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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: Abbas Cracks Down on Media, World Looks Other Way
These groups [human rights, media, Western donor governments] see only what the Israeli authorities do. On the side of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, or Hamas in the Gaza Strip, they "see no evil." For Western governments, so long as the Palestinian Authority leadership says it is committed to the peace process with Israel, its leaders are allowed to rule as a dictatorship.
The Palestinian Authority also apparently does not want the outside world, especially international donors, to hear about the financial corruption or violations of freedom of the media. It seems to want criticism to be directed only toward Israel in the hope that this will invite international pressure on the Israelis and force them to accept at the negotiating able all of Abbas's demands.
The UK is paying Palestinians to murder Jews
The following letter sent to my constituency MP is self-explantory:
The policy of the Palestinian Authority clearly encourages the terrorist murder of Jews, since the murderers are guaranteed not just wealth beyond the dreams of ordinary Palestinians, but also great adulation (it is standard for the PA to name roads, squares, and even soccer tournaments after convicted murderers). Since the Palestinian Authority is funded solely by the EU and USA perhaps you can assure me that you will ask the Foreign Secretary to:
a) immediately stop all payments to the Palestinian Authority, hence putting a stop to this incitement and direct support for terrorism; and
b) avoid pressuring Israel to release terrorist murderers (perhaps noting that this is the equivalent of expecting the UK to release people like the murderers of soldier Lee Rigby as a 'peace gesture').
CAIR's Ayloush Gives Dishonest, Bullying Answer to Hamas Question
Cornered by a straightforward question he did not want to answer, the head of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) Los Angeles office chose instead to misrepresent his organization's actions and feign outrage that the question itself was bigoted.
"Will CAIR-Los Angeles or CAIR-National – will you condemn Hamas?" Hussam Ayloush was asked outside his chapter's annual fundraising banquet Saturday evening.
BBC’s Knell still can’t get Hamas terror designation right
Hamas is in fact defined as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan – as the BBC’s own profile of Hamas clearly states. In addition, Australia designates Hamas’ Izz al Din Al Qassam Brigades as a terrorist organization, as do New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
As also noted in the BBC’s profile, Hamas not only “refuses to recognise Israel”: its charter commits it to that country’s destruction.
Hamas: 'We'll Come to Your Homes, Your Schools'
Speaking on behalf of Hamas at the College for Science and Technology in Khan Yunis on Monday, al-Masri emphasized that the next conflict with Israel would be underground, and that "we will enter your homes, your schools, your positions and your strongholds."
Al-Masri also added that the terror organization now has missiles capable of a 100-km radius - capable of reaching Jerusalem and Tel Aviv - in its possession.
A strike on Iran: Complex, but possible
The number of facilities that would need to be hit to deal a fatal blow to Iran's nuclear infrastructure is generally overestimated. The essential ingredient for building a nuclear bomb is uranium enriched to a level of more than 90%, meaning that the enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordo must be taken care of. The reactor at Arak, designed to produce plutonium (another fissionable material suitable for building a nuclear bomb), is not yet active, but it is a worthy target, similar to the reactor that was destroyed in Iraq in 1981.
Netanyahu has nothing to lose except losing
What could save the deal is if the Iranians fake throwing up their hands. What could save the world from a bad deal is if the ayatollahs harden their positions. The level of doubt over Iran's behavior, to the point where even Washington, eager for a compromise with Tehran, could resist acquiescence, marked the core of Secretary of State John Kerry's decision to take a rain check on his visit to Jerusalem this week; he's not sure what might be in his hands come Friday.
No doubt, Israel is stuck in an inferior position. Even Hollande's visit could not change that, mainly because the French president would not give up mixing the Iran deal with the settlement-development issue. But, in light of the current situation, just as peace talks are set to resume on Wednesday, there's no reason Netanyahu should back off the process he has practically been leading himself. He's still got the chance to succeed. He's got nothing to lose by persevering. At least it shows integrity.
Netanyahu: 'Partial deals are bad deals'
“I don't advocate partial deals. I think partial deals are bad deals,” Netanyahu told host Candy Crowley in an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If you want to do a partial deal, then decide what the final deal is, and then do one step. Decide that the final deal will actually implement the very terms that you, the P5+1, have put in the Security Council resolution.”
He said a final deal should include dismantling all centrifuges and plutonium reactors in Iran. But negotiations aren’t heading in that direction, and President Barack Obama has said some sanctions could be lifted in a deal and quickly reversed if Iran doesn’t stand by its promises.
Reducing any sanctions now, however, could bring an end to sanctions in the near future, Netanyahu said, warning that was “not a good idea.”
