamas's Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh hinted that the Strip's Islamist rulers are not interested in escalation. In a speech to the graduates of a Gaza police officers' course, Haniyeh said his forces are also concerned about Egypt's security, and will guard the border with Sinai. The Hamas prime minister knows that the unequivocal Egyptian demand from his organization and from Haniyeh himself is to avoid any military conflict with Israel, otherwise the Egyptians themselves will act against Hamas.
Still, it is not clear how long Hamas will continue to maintain the quiet against Israel.
IDF blames Hamas for 'terror tunnel' from Gaza to Israel
Maj. Gen. Shlomo Turgeman, the Southern Command head, said the tunnel, "a violation of our sovereignty," had been built using around 500 tons of cement that "Israel allowed in [to Gaza] for civilian well-being." He warned that if Hamas used such a tunnel to carry out a terror attack against Israel, the Israeli response would "leave Gaza looking very different."
The tunnel, which began in Abbasan al-Saghira, a farming village near Khan Yunis, was described by officials as being 18 meters deep and 1,700 meters long. Officials estimate it took around a year to construct.
Hamas: Israel Trying to 'Justify the Blockade'
Hamas accused Israel on Sunday of "exaggerating things", after it was made public that IDF soldiers recently discovered a tunnel, built by Gaza terrorists, that led from Gaza to a nearby Israeli community. The 20-meter deep tunnel was lined with the concrete slabs that Israel, giving in to international pressure, had allowed into Gaza to enable the building of schools and other civilian structures.
By talking about the discovery of a tunnel, Israel was "trying to justify the blockade and the continuous aggression on the Gaza Strip," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said, according to the BBC.
Assad: Loss of chemical weapons is blow to Syria's morale, political standing
Syrian President Bashar Assad told a number of guests gathered in his palace in Damascus recently that his country's loss of chemical weapons resulted in a blow to its morale and political position.
"There is no doubt that the loss of chemical weapons has resulted in a loss of morale and a political loss for Syria. Since 2003, Syria has demanded that the countries in the region dismantle their WMDs, and the chemical weapons were meant to be a bargaining chip in Syria's hands in exchange for Israel dismantling its nuclear arsenal," Lebanese Hezbollah identified newspaper Al-Akhbar reported Monday Assad as saying.
Key Syrian Rebel Group Turns Down Peace Talks
Syrian National Council says it won't attend peace talks in Geneva because the world has "left the murderer unpunished."
Red Cross workers kidnapped in Syria
A spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Damascus said seven of the group's workers were kidnapped in northern Syria.
Saleh Dabbakeh said gunmen abducted the team near the town of Saraqeb in Idlib province around 11:30 a.m. Sunday.
He said six of the people kidnapped are ICRC staff workers and one is a volunteer from the Syrian Red Crescent.
Palestinians in Syria 'Eating Cats and Dogs'
In his Friday sermon, an imam at the Palestinian Al-Yarmouk camp south of Damascus gave local residents permission to eat dead cats and dogs. The camp has been under siege for three months, the humanitarian situation there has severely deteriorated and the supply of food has not been steady, reports Shalom Toronto.
50 Syria Militants Could Return to Wage Jihad in UK, Claims Intelligence Source
Up to 50 British jihadists may have returned to the UK to plan terrorist attacks, after receiving weapons training and combat experience in the Syrian civil war.
A security source told the Sunday Times that MI5 was tracking a number of individuals who are believed to have fought for al-Qaida-linked jihadist groups against the forces of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
"Extremists go there and come back enthused and with added skills. Others go there and make contacts which they otherwise may not have made," said the source.
JPost Editorial: Unity against Iran
How will the P5+1 react? Inevitably, pressure will build to compromise with the Iranians. Arguments will be made in favor of accepting Iran's proposals and counterarguments will be made against. In the process, a real danger exists that the coalition organized against Iran's nuclear weapons program will fall apart.
That must not be allowed to happen. Western nations must stay united against Iran's push for nuclear weapons capability.
Sanctions are close to achieving the desired result of forcing Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons program peacefully. They must be allowed to run their course. And a new round of sanctions should be prepared now, in case Iran offers less than the minimum required to set the Islamic Republic on the path to a full dismantling of its nuclear weapons program.
Iranian sentenced in Azerbaijan for plot on Israeli Embassy
An Iranian citizen was sentenced to 15 years in jail in Azerbaijan for planning an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Baku.
Bahram Feyzi, who was arrested in March and accused of being an Iranian spy along with drug possession, was sentenced on Friday in the Baku Court on Grave Crimes, the French news agency AFP reported.
Morsi's family says he will not compromise with military
"The president will not retreat, or negotiate or accept compromises especially after all the martyrs, the wounded, the arrested and missing," his family said in a statement, published on the Muslim Brotherhood's website.
"No matter how much they try to keep him away, the president will not retreat from a return to the democratic path, even if his soul is the price of this democratic path," the family said in the statement.
US citizen found dead in Egyptian cell
An American imprisoned in Egypt was found hanged in his cell Sunday in the city of Ismailiya. Egyptian officials believe that James Henry, 55, committed suicide, AFP reported. His body was found by authorities at noon.
Henry had been detained for violating a curfew in the northern Sinai Peninsula, on the road to the city of Rafah from el-Arish. The curfew, enforced in 14 governorates, was in place nightly from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Henry told Egyptian security forces at the time of his arrest that he was headed to the Gaza Strip.
Egypt detains 14 for "homosexual acts" at medical centre
An Egyptian prosecutor ordered on Saturday that fourteen suspects be detained for four days pending investigations into allegations that they committed "homosexual acts" inside a medical centre in the neighborhood of al-Marg in Cairo.

