Wednesday links

From Ian:

Israel Says Syria Pulls Troops from Golan to Suppress Revolt Elsewhere

"In the briefing, the general said that satellite images show that Mr. Assad’s forces are directing artillery at highly populated regions and acting “extremely brutally, which displays their desperation and indicates they are unable to find more efficient solutions to pacify the uprisings.”

Now They Are Slaughtering Palestinians by Khaled Abu Toameh

"What is clear is that this massacre of Palestinians has received little attention in the international media. Most of the Arab countries, as well, which treat Palestinians as second-class citizens and subject them to apartheid systems, do not seem to care about the ongoing massacres against Palestinians in particular and Syrians in general."

A-G: Israeli law is applicable on Temple Mount

"Filed Sunday, by the Temple Mount Faithful group, the petition claims infrastructure work carried out to strengthen the Dome of the Rock is harming the Foundation Stone, the large stone on which the Ark of the Covenant is believed to have rested."
"The group said work carried out by the Wakf Islamic trust is not under the supervision of the Israeli authorities and is damaging the holiest site in Judaism."
“There are some people who want to make noise, claiming that the work is damaging,” he said, “but all of the work being done there are is under supervision of the Israel Antiquities Authority without any kind of damage to any antiquities.”

Report Shows How HSBC Maintained Its Ties With One Of Osama Bin Laden's Key Benefactors
This story broke in Israel a few days ago: 'HSBC ignored financial transactions to Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas'

Chilling archives of French Jews deported to Auschwitz shown for 1st time to public

French paper Liberation prints Mohamed Merah transcript

"Earlier this month, relatives of Merah's victims said they were "outraged" after TF1 broadcast parts of the conversation, and their lawyers said they would seek an injunction to block further broadcasts."

Saudi survey shows high number of women suffer low self worth

"A whopping 90 percent of Saudi women are not satisfied with their appearance, according to a study conducted by a health intelligence office in the kingdom's eastern region."

Palestinian Media Watch:
Fatah summer camp named after female terrorist Mughrabi, who led killing of 37 in bus hijacking
Abbas and PA leaders attend Fatah performance presenting Israel as "Palestine"
Arab member of Israeli parliament Ahmed Tibi attends Fatah performance presenting Israel as "Palestine"

From the BBC Olympics website – Palestine is a country with East Jerusalem as its Capital
From Daphne Anson: Palestinian Statehood Confirmed – By The BBC
But there’s more:
Palestine
Key Facts - Capital East Jerusalem
Israel
Under Key Facts no mention of a Capital!
I checked all 32 counties on the page with Israel, only Ivory Coast doesn’t have a capital listed.
Also the map for “Palestine” is zoomed way out with only a Palestine marker, the Israel map is correct and only shows Jerusalem, so that’s something.

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Also:
Eritrean regime cashes in on arms and human trafficking, says UN report

A multimillion-dollar arms trafficking industry that is funding the Eritrean military regime is behind the kidnap, torture and ransom of thousands of Eritrean refugees, according to a leaked report to the UN security council.

An investigation by the Somalia and Eritrea monitoring group has uncovered a trafficking highway running from the Eritrean highlands through Sudan's refugee camps into the Sinai desert, delivering arms to militant groups, and Eritrean asylum-seekers to Bedouin gangs, who use starvation, electrocution, rape and murder to extort up to $40,000 (£25,000) from relatives in the Eritrean diaspora for their release.

According to witness testimony, part of the arsenal smuggled from Eritrea is sold to Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. This industry, run jointly by Eritrean officials, Sudanese and Egyptian smuggling gangs, is estimated to generate more than $10m a year.

(h/t Yoel)