US Jewish leaders feel misled by White House over Iran deal
The US Jewish leaders feel that the administration showed a “lack of trust” in them, a source close to the contacts said.
Obama administration officials did not tell them that they had been secretly negotiating with Iran for the past year, and that the Geneva talks were really “precooked,” The Times of Israel was told, and thus it was an act of bad faith for the administration to ask the Jewish groups to hold off on pressure for more sanctions with the promise that they would meet again in 30-60 days to consider where the negotiations had led.
PM: Iran already has enough material for five bombs
“The Iranians already have five bombs’ worth of low-enriched uranium,” he told the German daily Bild. “If you press the sanctions now, you might actually get a better deal. If you have a bad diplomatic solution — what this appears to be — you actually may get the consequences you want to avoid. That is, you would have no choice but to exercise a military option in the future.”
In order to build a nuclear bomb, highly enriched uranium in necessary, yet it is possible to convert low-enriched material to weapons-grade level rather quickly. According to some experts, Iran could produce enough weapons-grade uranium to build an atomic weapon within two weeks.
Steinitz: World willing to cheat itself over Iran
Warning that the "world is cheating itself" over the deal," Steinitz said, "Tomorrow, there will be a return to the negotiations table in Geneva, and in light of the agreement taking shape, I'd like to clarify that the government of Israel believes this is a bad deal. No one can force us to take part in the celebration, which could be a fake celebration. It's important to stress that if someone thinks that it is comfortable and pleasant to be the one who spoils the celebration, they are wrong. We would prefer to be part of the celebration, but on such a critical issue to our welfare and to world peace, we will not lie to ourselves," Steinitz said.
We’ll continue enriching, won’t shut nuclear sites, Iran lawmaker says
Speaking to Iran’s Arabic-language news station Al-Alam, Mohammad Hassan Asfari, a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Affairs committee, reported on a meeting with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at Iran’s foreign ministry Sunday evening. Zarif updated the parliamentarians on the recent round of talks in Geneva and on Iran’s strategy for the upcoming round set to commence in Geneva this Wednesday.
According to Asfari, Iran’s halting of uranium enrichment and the closure of the nuclear plant in Fordo and the heavy water reactor in Arak are “not on the agenda of either side.” Iran, Asfari was told in the meeting, would negotiate based on “Iran’s pride.”
Iranian dissidents say Iran has built secret new nuclear site
An exiled Iranian opposition group said on Monday it had information about an underground nuclear site being built in Iran and that this was among a number of secret venues for an atomic bomb program.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran exposed Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and a heavy-water facility at Arak in 2002. But analysts say the NCRI has a mixed track record and a clear agenda of regime change in Tehran.
23 killed in attack on Iran's embassy in Beirut
Two suicide bombings struck near the Iranian Embassy in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Tuesday, killing 23 people, including the Iranian cultural attache.
The mid-morning blasts hit Beirut's upscale neighborhood of Janah, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group. One explosion blew out the large black main gate of the Iranian mission, damaging the three-story facility.
Hanegbi shoots down Iranian claims that Israel behind Beirut blasts
Hanegbi said that it was quite humorous that a country that has perpetuated terror around the world, now is blaming others.
His comments came after Al Jazeera reported that "the Iranian ambassador in Lebanon, who escaped from the attack uninjured, is blaming Israel for the attack."
Beirut bombing sees Iran drawn deeper into Lebanon quagmire
Evidently, however, even such stringent security precautions — introduced at potential Iranian targets as well — could not thwart Tuesday’s bombings. The Iranians are themselves now learning the bitter lesson they taught Israel: the combination of explosives and a highly motivated terrorist make the suicide bomber a devastating and hard-to-stop weapon.
Group behind Beirut bombing has fired rockets at Israel
The Abdullah Azzam Brigade, the al-Qaeda-affiliated group that claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s deadly attack on the Iranian embassy in Beirut, has threatened in the past to launch an offensive against Israel.
Why Has the U.N. Given Assad a Free Pass on Mass Murder?
During the past year, the United Nations' chief relief agency has routinely withheld from the public vital details of the Bashar al-Assad regime's systematic campaign to block humanitarian assistance to Syrian civilians. This silence has infuriated human rights advocates, who believe that greater public exposure of Assad's actions would increase political pressure on the Syrian government to allow the international community to help hundreds of thousands of ordinary Syrians who are trapped in the line of fire.
