| Too bad! Jordanian murderer of schoolgirls ends hunger strike Posted: 21 Mar 2014 03:00 PM PDT Last week, trying to take advantage of the uproar after Israel killed a Palestinian Jordanian judge at the Allenby bridge, a Jordanian who murdered seven Israeli schoolgirls started a hunger strike to pressure Israel to release him. He was even refusing his medication. Unfortunately, he has ended the strike after less than a week rather than seeing it through to the end. A Jordanian soldier jailed for life for the murder of seven Israeli schoolgirls, who had been on a hunger strike for five days, was hospitalised Wednesday after his health deteriorated, police said.
"Ahmad Dakamseh is currently being hospitalised after his health deteriorated because he had been refusing to eat or take medicine since Friday," a statement said.
"He ended his hunger strike in hospital and is currently receiving all necessary care."
On March 10, Israeli soldiers killed Jordanian Judge Raed Zeiter in a scuffle at the Allenby Bridge border crossing, prompting Jordanian MPs to demand that Dakamseh be freed.
But the government refused, and Dakamseh began his hunger strike.
Israel, which said Zeiter had attacked the soldiers and tried to steal one of their weapons, expressed regret over the shooting but stopped short of apologising.
In 1997, Dakamseh opened fire on a group of Israeli schoolgirls as they visited Baqura, a scenic peninsula on the Jordan River near the Israeli border.
He killed seven of the girls and wounded five more, as well as a teacher. He was taking medicine for high blood pressure and diabetes, according to his son.It really is a shame.  |
| 03/21 Links Pt2: No, you shouldn’t visit Arafat’s grave; Oxfam posts Cynthia McKinney webpage Posted: 21 Mar 2014 01:00 PM PDT From Ian:
No, you shouldn't have visited Arafat's graveI highly doubt though that the PA officials you met with spoke about the town squares throughout the PA named after suicide bombers. I also doubt they gave you a glimpse into the PA's official educational system or media which daily incites against the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
I'll save what was missing from your visit for another discussion, and give you time to explore that reality here.
But back to the Arafat smiley.
The bottom line is whether you like it or not, whether it was your intention or not – a smiling group photo at the grave of someone who led a life of pure terror, murder, and evil, DOES in fact honor his memory, and does serve as a statement of approval. Sponsors of Harvard Arafat Grave Visit Attack TruthRevoltBarry Shrage, President of Boston's Combined Jewish Philanthropies, sent a letter to his Board of Directors and Past Board Members harshly condemning the coverage of Harvard Israel Trek 2014's visit to Yasser Arafat's grave. Instead of speaking out against the visit, Shrage elected to attack and bully members of the pro-Israel community who were outraged by the photo, labeling them "ideologically motivated bloggers" and "at the extreme edge of the Jewish community."
Shrage then provided a link to a student response that was posted on The Times of Israel under the title "Photo Distorts Purpose and Impact of Harvard Israel 'Trek.' The original title of the article was "No apologies for visiting Arafat's grave" though it was later changed to "Yes, we visited Arafat's grave." The URL of the website still reads http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/no-apologies-for-visiting-arafats-grave/
Missing from the statement is a condemnation of the group visit and photo by Arafat's tombstone. Arafat was responsible for the murder of thousands of people, with a special focus on Jews. J Street U Attacks David Horowitz Freedom CenterJ Street U Penn attacked the Hillel of Greater Philadelphia (HGP), The J Street Challenge and The David Horowitz Freedom Center. After explaining how they felt attacked by the movie and Hillel of Greater Philadelphia's sponsorship of the film, J Street U Penn attempted to challenge HGP's co-sponsors:
Ironically, J Street U has come under heavy fire for its association with numerous anti-Israel and anti-Semitic groups:
J Street U Jerusalem hosted an event with an anti-IDF group and the group's lead speaker equated the IDF with Palestinian suicide bombers.
J Street U Tufts sponsored an event with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The SJP chapter at Northeastern University was so extreme and anti-Semitic that they were suspended by the university.
J Street U takes its students to the grave of terrorist Yasser Arafat.
J Street U students clapped for the "right of return" at their conference. Oxfam posts Cynthia McKinney webpageThe international food aid organization Oxfam, recently the subject of controversy for its condemnation of Scarlett Johansson's appearance in a SodaStream advertisement, has a page on its website devoted to promoting Cynthia McKinney.
The page, which is headlined "Ms. McKinney is one of those old school social activists that sorely seems absent today", defends McKinney's "9/11 Truth" views, repeating her charge that President Bush knew in advance about the 9/11 attacks, and says she was driven from office for saying this. It goes on to state that President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair were convicted of war crimes by a people's tribunal conducted in Malaysia by a group headed by former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, of whom the statement says that McKinney is a follower and supporter. It also praises McKinney's support for the regime of Muammar Gaddafi, and condemns what it describes as "the U.S./NATO/Israel aggression against the Arab Jamahiriya state". Daniel Gordis: A dose of nuanceA few weeks ago, Jeremy Ben- Ami of J Street and I debated each other in Atlanta. It was labeled a "conversation," but it was really a debate.
So, for a good portion of the time, I laid out my case for why Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas will not make a deal. He'll never give up on the right of return. His refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state is a symptom of the sad fact that the Palestinians hate Israel (and let's be honest, the Jews, too) far more than they care about themselves.