50 years ago: Arabs emphatically reject peace. (Sound familiar?)

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 07:00 AM PDT

From the JTA Archives, fifty years ago.

September 30, 1963:
Rejection of any Israeli call for direct peace talks is a key aspect of unified instructions by Arab governments to their delegations to the current General Assembly of the United Nations, according to a report today in the Jordanian daily newspaper, El Jihad.

Quoting a "high government source," the newspaper said that the governments have instructed their delegations to make "extraordinary efforts" to foil "Zionist and imperialist" plans so "sidestep" the Palestine issue at the Assembly.

Among the other instructions to the Arab delegations are orders to make an effort to change the attitudes of the United States, Britain and France, and to persuade France to adopt a pro-Arab stand. El Jihad reported that King Hussein launched such an effort in his recent talks with French President Charles de Gaulle.
Also September 30:
The first full-scale attack against Israel in this year's General Assembly was voiced at a plenary session of the body this morning by Abdul Monem Rifai of Jordan. Previously, Israel had been attacked on charges of "Zionist colonialism" by the diplomatic spokesmen of Libya, Tunisia and Yemen, but Mr. Rifai devoted a very large section of his address at the Assembly to what he called "the aggression in Palestine."

His intervention ran the gamut from the customary Arab characterization of Israel as "a foreign authority in an Arab environment illegally founded" to the Arab refugee question to a charge that Israel's efforts to divert the Jordan River waters would "endanger peace in our area."

"While the Arabs yearn for the restoration of peace in the Holy Land, we must point out that a situation in which wrong was legalized and aggression tolerated is a situation which does not provide a suitable atmosphere for peace."
Meaning, that as long as there is a Jewish state, there is no "justice" and peace is impossible. Which is pretty much the same attitude as today, although it is hidden a bit better.

Keep in mind that the charges of "colonialism" and "aggression" are being made before 1967.

October 9:
Saudi Arabia today rejected Israel's calls for peace between Israel and the Arab states. Rashad Pharaon, the new Saudi Arabian representative, replacing Ahmad Shukairy who was dismissed from his UN post by the Saudi Arabian Government a year ago, addressed the plenary session of the General Assembly. [Shukairy, of course, became head of the PLO soon afterwards. - EoZ]

He said that, while the Israel Government has called for peace, "Israel has shown no indication of any intention to abide by the resolutions of the United Nations and recognize the rights of the people of Palestine. There can be no peace in the Middle East until the Palestine problem is solved in accordance with the principles of law and justice."

Salah El-Dine Tarazi, Syria's permanent representative, addressing the Assembly yesterday, asserted that the solution of the "Palestine problem" is no longer a matter of "Arab-Israeli relations" but an issue concerning the "Arab people of Palestine." It is up to the Arab people of Palestine, he said, to settle the issue. Declaring that the Arab people "had never bowed to the injustice committed against it" by what he called "Zionist imperialism," he said: "No Arab government could allow a status quo based on injustice."
Notice that no one calls anyone "Palestinians." 15 years after Israel was reborn, the word "Palestinian" was still highly associated with Jews, so the Arab countries referred to "Arabs of Palestine."

More history from October 1963 coming tomorrow, as we explore how Israel engaged in "X-washing" even before there was any "occupation."