Instead, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) -- which oversees international relief efforts in Syria -- has relied on low-key, behind-the-scenes diplomacy to quietly persuade the Syrian regime to open the aid floodgates. So far, critics say, the strategy has been ineffective. Worse, it provides a measure of political cover to the Assad regime as it carries out mass starvation and slaughter, these critics contend.
UN Watch: At UN, Syria's murderous regime compares Israelis to Nazis


Jews help Syria’s innocent victims in Bulgaria
Unable to handle the growing number of refugees, the Bulgarian authorities are helpless to offer anything more than overcrowded camps in poor condition with little medical care or food.
“We count on external assistance,” admitted Bulgarian Prime Minister Plamen Oresharski during a meeting with Jewish Canadian philanthropist, pop musician/jingle writer Yank Barry on November 13. Driven by personal ties to Bulgaria and his humanitarian mission, Barry is among the most recent contributors to join the relief effort to aid the Syrian refugees in Bulgaria, the European Union’s least wealthy member.
‘Egypt signs missile deal with Russia’
The head of Russia’s state-controlled industrial holding company says Moscow has signed a deal to provide Egypt with air defense missile systems.
Monday’s statement by Russian Technologies chief Sergei Chemezov followed last week’s trip to Egypt by Russia’s foreign and defense ministries.
US to Train Libyan Forces As Militias Ravage Tripoli
On Sunday, following heavy violence in Tripoli, a senior US military official revealed plans to train up to 7,000 members of Libya's security and special operations forces, according to Al Arabiya.
Aside from training thousands of conventional forces, special operations forces will be trained to conduct counter-terror operations, according to Admiral William McRaven, head of the U.S. military's Special Operations Command.
Turkey's secularists alarmed over rise of Islamic 'moralism'
Tension between religious and secular elites has long been one of the underlying fault lines in the predominantly Muslim but constitutionally secular republic, forged from the ruins of an Ottoman theocracy by Ataturk 90 years ago.
But a stream of provocative comments from Erdogan, who is expected to stand for president in elections next year, has heightened accusations of religiously-motivated interference in private life and exacerbated secularists' sense of siege.
Erdogan suggested this month that rules could be drawn up to stop male and female students living together, one ruling party official suggesting such unregulated cohabitation could be used to harbor criminals.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

From Ian:

Palestinian Corruption -- Again
If the Palestinian movement believes it lives outside the laws of politics, nature and economics, it may be right.
The PA and Hamas occupy a split territory with two feuding governments -- both dictatorships with all the arbitrariness and lack of accountability implied by that; multiple armed services that fight each other and, occasionally, kill Israelis; a school system that teaches children that the IDF ate Mickey Mouse and Jews have no history in the land of the Bible; a civic culture that venerates suicide bombers and the mothers who seem to revel in their children's bloody demise; and an economy that produces nothing of export value. Yet it operates on the principle that it will be bailed out by European and American political support and international largesse. And that Israel will be blamed for the Palestinian failure to thrive.
Two stories this week, however, may challenge endlessly naïve European and American fealty to the Palestinian narrative.
Al-Qaida, Muslim Brotherhood hold secret meeting in Jordan
The meeting focused on the conflict in Egypt and Syria and an altercation broke out between a Brotherhood member and jihadist leader Mohammad al-Miqdad, and the latter asked the Brotherhood not to publicly denounce the actions of the jihadists.
The jihadists discussed their plans to start moving Syrian and Iraqi jihadists into Egypt in order to carry out terror operations there after the Eid al-Adha festival, which falls on Tuesday.
Experts Warn of Al Qaeda Biological Weapons Threat
Experts from the Henry Jackson Society (HJS) have issued a stark warning over what they say is the "clear and present danger" of Al Qaeda gaining possession of the Assad regime's stockpile of biological weapons, claiming to have substantial evidence that Al Qaeda-linked groups may already have possession of toxic agents.
Unlike chemical weapons, which utilize chemical agents to poison victims, biological weapons make use of diseases, toxins and other contagious agents. Biological weapons have the potential to kill far greater numbers, and are also far harder to detect or protect against.
Visualizing anti-Zionism: Site used by Guardian data blog calls Haifa “Palestinian”
Yesterday, we posted about an extraordinarily misleading Guardian data blog entry on the Palestinian economy – a piece by Mona Chalabi titled ‘How does Palestine’s economy work?‘, Oct. 14 – which assigned blame for Palestinian economic woes almost entirely on Israel, and never once so much as mentioned the injurious economic impact of Palestinian terrorism.
Many of the claims made by Chalabi were quite specious, including her reference to a report which purported to quantify the number of olive trees “uprooted by Israeli authorities since 1967″. To illustrate the number of olive trees allegedly destroyed by “Israeli Authorities” – which Palestinians have evidently methodically been counting over the past 46 years – she referred readers to a site called ‘Visualizing Palestine‘.