There's the problem of Hamas and Gaza, and Abbas's worry about Hamas potentially taking over. There's the unpleasant fact that even if Abbas did agree, what happens when he or his successor is overthrown? What happens when Ramallah turns into Tahrir Square? Where will we be then? Nothing new in all these arguments – just a summary of what most people who think already know.
And then I sat down.
Then it was Ben-Ami's turn to respond, and he made the most important comment of the entire evening. "I just find that so depressing," he said. In not so many words, he was just saying that he cannot accept a world in which the options are so bleak – so he chooses to believe that there is a way out.
Because my view is depressing, it must be wrong. Israeli Christian Leaders Call Out EU Hypocrisy on Persecution of Mideast ChristiansA new coalition of Israeli Christian leaders called the "Israeli Christian Lobby" has sent a letter to the head of the European Union's delegation to Israel, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, expressing their frustration with the EU's "hypocrisy" on the issue of the ethnic cleansing of Middle Eastern Christians.
"The slaughter, persecution, discrimination, apartheid, the ethnic cleansing, and all the crimes committed against the Indigenous Aramaic & Christians of the Middle East, in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Gaza, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, among others, and continue to be committed without any intervention of the Western countries," the letter says.
"We are turning to you as someone who represents a Western country, which engraved the values of human and citizens' rights on its flag. Get up and take action," it adds. French minister: anti-Zionism is new anti-SemitismFrench Interior Minister Manuel Valls called anti-Zionism "an invitation to anti-Semitism" at a rally in Paris commemorating four Jews who were murdered in Toulouse in 2012.
Valls made the statement during a speech on Wednesday – the two-year anniversary of the murder at a local Jewish day school of Rabbi Jonathan Sandler; his two sons, Arieh, 6, and Gabriel, 3; and Miriam Monsenego, 8.
The old anti-Semitism of the French extreme right, Valls said, "is renewed: It feeds off hate for Israel. It feeds off anti-Zionism. Because anti-Zionism is an invitation to anti-Semitism." Galloway Lies: 'I Didn't Refuse to Share a Stage With an Israeli'The incident is not the first time that Galloway has been caught lying publicly. In August last year, he was caught lying to the House of Commons after being confronted over his comments that Israel was supplying Al Qaeda with chemical weapons in Syria. He made the comments on his Iranian state-funded TV programme on Press TV.
Eylon Aslan-Levy, the Israeli student who Galloway walked out on last year told Breitbart London: "Why has Galloway not learnt his lesson, after being caught lying to Parliament, that both his bigotry and subsequent mendacity are bound to be caught on camera?"
In a statement released yesterday, even the LSE's Palestine Society slammed the appearance, stating: "LSESU Palestine Society does NOT support George Galloway's lecture on campus. Between his rape and sexual assault apologia, his admiration of dictator Saddam Hussein, and his anti-Israeli comments; his presence on campus would bring more harm than good and legitimate him despite his hugely problematic stances." The ISM: A Tale of Two VillagesJust as the village of Itamar joined together in support of the surviving Fogel children, the nearby Palestinian village of Awata joined to together to protect their murderers, who were praised as" heroes"
Suspected accomplices were arrested including Salah Aladin Salim Awad, 31, a PFLP member and Hakim's uncle. He helped the suspects cover their tracks after the killings, telling them to burn their blood-soaked clothes and sending the firearms they stole from Itamar to a friend in Ramallah. Jad Avid, 31, from Ramallah, hid the firearms after receiving them from Salah Awad. He was arrested in his home and the firearms were seized by the IDF. Maazan Niad Awad, 43, from Awarta, is Hakim's father and a PFLP member. Mahmed Saeed Awad, 26, is a PFLP member in Awarta who helped plan the Itamar attacks. MEMRI: Egyptian Columnist: Egypt Should Sue Israel For The Ten Plagues, Turkey For The Ottoman Occupation, France For The Napoleonic Invasion, And Britain For Colonialism (apparently not satire)In a March 11, 2014 article in the Egyptian daily Al-Yawm Al-Sabi', Egyptian columnist Ahmad Al-Gamal, who also writes for Al-Ahram and Al-Masri Al-Yawm, advocated suing Israel, Turkey, Britain, and France for damages they caused Egypt from biblical times until the 20th century. Israel, he said, should be sued for the damage caused by the Ten Plagues and for the precious materials used by the Israelites to build the Holy Tabernacle in the desert, and Turkey should pay damages for invading Egypt in the Ottoman period, for drafting Egyptian artisans to build projects in Istanbul, for stealing antiquities, manuscripts, and books, and for plotting with the Zionists against Egypt during the 1950s and 1960s. As for France, it must pay compensation for Napoleon's invasion at the close of the 18th century and for the 1956 Suez Campaign, and Britain must pay for 72 years of occupation, during which Egypt was subjected to theft and robbery. Don't Insult My Life's Work By Calling Israeli Policies 'Genocide' By Adolf Hitler (satire)I'm as anti-Jew as the next Nazi, but stop saying Israel commits genocide against the Palestinians. Calling anything Israel does to the Palestinians "genocide" is a slap in the face to those of us who devoted years of our lives and our entire political careers to actual genocide.
I'm tired of hearing that canard. We murderous despots know a genocide when we see one, and the Israeli occupation just isn't it. Where are the mass killing sites where people are forced to dig their own graves, then mowed down by machine gun fire? Where are the battalions of paramilitary police dedicated to methodically erasing community after community? The gas chambers? The crematoria? If this is genocide, it's the single most unsuccessful attempt at one the world has ever seen. What sort of attempt at ethnic cleansing results in a population increase among the victims? (h/t Mightier than the Pen) The great apartheid lieJoseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda in Adolf Hitler's Nazi government, infamously said: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it." These words best capture the efforts of the anti-Israel activists who routinely accuse the Jewish state of perpetrating apartheid policies against Palestinians.
