Lebanese media says four arrest warrants issued against Shiite group members, including brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyah
British home secretary announces London launched urgent inquiry into how Islamic Movement leader entered UK despite travel ban, says he will be removed. Arab MKs urge British government to release Salah
Iran plans to send a live monkey into space next month, the latest advance in a missile and space program which has alarmed Israel and its western allies that fear the Islamic Republic is seeking nuclear weapons.
GPS mistakenly takes 28-year-old who headed to Ma'aleh Adumim to Arab village where he was pelted with stones, beaten by locals. Village leader rescues him
MK Shai: “Not speaking to the countries in the region in Arabic, English encourages the isolation of Israel and hostility toward the country.”
What's your mental image of prison. Breaking rocks, risky showers and listening to trains go by where rich folks are eating from a fancy dining car?
Forget all that. If you're a Muslim terrorist in Israeli prison, life is smartphones, salaries paid for by American taxpayers and access to your own Facebook fan page.
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Who's paying for it all? Actually you are.
Buying treats and luxury goods isn’t a challenge either. Every convicted Muslim terrorist receives a salary from the Palestinian Authority. Even members of Hamas. That money is provided by American and European taxpayers. As much as 10 percent of the Palestinian Authority’s budget is dedicated to paying the salaries of imprisoned terrorists
Those terrorists are dining out thanks to extra money paid to them by the Palestinian Authority which it gets as aid money from America and Europe.
The Obama Administration dramatically escalated aid to terrorists. In 2008, it provided 600 million dollars worth of assistance to the Palestinian Authority. In 2009, it pledged 900 million dollars. By 2010, the PA had pulled in almost 4 billion dollars from international donors, including the US.
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PA official claims Hamas sabotaging reconciliation at behest of Iranians; Hamas leaders say Abbas has succumbed to US, EU and Israeli pressure.
Hamas spokesman says the aid group should focus on ending the suffering of Palestinian prisoners instead of getting 'involved in Israeli security games' to reach the captured IDF soldier.
Iran's president says his country isn't afraid of making a nuclear weapon but doesn't intend to do so.
Iranian state television on Thursday quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying: "If we do want to make a bomb, we are not afraid of anybody."
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear programs are peaceful and meant only to generate power for a future nuclear reactor network.
But the U.N. Security Council has passed four sets of sanctions against Iran for refusing to freeze activities that could be used in a weapons program.
The U.N. says Iran also blocked an IAEA probe into allegations of secret experiments that could reflect attempts to develop an arms program.
US authorities emerge with YouTube campaign to fight phenomenon of illegal workers, depicting black-listed Israelis telling their tale. However some claim threats cannot hinder dream of fast cash
The prime minister tells cabinet that it's more important to 'preserve a solid Jewish majority inside the State of Israel' than holding land home to a Palestinian majority.
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"The debate over how many Jews and how many Palestinians will be between the Jordan and the sea is irrelevant," Netanyahu said. "It does not matter to me whether there are half a million more Palestinians or less because I have no wish to annex them into Israel. I want to separate from them so that they will not be Israeli citizens. I am interested that there be a solid Jewish majority inside the State of Israel. Inside its borders, as these will be defined," Netanyahu explained.
Sectarian rioting broke out in eastern Belfast late Monday, with leaders from both Catholic and Protestant communities reporting attacks on homes overnight.
Police reported Molotov cocktails were being thrown as a large crowd gathered on the streets that separate Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in the area, a longstanding Northern Ireland flash point. Ambulance services reported two people injured early Tuesday, and reporters attempting to cover the disturbances were threatened.
Syrian President Bashar Assad addressed his country Monday, expressing love, promising reforms and warning of a conspiracy while his troops block people from fleeing to Turkey.
Expressing the same paranoia of dictators who have been ousted or try to hang on to power in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen and other Muslim countries, Assad said Syria is confronted by one of a series of conspiracies that “are like germs which increase every moment.”
Assad did not refer to the refugees, thousands of whom already have fled the country. Instead, he used his speech to pound home accusations that the opposition is responsible for “hideous massacres,” the same charge he faces and which has been backed by countless videos that leaked across the borders.
“People get paid to send pictures and pretend they are from Syria,” Assad insisted. “What is happening today has nothing to do with reform. It is sabotage.”
A small, grassroots group of pro-Israel activists – Never Again Group (NAG) – has become a thorn in the side of the well-established Hamilton Jewish Federation. The Federation came out publicly in defense of what it believes is the right of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to host a virulently anti-Israel event at a local YWCA, and then it censured NAG for its efforts to stop it.