Following CiF Watch post, Guardian amends ‘terrorist sperm’ story
We demonstrated, per Israeli court records, that Za’anin not only belonged to a terror organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but volunteered for their military wing (Al-Quds Brigades), and was convicted after pleading guilty to four counts of being an accessory to attempted murder, a plea bargain in which he admitted his active participation in several terror attacks.
Today, we noticed that the article was amended (on October 15) to include details of Za’anin’s criminal record.
CNN’s Holocaust-revisionism: It isn’t “piffle.”
NPR knows it. NBC knows it. Even Iran’s Fars News Agency knows it.
CNN seriously mistranslated its interview with new Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, and it’s turning into a scandal that won’t go away.
Brighton University lecturer calls for abolition of Sussex University’s Israel Studies course.
Tom Hickey, a Brighton University lecturer, speaking at the start of Sussex University’s Palestine Awareness Week on Monday night called for the abolition of Sussex University’s newly established Yossi Harel Chair in Modern Israel Studies until questions relating to its “external sources of funding” and the process that established it are “satisfactorily answered.”
He also attacked already established Israel Studies courses at SOAS, Leeds University, Manchester University and Oxford University.
Hickey is a senior member of University and College Union’s National Executive Committee and a member of BRICUP (British Committee for the Universities of Palestine).
World Bank Report on Palestinian Economy Full of Holes
Yet a close look at the report reveals that it makes numerous assumptions about Palestinian aspirations and behavior patterns, establishes a series of questionable multipliers, and downplays the significance of complex political factors and security realities, according to Steven Plaut, Professor of Economics at the University of Haifa.
“I think the World Bank doesn’t fully understand the Israeli economy or the Palestinian economy. What’s worse, they have a political agenda. They produce findings to match their political agenda,” Plaut told JNS.org.
“I think they are making it up as it goes along,” he said.
Is Hamas to mend ties with Assad?
Hamas' Deputy Politburo Chief Moussa Abu Marzouk interviewed for Assad affiliated channel Al Mayadeen on Monday, saying Khaled Mashal was wrong in raising the flag of Syrian opposition, and that Hamas had no official ties with any rebel organizations.
Last June a dramatically important meeting was held in Lebanon concerning the shaken relationship between Hamas and some of the Arab and Muslim world. Group senior Moussa Abu Marzouk conferred there with officials from Iran and from Hezbollah to work out differences that have occurred between Hamas and then in the past two years over the Syrian civil war.
Hamas TV Airs Cartoon Lauding its Military Wing, Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades


US says nuclear talks more substantive than ever; Israel mum
White House spokesman Jay Carney said the talks contained a “level of seriousness and substance that we have not seen before.”
While cautioning not to expect a prompt breakthrough, Carney said the US “found the Iranian presentation very useful.”
The sides released a statement at the end of two days of talks calling the meetings “substantive and forward looking.”
Who Let Iran Get So Close to a Nuke?
So far, we have little indication as to whether the U.S. is willing to accept the sort of “bad deal” that Secretary of State John Kerry, let alone Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, has warned against. But there is one thing that we know. The reason why the negotiations are so critical is that over the past several years Iran has made so much progress toward the completion of a bomb that there isn’t time for a long drawn out diplomatic process. As the New York Times reports:
On Monday, a senior American official said that the United States wanted Iran to take steps that were “transparent and verifiable” to constrain its program and to assure the West that it was not intending to produce a nuclear bomb.
Iran’s nuclear efforts had advanced so much, the American official added, that Iran needed to take stops now to halt or even reverse its nuclear program so there was time to negotiate a comprehensive agreement.
John Bolton: With Iran, We Can’t Verify or Trust
Tuesday’s opening of yet another round of negotiations with Iran over its nuclear-weapons program creates enormous risks for America’s anti-proliferation efforts. Tehran’s extensive propaganda campaign, stressing the “moderation” of its new president, Hassan Rouhani, seems to be working, softening up the gullible in the United States and Europe.
As in previous iterations of the charade now reopening in Geneva, Iran’s bargaining position benefits from our own repeated mistakes. The ayatollahs need only take advantage of these unforced errors, and success may well fall into their undeserving hands. Consider the most blatant errors that Iran is eager to exploit.
Russia: Lift Iran sanctions in exchange for int’l control of nuke program
Speaking in Geneva, after the wrap of a 2-day meeting between the P5+1 and Iran, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov alleged that sanctions “undermine” attempts to solve the diplomatic crisis, reported Russia Today.