Over the years, these glorified propagandists have relentlessly repeated the great apartheid lie across multiple platforms. One of the most pernicious of these is the so-called "Israel Apartheid Week," which took place during the past two weeks, and which whips up hate across campuses and cities throughout the world, as the Israel apartheid lie is repeated again and again.
Indeed, the lie has now been repeated so many times, that, as Goebbels predicted, people who are otherwise decent and well-intentioned are starting to believe it. UN's Falk accuses Israel of ethnic cleansingA UN rights expert who probes Israel's conduct towards Palestinians on Friday accused the Jewish state of a campaign of ethnic cleansing and apartheid policies.
"The realities on the ground are worsening from the point of view of both international law and from the point of view of the Palestinian people," Richard Falk, an 82-year-old American who is an emeritus law professor at Princeton University, told reporters. UN rights council plans BDS assault on Israel, but Israeli diplomats are on strikeWhile Israeli diplomats remain on strike, the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council is planning to launch a massive attack on the Jewish state next week in a series of five resolutions that — expressly citing controversial UN official Richard Falk — include new accusations of racism, along with calls to impose "international criminal liability" on businesses with indirect links amounting to "corporate complicity in breaches of international law related to illegal settlements."
The following draft resolutions, drafted by Syria and the Palestinian Authority, are scheduled to be adopted on March 27-28, at the end of 25th session of the Human Rights Council: Say NO to Modern Language Association's Academic Discrimination Against IsraelA disturbing recent development has been that a few faculty associations have voted for academic boycotts of Israel or passed resolutions critical of the Jewish state.
Last January, the Delegate Assembly of the Modern Language Association (MLA) passed a resolution unfairly criticizing Israel. Now, the full MLA membership is supposed to vote on the resolution in a process that goes from April 21 to June 1.
Fortunately, some faculty members have mobilized in a group, MLA Members for Scholars' Rights, to fight back. Their letter and petition are below.
*Only MLA members can vote. But if you know any MLA members, or have contacts with people who do, please forward the statement below to them and encourage them to vote against the resolution. Wiesenthal Center Denounces Loyola University Vote Endorsing Anti-Israel Boycott"Let's be clear. This is not a vote for peace, nor is it about justice," Associate Dean, Rabbi Abraham Cooper told The Algemeiner in an email on Thursday. "This vote fits neatly in the ongoing international campaign to demonize and delegitimize Israel. It applies a hypocritical and anti-Semitic double standard that singles out only Israel for blame and punishment, without improving the life of a single Palestinian." British Architects Make A BDS Move'Former RIBA president Angela Brady's motion, calling for the suspension of Israeli professional body from the International Architects Union (IAU), has been approved
The motion against the Israeli Association of United Architects (IAUA), which was tabled at RIBA Council yesterday (19 March), was carried by 23 votes in favour, with 16 against and 10 abstentions.
The move had already received the backing of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) last week, but had come under fire from members from Constructive Dialogue who claimed it was 'misguided and one-sided' .... Guardian Headline Fail Over Golan Heights AttackSpot the difference? While the Daily Telegraph's headline makes it clear that Israel was responding to an attack on its troops, The Guardian's does little to dispel the impression that Israel simply carried out an act of aggression.
In addition, the use of the word "Syrians" implies actual human beings were the targets of the Israeli action, making no distinction between civilians and military personnel. In any case, The Guardian headline misleads on this point as the actual targets were military facilities i.e. structures and not people.
Yet another headline fail from The Guardian. Japan PM to visit Anne Frank house following vandalismJapanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to visit the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam this weekend, an official said Thursday, after a man was arrested for vandalizing copies of her diary in Tokyo libraries.
Abe is scheduled to call at her former hideout on Sunday on the sidelines of a nuclear-security summit and a Group of Seven meeting on the crisis in Ukraine, the foreign ministry official said.
"Prime Minister Abe is expected to convey a message about Japan's pledge not to fight a war again but to pursue peace," the official said. Beyonce and Jay Z Visit the Anne Frank HouseBeyonce and Jay Z visited the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam today, where according to museum staff they spent more than an hour. Beyonce, fresh off last night's performance at Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome (she heads to Antwerp tonight), posted two photographs on Instagram posing near images of the young diarist.
She also left a note in the visitor's log, which was hopefully better than the one Justin Bieber wrote. Lenny Kravitz's Jewish Uncle HonoredPrivate First Class Leonard M. Kravitz awarded posthumous Medal of Honor
There was a famous face in the crowd when President Obama awarded 24 long overdue Medals of Honor—many of them posthumous—to Jewish and Hispanic veterans this week. Rocker Lenny Kravitz attended the ceremony, at which his uncle, Leonard M. Kravitz, after whom he was named, was honored posthumously for his service in the Korean War.
Private First Class Leonard M. Kravitz was one of several Jewish veterans honored at Tuesday's ceremony, decades after their service, following a more than 10-year congressional review of veterans whose ethnicities likely caused their wartime contributions to be overlooked for the nation's highest honor. Kravitz, who was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. in 1931, died in 1951 while serving in the Korean War, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation's second-highest honor. Israeli Company Creating Drinking Water Out of Thin Air Now Used by Seven Armies (VIDEO)Water-Gen's solar or electric-powered water generators, which can sit on the ground or in vehicles such as tanks, produce between 10 and 20 gallons of fresh, cold, drinking water per day. The Tel Aviv-based company originally designed the generating unit for hydrating troops in extreme combat situations.