CJPME and Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) praised the federation for its stand in favour of the event, which took place at the beginning of April and promoted Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against the Jewish state.
In a column by Wade Hemsworth in the Hamilton Spectator, Gerry Fisher, federation executive director, defended the YWCA’s decision to host the program.
In an email blast on May 4, Federation President Larry Levin said, “The Hamilton Jewish Federation has called the current conflict between CJPME and a small, independent group of pro-Israel supporters to be unfortunate….
“Hamilton Jewish Federation believes in the principal that until CJPME’s message is found to be in violation of Canada’s anti-hate laws, they are entitled to deliver it, free from intimidation or abuse from anyone, regardless of how dishonest and repugnant their messages may be.
“The real victim in this conflict is the YWCA. Caught between two extremist views, YWCA has innocently been drawn into and possibly damaged by a conflict that has no place in Hamilton.
“We stand with the leadership of the YWCA, the United Way and all others of good will in Hamilton who expect more responsible behaviour from those who attempt to influence public opinion.”
Levin also said in his email blast that it is “counter-productive for public recriminations to be made against [the federation] by groups or individuals who disagree with the federation’s positions.”
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The horrific gas explosion in Netanya last night that claimed four lives is being covered by the Palestinian Arabic media - and the commenters are overjoyed.
From the pro-Fatah Palestine Press Agency we have "Allah is great" and "Prasie be to Allah."
At Firas Press Agency we see a person who wanted to repeat "Praise be to Allah" 9 times, plus someone who adds "Good news!" and another who called the victims "Jewish oppressors."
Syrian security forces fired on thousands of protesters Friday, killing a teenage boy and at least 15 other civilians as accounts emerged of more indiscriminate killing and summary executions by the autocratic regime of President Bashar Assad, activists said.
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The German judge who was in charge of an investigation on the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri says the Syrian regime ordered his assassination.
In an interview with a German radio station, Detlev Mehlis said Syrian President Bashar Assad "ordered Hariri killed" because he feared the premier was cooperating with France and the US in order to overturn the Syrian regime and disarm Hezbollah.
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Qassam rocket explodes in southern Israel after several attack-free weeks
A Qassam rocket exploded Thursday evening in an open field in the Eshkol Regional Council.
No injuries or damage were reported in the strike, the first of its kind in southern Israel in recent weeks.
Shortly before 9:30 pm, the Color Red rocket alert system was activated in region. A few moments later, an explosion was heard in the area.
Tens of thousands of excited Israelis and Americans, music performances, appearances by local and international celebrities, senior politicians and a live broadcast that will reach millions of viewers – this is just some of what is in store for Glenn Beck's upcoming rally "to restore courage," which is set to take place on August 24 in Jerusalem.
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The multi-million dollar production is expected to be attended by a convoy of American dignitaries, including former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. US Senator Joe Lieberman, a independent, and Republicans Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Mike Huckabee and Congresswoman Michelle Bachman are to join Beck at the rally as well.
Knesset to host meetup
Those hoping for a VIP ticket will be disappointed to find out that the 600 prime seating spots at the Davidson Center have all been sold out – for $5,000 a pop. The rest of the spectators will have to settle for a spot at the stadium, or at the Sultan's Pool archeological site. The main events will be broadcast on giant screens for a better view. The rally is open to the general public with free admission.
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* Where is Gilad Schalit? And why won’t Hamas let the Red Cross have access to him?
* Why is the money you receive from other countries being poured into weapons to kill innocent civilians in Israel, instead of being used to improve the quality of life of your citizens?
* Why has Hamas never cancelled the part of its charter that calls for the total annihilation of Israel? Why should Israel be expected to negotiate "peace" with Hamas on that background?
* Ever since 1948 a lot of Jews fled Arab countries and were welcomed and assimilated in Israel; yet the Palestinians were not particularly welcomed, and certainly not assimilated in Arab countries. How do you feel about this double standard?
* Why does Hamas treat women as second-class citizens?
* Do you believe that there exists a Jewish people with roots in the Holy Land? Shouldn’t they be allowed a state?
* Why does your Covenant advocate killing Jews, and your text books teach children to hate?
Deputy Inspector-General Jamal Hakroush on Wednesday became the first Muslim police officer to ascend to his rank in Israel. He was recently nominated to the office of deputy chief of the Traffic Department.
"It's a position I have been waiting for, and it offers many challenges," Hakroush told Ynet in an interview. "I am proud of Israel Police for choosing me based on my qualifications and nothing else."