“The beacon, the main arrangement that we follow is the proposal by [President] Vladimir Putin that the recognition of Iran’s right to [uranium] enrichment as part of its inseparable rights under the Non-proliferation Treaty should be accompanied by the introduction of full comprehensive international control over the Iranian nuclear program,” Ryabkov told reporters.
Taliban Assassinate Afghan Governor With Exploding Koran…
When someone in America mishandles a Koran the Islamic world riots for days.
Via Khaama Press:
"Afghan intelligence – National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Wednesday announced that militants had placed explosives inside the Holy Quran, which left Logar provincial governor Arsala Jamal dead."
Turkey and Israel: A ‘what next?’ mindset
As PM Netanyahu pointed out immediately after he initiated the US-brokered rapprochement, the most critical strategic priority would be Syria’s prolonged civil war. Within this context, Turkey and Israel have to get ready to secure the Baathist tyranny’s chemical and allegedly biological weapons arsenal along with other strategic weapons systems in case of an uncontrolled regime collapse. Furthermore, we also need to carefully watch for any mass transfer of game-changing weapon systems in asymmetric conflicts, such as man portable air defense systems (MANPADS), and antitank guided missiles (ATGM) into the hands of non-state groups that might target Turkey or Israel. In a moment of irrational shock, Assad or members of the elite surrounding him might attempt to ignite a regional war by provoking Turkish or Israeli administrations. In this case, the two nations need to be prepared to act in coordination, to nip the threat in the bud.
Erdogan’s Turkey: Less nationalism, more Islam
An op-ed published in the New York Times last week by Turkish researcher Halil M. Karaveli, claimed that far from helping Turkey’s minority, Erdogan was increasingly playing with sectarian fire.
“Erdogan is turning Turkey into a powder keg in an attempt to shore up his own political base,” Karaveli wrote. “He is intentionally activating the longstanding fault lines separating religious and secular Turks — and most dangerously the divide between the country’s Sunni majority and its Alevi minority. If he continues to do so, Turkish democracy itself could become a casualty of his confrontational policies.”
Greek ambassador: Despite apology, Turkey blocking Israel-NATO cooperation
Lampridis said he was surprised by the continued Turkish opposition, especially since practical cooperation between Turkey and Israel was taking place on a daily basis, “like where Turkey has an advantage, of course, and Israel is demonstrating goodwill.”
For example, since Turkish goods can no longer be transported overland through Syria to the Persian Gulf, every week hundreds of Turkish trucks arrive via ferry to the Haifa Port where they then proceed across the country to the Jordan border crossings, carrying millions of dollars worth of goods to Jordan and onward to the Gulf.
“If Israel behaved in the same negative way that Turkey was behaving, it could have said ‘no’ to Turkey, told them, ‘This is your problem. I don’t need these trucks blocking my highways.’ But Israel is cooperating, and Turkey is deriving great benefit from this.”

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

From Ian:

IDF finds, blows up explosives-laden tunnel from Gaza
The IDF on Tuesday discovered and detonated a Hamas-built tunnel running east from the Gaza Strip into Israel. The tunnel was a recently discovered part of an excavation that was first revealed in November 2012, and contained several barrels of explosives. This is the second terror tunnel to be found in as many weeks.
“Earlier this morning IDF forces detonated a tunnel exposed shortly before Operation Pillar of Defense in order to sabotage yet another terror infrastructure of Hamas,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Office said in a statement.
How Hamas dug its Gaza ‘terror tunnel,’ and how the IDF found it
All told, some 3,400 cubic meters of soil were excavated from the earth in carving the tunnel, the geologist estimated. A mountain of earth that size, even if carted away daily on trucks, leaves a traceable signature and is one way in which the IDF is able to spot the hallmarks of a tunnel. Other ways, according to an academic tunnel-detection expert, include devices that measure sub-surface sound, the strength and direction of a magnetic field, and the propagation or spread of radio and light waves.
The seismic method is the most intuitive and monitors the tremors created by people moving and digging underground. The downside of this method, the expert said, is that many actions create tremors, and in an agricultural area, where there is ample foot and vehicle traffic, the seismic method can often sound a false alarm.
Officials: Hamas Tunnel Part of Kindergarten Terror Attack Plot
Hamas has used more primitive tunnels in the past to conduct operations on Israeli soil, most notably the 2006 kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, which was followed by Israel’s 2006 Operation Summer Rains. Security officials estimate that this tunnel – which IDF Spokesman Brigadier-General Yoav Mordechai described as “one of the most advanced terror tunnels to be uncovered in recent years” – was intended to facilitate an attack on the nearby kindergarten."