The generating process begins with an air filtering unit facing outside that extracts humidity from the air and works like an air dehumidifier to remove toxins from the moist air. The clean air then enters GENius, the company's unique heat exchanging system that produces water from the humidity. The water collects at the bottom of the unit and fills up water tanks before flowing to a tap. Israeli Venture Capitalist: 'Under the Hood,' Many Major Tech Advances Started Life in IsraelIsraeli venture capitalist Jon Medved told Charlie Rose in a recent interview that behind the progress of many of the world's tech giants, such as Google and Microsoft, is the blue and white of Israeli innovation.
"A lot of the technology you see coming out of Google and Microsoft, Intel and Cisco, actually started its life in Israel," said Medved, CEO of OurCrowd, a funding platform for investors to back Israeli start-ups.
Medved called Israel's high tech sector "remarkable" and explained that "under the hood," many of the world's advances in technology originate in Israel. Kenyan sets new Jerusalem Marathon recordCrossing the finish line two hours and sixteen minutes after starting, Kenyan Ronald Kimeli Kurgat became the fastest ever person to run the Jerusalem Marathon Friday.
Kurgat finished at 2:16:06, setting a new course record and beating last year's winner — and former record setter – Ethiopian Abraham Kabeto Katale by nearly four minutes.
Katale finished the course at 2:16:29 in 2013. Left for Dead in a Terror Attack, Now She's Running the MarathonOne winter's day in 2011, Kay Wilson's life would change forever.
On a hike with her friend Kristine Luken in the Mata forest, near the city of Beit Shemesh, the two were subjected to a brutal attack by two Arab terrorists, Aiad Fatfata and Kifah Ghanimat. The savage ordeal left Kristine dead, and Kay fighting for her life - spared the same fate only by playing dead despite the excruciating pain.
But now, just three years on, Kay is taking part in today's Jerusalem Marathon - a physical and emotional journey she hopes will serve as an inspiration to others. Tel Aviv Attempts to Set Guinness World Record for Largest Shabbat Dinner With 1,000 Jews (INTERVIEW)The city of Tel Aviv will host a Shabbat dinner that is expected to set a Guinness-certified world record for the largest Shabbat dinner in modern history if 1,000 Jews attend the Friday night event in June, to be held at Hangar 11, in the Tel Aviv Port.
The event will be hosted by Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, Israel's former chief rabbi, and other leading figures in Tel Aviv life. It is being sponsored by City of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Hangar 11, Golan Heights Winery, NakedSea Salt, and UK Toremet, plus public donations to raise the $25,000 needed to cover the cost of the meal. The dinner is free for all attendees.  |
| EU to build desalination plant in Gaza. Guess who is opposed? Posted: 21 Mar 2014 11:00 AM PDT AFP reports: The European Union and UNICEF launched a project Thursday to build a desalination plant in the Gaza Strip to provide 75,000 Palestinians with drinking water.
A joint statement said the project will be implemented by UNICEF thanks to a 10-million-euro ($13.7-million) EU grant.
Just 5.8 percent of Gaza households have good quality water because of increased salinity caused by sewage infiltration of groundwater, according to a statement released Thursday by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of World Water Day on Saturday.
"Access to clean water is a fundamental human right for all. And yet many Gazans face acute water shortages on a day-to-day basis," EU representative John Gatt-Rutter said as the first stone was laid for the project.
"Others can only access water of very poor quality," he added, saying the new plant "offers the prospect of access to clean water for many thousands of families".
The plant at Deir al-Balah in the center of the territory is expected to become operational in 2015, and will supply fresh water to 75,000 people in Khan Yunis and Rafah in the south. Who could possibly be against this? Well, a lot of organizations, actually - and all of them pretend that they care about Palestinian Arabs! A couple of years ago, when UNICEF put out the bids for the desalination equipment, Gaza unions said they would boycott UNICEF if it allowed Israeli companies to bid on the project. It is unclear if UNICEF caved to their demands, but it shows that politics is more important than public health for Gaza unions. But they are not alone. As AIJAC pointed out recently, an entire consortium of Palestinian Arab NGOs have come out against the concept of desalination in Gaza.Yes, you've read that right. The consortium, EWASH, wrote: ...The undersigned organizations would like to voice their concerns regarding the implications of seawater desalination for Gaza as well as the challenges facing it:
1. Perpetuating the status quo while accommodating the occupation...
2. Increasing the isolation of Gaza whilst enabling Israel to ignore its obligations...
3. Increasing the vulnerability of the civilian population of Gaza...
4. Desalination plant requires significant amounts of electricity which Gaza does not have...
5. Seawater desalination plant is environmentally unsustainable, which will further deteriorate the already deplorable environmental situation in Gaza...