There is nothing that says “expert on Middle Eastern conflict resolution” more than playing an alien on television. So, the consummate expert has penned a missive to Americans for Peace Now on how he sees an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Spock has spoken.
Leonard Nimoy has called for a two state solution for which, in deference, several notables (amongst them Israelis), have called. Nimoy does make a telling statement about the whole idea of two separate states.
“In fact, there is an end in sight. It’s known as the two-state solution – a secure, democratic Israel as the Jewish State alongside an independent Palestinian state.”
He does deserve some credit for seeing Israel as a Jewish state but, if you notice, there is only one democratic state mentioned here. It isn’t expected that another Muslim Arab state will be democratic. As a matter of fact, as always, Israel is expected to remain multicultural andrespect the rights of all its inhabitants, yet the proposed Arab state would, like all the other Arab states, not be open to Jews. Not that many Jews would like to live in an Arab state, considering the centuries of slaughter and pillage that have been the lot of Dhimmi Jews in Arab lands.
This is pretty par for the course, but what is even more egregious is his call for the division of Jerusalem.
“Their plan includes a Palestinian state alongside Israel with agreed-upon land swaps. The Palestinian-populated areas of Jerusalem would become the capital of Palestine; the Jewish-populated areas the capital of Israel.”
Free Gaza activist says Turkish participation desired, but not necessary, flotilla is about 'Gaza occupation' awareness, not humanitarian aid.
The Second Gaza Flotilla will set sail this month regardless of whether or not a Turkish NGO pulls its support, an organizer of the flotilla told the Jerusalem Post on Wednesday.
Speaking from Greece on Wednesday, Free Gaza movement member and International Solidarity Movement co-founder Adam Shapiro said "the Turkish participation is obviously something that we want to have as part of the overall flotilla but if tomorrow they decide to postpone [their participation] then we will continue."
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Hezbollah-led coalition has majority in new cabinet; PM Najib Mikati says new gov't committed to "liberating lands under Israeli occupation."
Senior economist says Hamas budget increased from $40 million in 2006 to
$500 million in 2010
A new position paper by the Peres Center for Peace released Thursday, stated that Israel's policies vis-Ã -vis Hamas have failed to damage Gaza-rulers' financial base.
The study suggests that Gaza's business sector now has a new élite, whose members are highly connected within the regime, and whose power-base relies on the booming "tunnels economy."
The Peres Center concludes that if Israel wants to undermine Hamas' financial base, it should allow more free trade via the Gaza crossing, allow Gazan businessmen entry to Israel and subject any trade limitations to "pure security considerations."
Police forces burst onto the Temple Mount plaza on Friday afternoon following the end of Friday prayers at the Al-Aksa Mosque, after dozens of young worshippers started throwing rocks from the entrance of the Mugrahbi Gate towards the Kotel plaza below. Three demonstrators were arrested in connection with rock throwing, and police are expecting more arrests during the course of Shabbat. There were no injuries.
Demonstrators began throwing the rocks next to the Mugrahbi gate around 1:35. Border police entered the plaza around 1:40 and immediately broke up the demonstrations using force. The rest of the worshippers left the premises by 2:30 without incident, the police reported.
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"The blunt reality is that there will be dwindling appetite and patience in the U.S. Congress -- and in the American body politic writ large -- to expend increasingly precious funds on behalf of nations that are apparently unwilling to devote the necessary resources or make the necessary changes to be serious and capable partners in their own defense," he said.
Without naming names, he blasted allies who are "willing and eager for American taxpayers to assume the growing security burden left by reductions in European defense budgets."
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Any mention of an Iranian nuclear weapon is taboo in the Islamic Republic, which insists that its nuclear programme is entirely for peaceful, civil purposes. So it is remarkable, to say the least, that an article has appeared on the Gerdab website, run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, anticipating the day after Iran's first test of a nuclear warhead. Here is a translation of the text:
The day after Iran's first nuclear test is a normal day.
The day after Islamic Republic of Iran's first nuclear test will be an ordinary day for us Iranians but in the eyes of some of us there will be a new sparkle.
It's a good day. It's seven in the morning. The sun is not fully up yet but everywhere is bright. In the northern hemisphere many countries are beginning the day...
The day before, probably in central deserts of Iran, where once Americans and some other Western countries wanted to bury their nuclear waste, an underground nuclear explosion has taken place.
Canadian-Israeli Cherna Rosenberg, a victim of terrorist rocket attacks on Sderot, filed on Monday a $ 1,000,000 (Can) lawsuit against two Canadian organizations raising money to sponsor a ship to join the international Flotilla to Gaza.