Cement to Gaza Used for Tunnels Instead of Schools and Houses
On September 26, Electronic Intifada published in its "human rights" section another of its endless depictions of Gazan deprivation caused by Israel's allegedly cruel policy of denying construction materials, mainly cement. The article states:
With the severe shortage of building supplies in Gaza, for example, construction has stopped on 13 government schools and tendering postponed on 26 others, the UN agency OCHA reported.
Rehabilitation of the 76 kindergartens that were damaged during Israel’s November 2012 attacks on Gaza was also likely to be delayed or postponed, and the construction of a new building at Al-Aqsa University has stopped, OCHA added...“There are hundreds of construction projects pending in Gaza,” including many badly needed housing projects...
Now we know the real reason why the cement was so desperately needed.
How much does terrorism cost the Palestinian economy?
To get a sense of how extraordinarily misleading this is, imagine a media report about the injurious effects of economic sanctions on Iran which didn’t even mention that the sanctions were enacted to influence Tehran into complying with U.N. Security Council demands that it halt its nuclear weapons development.
Similarly, Chalabi – as with most Guardian Left narratives about the economic toll of Israeli defensive measures on the Palestinian economy – is conflating cause with effect. It ignores the fact that the Israeli blockade of Gaza was prompted by thousands of rockets targeting Israeli civilians, and that the security fence was constructed in response to waves of deadly suicide bombings in the early 2000s which targeted cafes, markets, bus stops and other public areas where families and children congregate.
Guardian quickly changes its mind, decides Israel is NOT ‘choking Gaza’
The original title was classic Guardian, conveying an anti-Israel message not supported by the subsequent text. Indeed, we were prepared to focus on the extraordinary misleading title (and complain to Guardian editors) when, roughly an hour later, editors revised it on their own, omitting the word “Israel.”
Despite the fact that Egypt’s increased restrictions on Palestinians in Gaza is the focus of the story – in contrast with Israel’s eased restrictions – here is the original title per a cached page (before it was changed at the Guardian’s site).
Hamas tells Palestinians fleeing Syria to come to Gaza
The call, which was made by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, came after the Libyan coast guard opened fire at a boat carrying 374 Palestinian refugees from Syria.
Initial reports had suggested that nearly half of the refugees that had drowned died after the boat sank off Maltese waters.
Defense industry braces for U.S. halt in Egypt aid
The defense industry has remained tight-lipped about how Washington’s suspension of military assistance to Egypt might affect its production lines.
Three main players gave terse answers when asked about the Obama administration’s decision to “hold” deliveries of big-ticket weapons to Cairo in a bid to punish Egypt for last summer’s political crackdown — without breaking off the relationship altogether.
Egyptian FM: Cairo-Washington relations in turmoil
Nabil Fahmy told state-run Al-Ahram newspaper that Egypt had been dependent on US aid for too long but Washington was wrong to assume the Cairo government would always follow its line.
"We are now in a delicate state reflecting the turmoil in the relationship and anyone who says otherwise is not speaking honestly," he said in comments published on Wednesday.
Egypt May Look to Russia To Counter US Aid Reduction
While the Israeli government has refused to directly comment on the US move, Israeli Minister of Environmental Protection Gilad Ardenne said in an interview with public radio that he was bothered by how such a decision could be interpreted in Egypt and by how it may affect relations with Israel. Former Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said, “What’s strange in that move is that the Americans are effectively, albeit unintentionally, working against their own interests.”
Reuters news agency quoted an Israeli official as saying, “We are worried that if aid is stopped, the Egyptian people will press their government to abandon the treaty.” Another Israeli official was worried that Egypt may turn toward Russia.
Opinion: Hezbollah, why so silent?
Why hasn’t Hezbollah denied the authenticity of the video—uploaded onto YouTube—allegedly showing Hezbollah fighters executing gravely wounded Syrians in Al-Qusayr?… The video… clearly depicted Hezbollah fighters killing helpless wounded Syrians, as their commander had urged them. Some fighters were reluctant about killing the wounded so their commander told them to execute them as stated by the “religious order.”…
Some were sure that the party would immediately declare that those involved were not Hezbollah fighters and that the circulated images do not represent the party’s ethics…
Hours and days passed by and the party did not comment on the video.
Hezbollah’s video proves once again that the party’s involvement in Syria has trapped it into a tornado-like conflict that is unlike any other war. The party is now part of a machine that oppresses the Syrian people, its members are now classified as war criminals who should be prosecuted. This is now a crystal clear fact for the Arab and international community.