6. Further sustainable and right-based alternative solutions exist... The "right" they are demanding is for Israel to provide the water to Gaza at a discount. Isn't it fascinating that "pro-Palestinian" organizations are asking for Gaza to be more dependent on Israel, rather than more independent? Instead of adding new freshwater to a region that is already in crisis, they want Israel to redistribute the water it has - to its own detriment. And who are these brilliant NGOs who don't want Gaza to have new sources of fresh drinking water? Endorsing organizations:
EWASH members:
1. DanChurchAid
2. Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ)
3. Polish Humanitarian Action
4. Institute of Environmental and Water Studies - Birzeit University
5. Near East Council of Churches-Jerusalem
6. Middle East Children's Alliance
7. Palestinian Environment NGO Network (PENGON)
8. We Effect – Swedish Cooperative Centre
9. MAAN Development Centre
10. House for Water and Environment (HWE)
11. Palestinian Wastewater Engineers Group (PalWEG)
12. Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC)
Other civil society organizations:
13. Al-Mezan Centre for Human Rights
14. The Palestinian Centre for Human rights
15. Media Environmental Centre
16. Palestinian Farmers Union (PFU)
17. Earth and Human Centre for Research and Studies (EHCRS)
18. Palestinian Farmers Association
19. Land Research Centre
20. Institute for water and environment – Al-Azhar University
21. Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UWAC)
22. Palestinian Environment Friends (PEF)
23. Arab Centre for Agricultural Development Keep this list in mind, because these orgsnizations - including so-called "human rights" organizations - are so obsessed with hurting Israel that they are willing to increase the suffering of Gazans to accomplish it.  |
| 03/21 Links Pt1: IDF Discovers Another Massive Terror Tunnel; 1,700 Hamas Millionaires in Gaza Posted: 21 Mar 2014 09:00 AM PDT From Ian:
Sarah Honig: Kerry's cogent connectionsIt's, therefore, inherently dishonest to deny that the feud is and always was about the creation and continued existence of the Jewish state.
That's why it still massively matters that the Palestinians, whose raison d'être remains to replace us and extinguish Jewish sovereignty by one means or another, recognize the Jewish right to statehood in the Land of Israel. That would translate to desisting from the continuous campaign to extinguish Jewish sovereignty by one means or another.
The Palestinians and the entire Arab/Muslim realm demand strategic sacrifices of Israel that plainly jeopardize its survival prospects. What Israel demands in return is that the war against it cease. That can only happen when the initial pretext for the war is retracted. Since Israel was attacked because the very notion of a Jewish state was anathema to its Arab neighbors, then discontinuing the state of war must start with recognition of the legitimacy of a Jewish state. Sarah Honig: Syria's lingering hellAs the Syrian inferno keeps combusting and incinerating itself, it also sends messages of paramount existential importance to Israel – messages that we cannot afford to ignore if we want to live.
If this is the gruesome way Arabs treat each other, what would they unleash on the Jews whom all of them had been brainwashed to abhor?
If, furthermore, there's no distinct or remotely cohesive Syrian nationality, then all the more so there's no distinctive or remotely cohesive Palestinian nationality. The conflagration that mercilessly consumes Syria could just as likely consume the Palestinian state for which the international community hoarsely clamors. Jihadist imports with nothing to lose would just as frenziedly turn Judea and Samaria into killing fields, should we yield them.
At that point, unbridled chaos would literally reign directly and dangerously next door and inevitably impact us day to day. IDF says it exposed massive Gazan 'terror tunnel'IDF Soldiers Unveil Terror Tunnel in Gaza Once Again
The Israeli military announced on Friday that it had uncovered a tunnel from Gaza into Israel meant for carrying out a terror attack, and rejected a Hamas claim that the find was an old tunnel.
IDF officials said the tunnel, uncovered on Tuesday, reached hundreds of meters inside Israel, "near civilian communities," and went as deep as dozens of meters underground.
An IDF official said the tunnel was one of the largest, if not the largest, yet discovered, adding that the army still did not know how far it went.
"This advanced tunnel was intended to pose a direct link and threat to Israeli territory, and enable Hamas terrorists to reach and harm Israeli civilians," IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said in a statement. (h/t Yenta Press ) Iran's Khamenei 'uncertain' if Holocaust occurredA day after Israeli and US leaders sent conciliatory messages to Tehran in honor of the Nowruz new year's holiday, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei marked the event by questioning the Holocaust and vowing to overcome US-led sanctions.
Speaking at Mashhad, in northeastern Iran, Khamenei also intimated that Israeli Palestinian peace talks were a US-Israeli plot to cleanse "Palestine" of Muslims and Christians.
"The Holocaust is an event whose reality is uncertain and if it has happened, it's uncertain how it has happened," Khamenei said during his address, according to a Twitter account under his name thought to be run by his office. (h/t MtTB) Khaled Abu Toameh: Abbas: I Am a Hero. I Said No to ObamaAbbas's rejection of the U.S. proposals is also attributed to the severe crisis within Fatah.
If in the past Abbas was afraid of Hamas's response to the signing of a peace agreement with Israel, it is now clear that he also has good reason to fear the reaction of top Fatah officials to any move he makes concerning the peace process.
All Abbas can do for now is continue to ask his public servants and schoolchildren to take to the streets and chant slogans in his support. These rallies are intended to send a message not only to Obama and Kerry, but also to Abbas's rivals in Fatah. Kerry's framework declaration is a bad ideaThe framework for Israeli-Palestinian peace that US Secretary of State John Kerry seeks to promulgate sounds an awful lot like the "shelf agreement" concept of 2008. Then, as now, conceptual agreements have proven to be a disincentive, not an incentive, to Palestinian political maturation and moderation. They create a situation where Israel ends up negotiating against itself with a phantom Palestinian partner.
Let's go back into the peace process archives, and remind ourselves: In 2008, then-US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice discovered that Palestinian leaders (then, as now, Mahmoud Abbas and coterie) were completely unable to deliver on any of their obligations under the celebrated road map – which outlined a cautious and logical step-by-step approach to peace.