The suit, filed by Toronto barrister and law professor Ed Morgan and New York attorney and former AIPAC executive director Neal Sher to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, argues that the groups, Turtle Island Humanitarian Aid and Alternatives International, both based in Montreal, are part of a chain of conduct that "ultimately leads to the rocket attacks that have traumatized the plaintiff and caused her much suffering and loss."
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat backs Mideast policy speech given by Barack Obama, which urges return to 1967 borders with land exchanges, but in a new twist says nothing of halting West Bank settlement activity
Turkish leaders have lined up to condemn the Economist magazine for an editorial that urged voters to back the opposition in Sunday's election, calling it part of an anti-democratic, pro-Israeli campaign to weaken Turkey.
Opinion polls indicate Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party will comfortably secure a third term.
Erdogan himself said the article showed Israeli influence.
"The international media, because they are backed by Israel, wouldn't be happy with the continuation of the AK Party government," Erdogan said, according to comments reported by the state-run Anatolian agency at the weekend.
In an editorial entitled "One for the opposition," the avowedly pro-free-market, pro-democracy Economist, which regularly expresses a party preference in advance of elections, wrote: "The best way for Turks to promote democracy would be to vote against the ruling party."
A leading member of Erdogan's AK Party, which currently has a large majority in parliament, saw the article as reflecting a desire in Europe to weaken Turkey.
One demonstrator who was wounded that day told the Guardian the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had given him $50 to turn up at the border and $900 to have his gunshot wounds treated by physicians. He said he had been planning to return to Maroun al-Ras yesterday until the rally was cancelled.
"I'm proud of what I did," so declared Amjad Mahmad Awad, 19, on Sunday just moments before an indictment against him and his partner Hakim Awad was filed before the Judea and Samaria Sector Military Court, over the murders of five members of the Fogel family two and a half months ago.
"I don't regret what I did, even if it means I'm sentenced to death," Amjad said ahead of the indictment hearing.
Five members of the Fogel family were butchered in the March 11 terror attack in Itamar. Husband and wife Udi and Ruthie Fogel and three of their children: Yoav (11) Elad (4) and baby Hadas (four months).
The indictment describes how they murdered the children: "Amjad Yoav Fogel took late in the east bedroom, Elad Hakim late grabbed him and pushed his head to not see who was going to happen." While Amjad's throat slashed and stabbed his chest Yoav knife, Elad Hakim took the next room and tried to strangle him. While the boy lying on the floor Hakim's hand covers his mouth, went too Amjad room and stabbed him two knives in his chest.
Then they went into the bedroom of the parents, Ehud and Ruthie, and there developed a struggle. "Amjad, who was holding two knives, stabbed a man about it twinges Ehud deep neck neck, causing death," reads the indictment. Meanwhile, Ruth tried to fight with Hakim, but "Amjad stabbed her several times in her neck back." Realizing that Hakim these jabs did not cause woman's death, through the weapons held and shot her.
The indictment further specifies that after they left the family home Fogel, decided Amjad return to search for weapons. After entering in, he heard the baby crying myrtle. "So murder accused the myrtle stabbing stabbed to death by her head, out of fear that they caught the sound of weeping", noted.
Despite reports suggesting the mass rallies planned in Syria and Lebanon to mark "Naksa Day" – the 44th anniversary of the Arab "downfall" in the Six Day War – were cancelled, some 500 people gathered Sunday on the Syrian side of the northern border.
According to reports, around noon, about 150 protesters made their way to the international border fence and began stoning IDF troops and attempting to cut through the fence.
IDF forces called on the demonstrators to cease their progress, before firing warning shots in mid-air. Once those were ignored as well, the troops fired at the lower extremities of several major dissidents inflaming the crowds.
Unconfirmed reports by Syrian media suggest six people, including two teens, were killed and about 100 others injured, allegedly from IDF sniper fire. Red Cross Ambulances evacuated the injured.
Syrian medical officials told Damascus TV that the Israeli soldiers "are shooting live rounds and aiming for the abdomen, chest and head."
The IDF has not confirmed any information about casualties.
The entire parameter has been declared a restricted military zone. The military is broadcasting warnings in Arabic for the demonstrators – who have yet to reach the border-adjacent minefield – to stay away from the barbed wire fence.
Navy recently obtained photos showing IHH men carrying firearms on board Marmara, one featuring MK Zoabi standing next to armed man
Egypt reimposed restrictions Wednesday on the number of Palestinians allowed to enter from the Gaza Strip at the Rafah crossing, days after permanently opening the border point in a move to ease Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory.