Stunning photos of the Hamas terror tunnel, plus video

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 05:00 AM PDT

From Buzzfeed:


Hamas military spokesman in Gaza, Abu Obeida, said on his official Twitter account that "thousands" more tunnels would be dug out.

Ventilation shaft


The IDF estimated over 500 tons of concrete were used to build this.

Israel has now suspended shipping construction materials to Gaza.

You can be sure that "human rights" organizations will be condemning that ban on concrete far more than the Hamas attempt to kidnap Israelis.

Here's video:



(h/t Yoel)

A legal scholar details ICRC bias against Israel over "occupation" of Gaza

Posted: 14 Oct 2013 02:00 AM PDT

Last week I wrote a post about how the International Committee of the Red Cross was, in my opinion, hypocritical for ignoring the opinions of experts it gathered to discuss the definition of "occupation" and choosing instead to consider Gaza to still be occupied, against all normative legal opinions.

I received two responses from Juan-Pedro Schaerer, ICRC Head of Delegation, Israel and the Occupied Territories, in the comments. The first one:
While this article provides a summary of an important expert's workshop, the author ignores essential facts used by the ICRC when applying of the Law of Occupation to Gaza.

The ICRC closely monitors developments in the Gaza Strip, since facts on the ground are crucial to determining whether the elements of effective control required for occupation continue to be met. While it cannot be said that the Gaza Strip is a "classic" situation of occupation, Israel has not entirely relinquished its effective control over the Strip. This control includes amongst other the almost total control over the borders of the Gaza Strip (except for the border with Egypt), the control over the airspace and the entire coast line, the control over who can move out of the Gaza Strip, the control of the population register, control over all the items that can be imported and exported from the Strip and the control over a no-go zone along the Gaza fence inside the Gaza Strip. These facts and others allow ICRC to determine that Israel exercises effective control and therefore remains bound by the law of occupation in the case of Gaza.

This article ignores such essential facts and concludes in a facile way that the ICRC is hypocritical, biased and politically-motivated. The ICRC has no doubt that much of the hardship caused to the 1.7 million people living in Gaza would be reduced if international humanitarian law was fully understood and respected. ICRC works in a neutral and impartial way to promote a better understanding of international humanitarian law, and to alleviate the suffering caused by those who fail to respect it.

Schaerer Juan Pedro
ICRC Head of Delegation Israel and the Occupied Territories

And a second one, after I commented:
In response to your comments and for the purpose of clarification, I wish to emphasize that the ICRC does not maintain that Israel has retained all elements of authority and governmental functions in Gaza. Rather, our position is that even after the withdrawal of its forces in 2005 Israel continues to exercise effective control over certain key elements of authority in Gaza and therefore remains bound by obligations under the law of occupation within the territorial and functional limits of the competences it has retained. This reflects a functional approach to the law of occupation that emanates from the underlying purpose and rationale of that body of law. In simplified terms it means that to the extent that an occupying power retains control of key functions and authorities in the occupied territory it also remains bound by the relevant provisions of the law of occupation. Where there is control there is responsibility. For an elaboration on this see T. Ferraro, Determining the beginning and end of an occupation under international humanitarian law, 94 IRRC 133, 159 (aviliable online here:)

Professor Abraham (Avi) Bell, of the University of San Diego School of Law and at Bar-Ilan University,  an expert on international law who has written extensively on this very issue, graciously offered to comment on Schaerer's responses. His answer is much better than the one I planned to write. (Emphasis mine.)

The argument first used by Mr. Schaerer was taken near verbatim from one invented by Gisha, a political pro-Palestinian NGO. It is not an argument that has any basis in general international law. 

 Mr. Schaerer's argument consisted of a list of factual assertions, some of which are obviously correct but irrelevant (yes, Israel controls Israel's own land borders with Gaza), and some of which are obviously both false and irrelevant (no, Israel does not "control … all the items that can be imported and exported from the Strip" – Gaza imports and exports goods through its land borders with Egypt).

 None of the factual assertions relate to the generally understood legal criteria for effective control as understood in international law, as ICRC officials would readily acknowledge if Israel were not in the dock.

Is there any other case in recorded history where the "facts" offered by Mr. Schaerer have been interpreted as sufficient "effective control" to create a belligerent occupation notwithstanding the absence of (1) boots on the ground and (2) any administration by the purported "occupier"?

 The answer, of course, is no.

 It is curious that Mr. Schaerer didn't even try to analyze how the generally applicable test for belligerent occupation would apply to Israel and Gaza. Instead, he said that a set of irrelevant facts "allow ICRC to determine that Israel exercises effective control." Well, sure. ICRC is "allowed" to make any determination it wants. It is "allowed" to determine Spain occupies Portugal, if it wants.