Irwin Cotler: Testing Iran’s Nuclear Charm Offensive
Given the Iranian track record of using negotiations as a delay tactic while uranium continues to be enriched and the centrifuges continue to spin, only Iran’s verifiable abandonment of its nuclear weapons pursuits – based on the above undertakings – should result in the easing of international sanctions. Negotiations must not serve as cover for denial, deception, and delay; rather, they must lead to full Iranian compliance with the regime’s international obligations, an outcome that would greatly advance the cause of international peace and security, and that would greatly benefit the Iranian people themselves.
Iran’s plan: Isolate US in P5+1 talks to gain advantage
The document describes the “short-medium-term operational strategy” for nuclear talks and says that as part of the strategy, Iran will “change the global security environment” by “breaking the coordination of major powers and neutralizing the Zionist-American efforts to build an international consensus against Iran.” The strategy specifically hopes to “neutralize the leverage of America and the Zionist regime with countries and multilateral institutions vis-a-vis Iran.”
Sending message ‘near and far,’ air force conducts massive drill
The Israeli Air Force conducted an unusually large exercise over the northern border and the Mediterranean Sea overnight. Military sources confirmed the exercise Tuesday morning.
“Recently, changes have taken place across the region,” a national security official told the Walla news site. “The IDF is deployed both near and far for these changes, and last night’s exercise was meant to signal the IDF’s serious intentions to deal with these problems and thwart them.”
On the eve of Iran talks, Mideast allies bewildered by US policy
On Sunday, the Saudi-owned newspaper a-Sharq al-Awsat published an editorial calling for Iran to be barred from enriching uranium altogether. Numerous WikiLeaks documents dealing with the Gulf States suggest that, with all due respect to the Palestinian question, what truly keeps Arab rulers awake at night is the fear that Iran will acquire a nuclear weapon, and will undermine their rule with terror attacks and orchestrated demonstrations. “Cut off the head of the snake,” as Saudi King Abdullah reportedly put it.
These are not paranoid visions or the brainchild of Netanyahu. These are real concerns of past and present American allies in the region, who gaze with wonder and bewilderment upon Washington’s foreign policy and struggle to understand why the US president rushes to telephone the president of Iran while almost simultaneously announcing that military aid to Egypt will be frozen.
France Covers Obama's Middle East Retreat
In an interview with the Associated Press on Oct. 4, Barack Obama depicted Iran as a country living with sanctions "put in place because Iran had not been following international guidelines, and had behaved in ways that made a lot of people feel they were pursuing a nuclear weapon."
For French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, that was a pastels-and-wispy-brushstrokes rendering of reality. Two days later, in an interview with Europe 1 radio, Mr. Fabius drew a darker, edgier picture. "As we speak," he said, Iran keeps the centrifuges turning that are needed to make enriched uranium for nuclear bombs. But Iran is also pursuing a second, separate track toward atomic weapons with the construction, at Arak, of a heavy-water reactor producing plutonium.
Libya's Grand Mufti Wants to Veil Female Teachers
A new fatwa by Libya’s top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, saying that all women teachers must veil their faces when instructing males who have reached puberty has prompted the anger of liberal activists, who fear this is the start of widespread educational gender segregation.
Libya’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Sadik Al-Ghariani made the fatwa following a request from the Ministry of Education for advice on the issue as some schools had started to order women teachers to cover up.
Britain’s stated aim of getting Turkey to join the EU is mad
Of course now, whenever I raise the subject with people from government, I get told, sotto voce, that ‘it’s not going to happen’. Which makes you wonder about the coherence of a foreign policy where the stated and actual aims of government are so very much at odds. The trouble about Britain being so publicly and passionately in favour of Turkey in the EU is that eventually it may get what it wished for. The consequences for immigration, for social cohesiveness, for community relations, here and still more in Germany, really don’t bear thinking about.
NATO Defense Official: Turkey Plan to Purchase Chinese Weapons System Would Implant “Virus” Into NATO Command and Control System
The deal would see Turkey purchase missile defense assets from the China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC), a company that among other things is currently under U.S. sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act. The systems would require integration with Turkey’s existing NATO assets, which would among other things require the Chinese systems to communicate with – and draw information from – NATO assets. Per an article published this morning by Turkey’s Hurriyet daily, Western defense officials are beside themselves with disbelief:
China's Mideast clout growing amid Turkey missile deal
China's likely sale of sophisticated missiles to Turkey over the objections of its NATO allies might have angered Washington and other capitals, but it should not have been a surprise.