Hatem Aweidah, who is in charge of border crossings for the Hamas government in Gaza, said that Egyptian officials had set a limit of 350 to 400 travelers who would be granted entry each day, on the grounds that border personnel could not handle more.
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Meir Dagan, commenting on recent U.S. sanctions on Ofer Brothers Group, says there is no law preventing anyone from docking in Iran, and that Israel did not boycott Iran
The Ofer Brothers Group did not break any laws in the Iranian tank affair, former Mossad chief Meir Dagan said on Wednesday, saying that he did not know of any boycott on Iran.
Last week the U.S. State Department announced sanctions on the Israeli business group and a Singapore-based subsidy, Tanker Pacific, for their roles in a September 2010 transaction that provided Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines with a tanker.
The Ofer group has denied the allegation, but no Israeli government agency has come forward to confirm that the state could vouch for it.
Sources close to the group say they have contacted the defense and foreign ministries to help them remove the Ofer Bros. Group from the U.S. blacklist. This claim could also not be confirmed by official Israeli sources.
Earlier this week, Dagan, commenting on the Ofer affair, said that he felt the media coverage blew the issue out of proportion.
Speaking on Wednesday, the former Mossad chief said that he was "not the Ofer family's defender, I am not their representative, I'm just concerned about the State of Israel."
"There's no law saying you can't dock in Iran. I'm worried about the thousands of Ofer family workers who could get hurt by the issue and their livelihood means a lot to me," Dagan said, adding: "They did not trade with Iran. They're a transportation company. And besides, there's no boycott on Iran."
On Tuesday, a discussion by the Knesset Economic Affairs Committee on the Ofer Brothers' dealings with Iran was halted after 15 minutes because of warnings from the defense establishment that they might damage the State of Israel, an Israeli source close to the Ofer family has told Haaretz.
Committee chairman MK Carmel Shama-Hacohen suddenly adjourned the meeting after being handed a note, the content of which he declined to divulge.
According to the source close to the Ofer family, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the matter, Israeli officials have been assisted in a number of cases in recent years by the Ofer family's business activities in the Persian Gulf for "national needs."
"It's no secret that the State of Israel sometimes seeks the help of business people," the source said. "Some agree and some don't."
The source said that apparently "someone in the defense establishment woke up and understood that the meeting MK Carmel Shama-Hacohen wanted to hold would have caused damage."
Both the Prime Minister's Bureau and the military censor denied requesting or recommending that Shama-Hacohen adjourn the meeting.
The rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and the decline of Egyptian army control in the Sinai have allowed Hamas to smuggle a rocket a day into Gaza, according to the Israeli-based Debka website, maintained largely by former IDF and security officers.
Hamas’s stockpile now is 10,000 missiles, including weapons that can down aircraft and slice through tanks. The IDF has introduced a new Trophy protective system to ward off advanced rocket attacks.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Security Committee this week that the power vacuum is working to the advantage of Hamas, which is able smuggle weapons and terrorists into Gaza with more ease since the grassroots uprising that ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Foreign media have not reported the smuggling operations, largely because of the calm that Hamas has maintained since the massive bombardment in early April, when advanced missiles attacked seven Israeli towns and cities with 133 missiles.
Hamas backed off the attacks following the firing of a Russian-made anti-tank missile, smuggled from Iran, which hit a school bus, killing a teenager.
The terrorist organization ostensibly ceased fire because of threats that the IDF would stage a “mini Cast Lead” counter terrorist operation, but Debka claimed that the ceasefire was a result of an Egyptian-sponsored deal that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accepted before the Passover festival and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s subsequent visit to Washington last week.
Egypt reputedly promised that Hamas and the rival Fatah faction, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, would reach a unity pact which was signed shortly later. Debka reported that Egypt also said it would take over Israel’s responsibility to supply Gaza with fuel and other essentials. If it does so, it would contradict its statement last week that the re-opening of the Rafiah border would be only for the movement of people and not the transfer of goods and merchandise, which also could include weapons.
Egypt also reportedly told Israel it would resume intelligence operations inside Gaza, a move that could backfire on Israel if the Muslim Brotherhood and other terrorist groups continue to establish a power base in the Sinai, directly south of Gaza.
In addition, the report said that Egypt told Prime Minister Netanyahu that Hamas would halt all missile attacks and would resume negotiations for the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. However, a report circulating from government sources Wednesday claimed that Hamas has no idea where the terrorists are holding the soldier.
The reported deal did not mention the continued smuggling of weapons on a daily basis.