So instead of focusing on the messy here and now, Rice hit on the idea of turning to the future. She sought to advance a shelf agreement for Israeli-Palestinian peace. The newfangled idea was to give the Palestinians a clear picture of the big prize awaiting them in the future; what Rice called a political horizon. Has Mahmoud Abbas Really Accepted the Clinton Parameters on the Refugee Problem?Abbas' position on the refugee issue is not consistent with the Clinton Parameters. Abbas in no way restricts the "right of return" to the state of Israel for the refugees and their descendants (now numbering five to seven million people according to the Palestinians), except according to the choice of the refugees themselves.
The Clinton Parameters, in contrast, explicitly state that the Palestinian refugees' settlement in Israel would require a sovereign Israeli decision, and must accord with the principle that Palestine is the Palestinian homeland and Israel is the Jewish homeland.
Abbas' claim that the Palestinians have accepted the Clinton Parameters contradicts the position he presented on the implementation of the "right of return," which shows that he and the Palestinian leadership adhere to the view that this "right" is personal and inalienable. In other words, it is a means to destroy Israel by altering the demographic balance and forcing the evacuation of millions of Jews so that Palestinians can be settled in their place. Israeli official suggests Palestinians celebrating failure of peace talksAbbas told thousands of Palestinians at a rally in his Mukata headquarters that in his meeting on Monday with US President Barack Obama, "I have honored my pledge and kept my promise," the Wafa news agency reported.
One Israeli government source responded to the rally by saying it was reminiscent of Yasser Arafat's return from Camp David in 2000, when it appeared that the Palestinians were celebrating the failure of peace talks. The second intifada broke out shortly thereafter.
"If the Palestinians celebrate rejectionism, they're closing the door to Palestinian statehood, because the only way to achieve a Palestinian state is through negotiations and agreement with Israel," the official said. "A rejectionist position makes Palestinian statehood impossible, and in maintaining such a position ultimately the Palestinians are only hurting themselves." EU Pressuring Israel to Release Long-Term Terrorist PrisonersAn EU parliamentary delegation on Thursday urged Israel to release long-term Arab terrorists, saying it was crucial to move a fragile Middle East peace process forward.
"We believe that the release of prisoners... is central to the peace process," said Emer Costello, who headed the EU delegation on a three-day fact-finding mission on Palestinian Arab prisoners held in Israeli jails.
"I think there is an acceptance on both sides, even with the members of the Knesset that we met, (of the) importance of the prisoner issue," Costello said. Security Council Rejects Petition on Syria War Crimes: 'No Mention of Israeli Atrocities' (satire)The United Nations Commissioner for Refugees, Navi Pillay, lamented the lack of UN action on the issue of Syrian refugees, numbering two million already, in addition to millions more displaced within the country. "But I can't really blame the Security Council for this one," she explained. "Since it's not Israel driving these people from their homes, who can be expected to care? It's not as if actual concern for human lives has ever been the driving force behind Security Council resolutions."
At press time, the Shiite Hezbollah movement in Lebanon, allied with Assad, had announced that it was prepared to start another war with Israel so the international community might do something. "Plus, we'd get to launch all these cool rockets into Israel," said Hassan Nasrallah, the movement's leader.(h/t Mightier than the Pen) U.S., Britain Call to Investigate Iranian Weapons ShipThe United States and Britain on Thursday called for a UN investigation of Israel's interception of an Iranian shipment of rockets headed for Gaza, according to The Associated Press (AP).
UN officials have said that if Israel's claims are true, Iran would be in violation of Security Council sanctions. Palestinian Authority Arabs Attack School Bus with FirebombPalestinian Authority Arab hurled firebombs and rocks at Israeli civilians and soldiers in at least two different locations in Samaria Thursday, causing light injuries to a soldier.
The firebomb attack narrowly missed a school bus that was on its way from Itamar, in northern Samaria, to Kedumim to the west. The Molotov cocktail exploded in front of the bus on the highway, and the bus driver slammed on the brakes and managed to avoid running into the flames. Arab MK Who Aided Hezbollah Forced To Flee AgainFormer MK Azmi Bishara, a founder of the Arab party Balad, fled Israel in 2007 after learning he was going to be arrested for aiding Hezbollah terrorists - and now he is unwanted in the Persian Gulf as well.
... Dubai's Deputy Police Commissioner Dahi Halfan on Monday demanded that Bishara leave the Persian Gulf and return to Israel, reports Yedioth Ahronoth. The former MK has been living in oil-rich Qatar, and working as a commentator for Al Jazeera.
Halfan accused Bishara of being involved in an "Israeli plot" to control the Gulf states, writing on Twitter, "Azmi Bishara. I'm a member of the security forces, and people in the Gulf don't want you anymore. Go back to the Israeli Knesset and tell them that their plot failed." Syria Documents: Nasrallah sent message to reassure Israel Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah sent an indirect message to Israel last year in which he described Lebanon's southern border as "the safest place in the world," seeking to reassure Tel Aviv that his Shi'a militia have no intention of taking any action against Israel, according to leaked documents seen by Asharq Al-Awsat.
In cooperation with the Masarat Center and the Wathaiq Dimashq [Damascus Documents] website, Asharq Al-Awsat has obtained a copy of the full transcript of a meeting between Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad and his Russian counterpart Mikhail Bogdanov on May 23, 2013, in which the Syrian side passed along Nasrallah's reassurances to Israel. Report: Hezbollah sources claim responsibility for Golan attackSources close to Hezbollah's leadership took responsibility for the bombing that injured four Israeli soldiers on the Golan border on Tuesday, telling an Arab newspaper that Hezbollah is "ready for war."