 Mr. Schaerer's "clarification" is even more mystifying. He appears to be saying that the ICRC acknowledges that Gaza is not occupied by Israel, but that the ICRC claims that Israel can still be bound by some of the rules of belligerent occupation due to legally insufficient effective control. This is a novel theory that was advanced by Gisha after its earlier arguments that Israel "occupies" Gaza found no support among legal scholars not pre-committed to the Palestinian side. Needless to say, Gisha's new theory has no basis in the text of any treaties, and it has never been applied against any other country in recorded history. In other words, it is a brand-new anti-Israel theory aimed to create legal duties that restrict the conduct of the Jewish state, but not of any other state in the world.

 There are several additional oddities in Mr. Schaerer's clarification. First, it is a lie. The ICRC continues to treat Gaza as belligerently occupied territory (see, e.g., here.) I cannot find a single public statement of the ICRC that acknowledges that Gaza is not actually belligerently occupied by Israel, but rather that Israel is bound by some laws of occupation under the "functional" theory even though Gaza is not occupied. Even Mr. Schaerer's fails to acknowledge this openly in his "clarification." Instead, Schaerer's characterizes the ICRC position in a disingenuous manner. Schaerer claims that the ICRC restricts itself to asserting that "Israel ... remains bound by obligations under the law of occupation within the territorial and functional limits of the competences it has retained." This is, of course, a flat-out lie. The ICRC continues to assert that Israel is bound by the law of occupation well beyond any "functional limits of the competences [Israel] has retained." For instance, the ICRC continues to blame Israel for the failures of Hamas' health care system in Gaza, the lack of variety of goods exported from Egypt to Gaza, and numerous other "competences" that have nothing to do with Israel.

 Second, not only does Mr. Schaerer refuse to acknowledge the nature of the new theory he is advancing, he pretends that it is existing and well-known international law. The disingenuousness of Mr. Schaerer's claims on this score can be seen by looking at his citation of an article by an ICRC advisor that Mr. Schaerer claims supports the bizarre anti-Israel theory used by the ICRC. The article is written by a senior legal advisor at the ICRC, so it naturally attempts to support the ICRC's position. But ironically, the article does little more than show just how baseless the ICRC's anti-Israel position is. Mr. Schaerer claims the article shows that "[w]here there is control there is responsibility" and Israel has "control" according to the ICRC, and it must therefore have responsibility. But the article actually says quite the opposite. According to the article, the general understanding of international law when not distorted to attack the Jewish state is that a state only has control if three ingredients are present at the same time: (1) the armed forces of the occupying state are physically present in a foreign territory without the consent of the local government; (2) the effective local government has been or can be rendered substantially incapable of exerting its powers by virtue of the foreign forces' unconsented-to presence; and (3) the foreign forces are in a position to exercise authority over the territory concerned (or parts thereof) in lieu of the local government. As it happens, exactly ZERO of these ingredients are present in Gaza. In other words, the article cited as authoritative by Schaerer shows just the opposite of what he claims.

 Of course, the article is produced by an ICRC lackey, and it attempts to fabricate a new legal theory that can justify the ICRC's position against the Jewish state. Thus the article offers for unnamed "specific and exceptional cases" the "functional theory" that Mr. Schaerer uses to try to impose legal duties on Israel to support Hamas's rule in Gaza. But the article does not even try to claim that there has ever been such a specific and exceptional case in recorded history. In fact, the article introduces its discussion of the "functional theory" by contrasting it with existing law, making it clear that even the article's author cannot seriously claim that the ICRC's anti-Israel position reflects international law as it currently stands. Instead, the article offers the "functional theory" as an innovation for which the article cites not a single legal authority nor any legal precedent.

 However, I should acknowledge that Mr. Schaerer is right in saying that it is "facile" to accuse the ICRC of hypocrisy. We do not have any clear evidence of the ICRC officials' motivation in distorting legal standards to create a uniquely harsh anti-Israel standard. The only things that can be clearly demonstrated are that the ICRC is using a harsher standard against Jewish state than it has used against any other country in recorded history, that its anti-Israel standard has no basis in international law as it is currently understood and applied, and that ICRC employees advocate the ICRC's anti-Israel position by means of falsehoods and disingenuous argumentation. Until an ICRC employee is willing to be more forthcoming, the reasons for the ICRC's bias against the world's only Jewish state will remain a mystery.
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