They told an Arab newspaper that Israel violated the rules of the game when it attacked Hezbollah on the Lebanese-Syrian border last month. Attorney Blocks Armed PA Police Convoy of 'Terrorists'A rare incident occurred Thursday, as an armed Palestinian Authority (PA) police convoy driving on Route 60, the main road connecting Hevron and Jerusalem, was stopped in its tracks by Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Ben-Gvir blocked the convoy with his car, having realized that it was in Area C, under full Israeli control. Ordering the PA police to stop, the attorney called up IDF soldiers standing nearby to help him, alerting them that convoy was illegally breaching treaties. Hamas Navy SEALs Revealed Following Death of Jihadist Commander (VIDEO)Hamas revealed its fledgling Navy SEALs special operations force in a video paying tribute to one of the terrorist organization's fallen military commanders, Israel's Channel 2 reported on Wednesday.
Hamas fighter Ibrahim al-Aloul was killed 10 days ago in a mysterious explosion in Gaza while hunkered down inside a building with several other terrorists, Channel 2 said.
At the time of his death, Hamas did not release any personal details about al-Aloul or any information about his role within the Jihadist organization. According to Hamas, al-Aloul was "killed during a training exercise," Channel 2 reported.
However, in the days following al-Aloul's death, rumors spread across Gaza-based social media networks that the Hamas henchman was in fact a commander in the group's hitherto unknown naval unit. 'There Are 1,700 Hamas Millionaires in Gaza'Fatah Spokesman Ahmad Assaf told Erem News that Hamas's attempts to influence Egypt's inner workings are "unacceptable," noting the ties between Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, both of which have been outlawed in the Nile state for their part in terror attacks.
Egypt has done more for the Palestinian Arabs than Hamas or the Muslim Brotherhood, who merely spew empty slogans and sell religion according to Assaf. Hamas on Tuesday criticized Egypt for closing the Gaza border with Sinai, calling it a "crime against humanity." The siege has led to power outages.
The Fatah spokesman claimed that while Gaza is one of the poorest places in the world, there are 1,700 millionaires among Hamas members, hinting that the terror group imposes steep taxes on its citizens for goods entering from Egypt and Israel, and that this money finds its way into Hamas officials' pockets. Jerusalem Urges U.S. to Deliver Terror-Fighting Apaches to EgyptIsraeli officials are urging the United States to release ten Apache helicopters for sale to the Egyptian army.
A high-ranking official in Jerusalem said Israel clarified that supplying the helicopters is crucial to Egypt's fight Against jihadist organizations in the Sinai, and will improve regional security.
Collaboration on security between Israel and Egypt has improved since Morsi's ouster. In recent months Israel has been intensely lobbying on behalf of Egypt's interim government. Israel tried to prevent the U.S. from suspending military aid to the Egyptian army; failing at that, now it's trying to persuade the government and Congress to resume the aid, so the helicopters deal can go through. Melanie Phillips: How the West was fooled by IranIt is now clear that the West will allow absolutely no evidence, however devastating, to prevent a deal being signed with Iran over its nuclear programme.
From the start, there has been a total dislocation of reality. The US, UK and EU fawned over Iran's new President Rouhani for ushering in a new dawn of reform — the same Rouhani who boasted of previously hoodwinking the US over Iran's nuclear programme. UN report blasts Iran for persecution of Christians, other religious minoritiesThe election last year of self-professed moderate President Hassan Rouhani has not brought Iran's Christians any relief, according to a new United Nations report which finds the Islamic Republic's Bible believers more persecuted than ever.
The detailed report finds Iran has continued to imprison Christians for their faith and designated house churches and evangelical Christians as "threats to national security." At least 49 Christians were among 307 religious minorities being held in Iranian jails as of January 2014, noted the UN, which also blasted the regime for its hostility to Jews, Baha'is, Zoroastrians and Dervish Muslims, the UN report stated. Iran Spending Medical Funds on Luxury CarsThe Iranian parliament's recent investigation into a scheme to import luxury cars instead of medicine threatens to erode the credibility of a leading pro-Iran lobbying group that has long claimed that economic sanctions are preventing access to medicine in Iran.
An investigation by Iranian lawmakers recently revealed that nearly $2 billion that had been allocated to the importation of medicine into Iran was actually spent on the purchase of luxury cars, according to Farsi and English reports.
While it had long been suspected that the Iranian government was squandering funds for medicine, pro-Tehran advocacy groups like the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) used the medicine shortage as a hook to claim that sanctions were causing the shortage. Iran Building Mock-Up of U.S. Nimitz-Class CarrierIran is building "a non-working mock-up" of a Nimitz-class carrier which U.S. officials believe will "be blown up for propaganda value.
According to The New York Times, satellite photos of the model show that "mock aircraft can even be seen on the deck" and "the Nimitz number 68 [is] neatly painted in white near the bow."
Officials say Iran's mock-up is "more like a barge than a warship" and "is only about two-thirds the length a typical 1,100-foot-long Navy carrier." It has "no nuclear propulsion system." Tape Suggests Turkey Supports TerrorFor the past several years, sectarian violence has escalated in Nigeria, and Islamist groups such as Boko Haram have conducted horrific massacres against Christian men, women, and children. Now, it seems, Turkey may have had something to do with that. The most recent leaked tapes record a conversation between an advisor to Erdoğan and the private secretary of the CEO of Turkish Airlines. The Turkish Airlines official, according to the tape, said that he does not feel comfortable with the (secret) weapons shipments to Nigeria, and he asks whether those weapons "are to kill Muslims or Christians." The context of the conversation suggests he worries only after the former instead of the latter. The prime minister's advisor, however, tries to assure him and says he will check with Hakan Fidan, the director of Turkish intelligence and get back to Turkish Airlines with an answer. Turkey's Erdogan blocks access to TwitterTurkey blocked access to Twitter on Friday after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to "rip out the roots" of the social network where links have proliferated to recordings that appear to incriminate him and other top officials in corruption.
Turkey in the past blocked access to YouTube, but it is the first ban on Twitter, which is hugely popular in the country and was instrumental in organizing flash protests against the government last year. Uproar over the recordings has damaged the government's reputation ahead of local elections this month. Islamic democracy: Corrupt and undemocraticWhen President Barack Obama portrayed prospering Turkey, ruled by sweet Islamists, as "a great Islamic democracy" in 2010, he was probably hoping that this strange democracy that comes with a religious prefix would serve a useful purpose: a glittering role model for the Arab countries that lagged behind even an Islamic democracy. Mr. Obama's mission impossible has failed – probably – for good.
The Arab Spring did not blossom (or fade) because of Turkey's Islamic democracy. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's short-lived popularity on the Arab Street was not because Arabs envied Turkey's Islamic democracy; but because they embraced his love affair with Hamas and accompanying hatred of Israel. None of which has sufficed to keep the Turkish model afloat.  |
| Work accident! Posted: 21 Mar 2014 07:00 AM PDT Hamas this morning announced yet another of their brave mujahadeen being blown to bits while "engaging in a jihad operation." Ibrahim Rafati died in an accidental explosion in Gaza City. He died, Hamas announced, "after a great career of jihad, and after hard work and jihad and sacrifice. We consider him a martyr." That last part is important, because otherwise Allah might have put Rafati in the "dumbass" category. Also, it was reported yesterday that two people were injured in Beit Hanoun when a rocket inexplicably crashed into their house. One was described as being in serious condition. Perhaps Gaza TV weather reports should add "40% chance of rockets falling from the sky today."  |
| Let us all gaze at and admire Iran's moderation Posted: 21 Mar 2014 05:00 AM PDT This morning, Iran's Supreme Leader tweeted: He unfortunately didn't have the space to add "And the Jews Zionists would have deserved it anyway." (h/t MtTB)  |
| The "human rights" activist who loves terrorism Posted: 21 Mar 2014 03:03 AM PDT One of the underlying principles of the "peace process" is that everyone is fundamentally decent and wants peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. The Palestinians are just like us and it is racist to suggest otherwise - they have the same dreams and hopes and aspirations and desires to live in a peaceful world. Here's an anecdote from this week that should cause one to think twice about this assumption. From "Dr. Ramy Abdu" on Facebook, March 18: This morning at 3:20am, Palestinian Security forces raided Human Rights defender Wasef Al-qadah's family home in Nablus and arrested him. From "Hanine Hs" on Facebook, March 18: Just woke up to the phone call that thugs from the Palestinian Authority security forces are raiding the home of friend and colleague واصف قدح Wasef Qadh, Lecturer at the Najah University in Nablus. There is no difference between the thugs of the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli occupying forces. Both are terrorists, applying arbitrary arrests on the freedoms to live and speak! Who is Wasef al-Qadah? Al-Qadah is a lecturer at An Najah University. He also works for the the NGO called the Euro-Mid Observer for Human Rights. He is getting married today. In other words, al-Qadah is an upstanding citizen, a role model for all, and a shining example of the type of person that Palestinian Arabs would look up to. Admittedly, the Euro-Mid observer is one of many NGOs whose entire existence (and funding) is dependent on them writing absurd anti-Israel reports. Last December they released a report blaming Israel for Gaza men abusing their wives. His name is listed as the registrar for their website. So why was this fine citizen arrested on the 18th by the equally decent Palestinian Arab security forces? Because this "human rights defender" is a supporter of Hamas, and the PA apparently didn't want him to participate in the funeral for a Hamas leader whose body was returned by Israel this week. Yes, there was a large funeral for Muhammad Hambali, a senior Hamas commander who was responsible for the deaths of at least 20 Israelis and who was killed in a shootout in Nablus in 2003. And "human rights defender" Wasef al-Qadah celebrated terrorist Hambali on his own Facebook page:In the parallel universe of the Palestinian Authority, a university lecturer and "human rights" leader can also be a supporter of a murderer and a terrorist. There is no contradiction. "Human rights" and killing Jews are one and the same.
Al-Qadah was released after the funeral.
It is not like Wasef al Qadah is unique in this respect. He is typical. In fact, he is a role model! Other Western-supported NGOs have openly embraced terror as "legitimate resistance" and there is barely a peep of protest except in rare cases when the funders are forced to make a statement about it. If you look through Palestinian Arab media and NGO statements this week to find a single voice condemning Hamas commander Muhammad Hambali and the adoration he received at his funeral, you will come up empty. In fact, you will find nothing but praise for this "hero." There can be no peace with people for whom this terror-supporting mindset is considered admirable. And it is way past time for Western analysts and pundits to wake up and understand this self-evident fact. (h/t Bob Knot)  |
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