Even as the US has spent billions of dollars and lost hundreds of lives in Iraq and Afghanistan, Beijing has been quietly upping its presence in the Middle East.
Militarily, the US - which maintains a permanent aircraft carrier presence near the Gulf as well as dozens of other warships and major bases in Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates - is by far the dominant regional power.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

From Ian:

NGO Monitor: Terror Tunnels Undermine NGO Gaza Campaigns
Since the discovery of these tunnels, however, no NGOs issued condemnations of Hamas or called for them to stop their attacks on Israeli civilians. Instead, they resumed the false claims of collective punishment. Gisha, for instance, alleged that Israel’s “decision to stop the transfer of construction materials was a response to the discovery of a tunnel…raises the specter of a punitive act.” HRW’s Ken Roth re-tweeted a tweet by Juan Cole, “Israelis again impose Collective punishment on Palestinians of Gaza.”
The NGOs responses continue to demonstrate their immoral advocacy. Instead of focusing on Israel, these NGOs should denounce Palestinian terrorism and the diversion of supplies for vital civilian projects to terrorist objectives.
IDF conducts controlled explosion of Hamas tunnel from Gaza to Israel
The tunnel was found by the IDF before Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, and does not represent a new finding, a senior army source stressed.
"The tunnel was blown up to destroy an additional Hamas terrorist infrastructure," the IDF said in a statement. "The IDF will continue to operate as is necessary to protect the residents of Israel," it added.
BBC not sure cross-border tunnel intended for terror?
On countless occasions BBC audiences have repeatedly read or heard permutations of the following message, with the implication being that Israeli concerns regarding the misuse of construction materials entering Gaza are in fact much ado about nothing.
Palestinians pay dearly for Hamas ‘resistance tunnels’
Further, per the post by Akus, you can conclude from the enormous resources (in time, money and manpower) that went into the Gaza terror tunnels that the rosy scenarios for peace and prosperity in another independent Palestinian polity are, at best, quite questionable.
When pro-Israel commentators criticize the Palestinian culture of incitement and terror, they aren’t engaging in ‘Zionist talking points’ but, rather, are expressing sincere concerns that the greatest peace treaty ever written can’t engender a Palestinian culture of peace, education and self-sufficiency. Though most Israelis support in principle ‘two states for two peoples’, Israelis accurately extrapolate from the consequences of recent territorial concessions that withdrawing from land alone won’t necessarily bring peace if Palestinian leaders don’t cease in inculcating their citizenry with the values of belligerence, hate and violence.
PM: No accord without Palestinians recognizing Jewish Israel
In a bitter passage of a lengthy address at the opening of the 19th Knesset’s winter session, Netanyahu said Israel did not need that recognition from the Palestinians. Rather, he said, the Palestinians had to come to terms with Israel’s Jewish legitimacy and abandon their “nationalistic demands” on Israel.
Specifically, he said, the Palestinians would have to “abandon the demand for what is called ‘the right of return’” for millions of Palestinian refugees and their descendants to Israel, otherwise there could be no “end of conflict” accord. Without this shift, and without the abandoning of “other nationalistic demands on the land and sovereignty of Israel,” he said, there simply could be no genuine peace.
The Hatred that the New York Times Dares Not Report
The New York Times on Sunday featured an article, Behind Flurry of Killing, Potency of Hate, which focuses on how dehumanizing an enemy makes it easier to kill. The article focuses on a convicted, jailed and released IRA terrorist and how he could be conditioned to kill.
The article also mentions how Nazis could be brought to slaughter Jews (and describes the murderers in oddly sympathetic terms!). But it left out the most systematic delegitimization campaign going on now: the one by Palestinians that targets Israel.
Guardian misleads in tale of ‘heroic’ Palestinian sperm smuggling
It not only took Sherwood eight paragraphs before briefly noting (in roughly ten words out of an 875 word story) that Tamer al-Za’anin is a convicted terrorist, but she characteristically downplayed his terrorist record.
According to Israeli court records (Hebrew), al-Za’anin not only belonged to a terror organization, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but volunteered for their military wing (Al-Quds Brigades), a group which has carried out numerous attacks against Israelis, including deadly suicide bombings. Further, court records show that he was imprisoned after pleading guilty to four counts of being an accessory to attempted murder, a plea bargain in which he admitted his active participation within terror cells that on one occasion laid an explosive (IED) and fired two missiles at an IDF vehicle, and on three other occasions fired rockets at civilians in Sderot.
PA TV: Murderer of two is “the great female fighter, who shines”
Official Palestinian Authority TV interviewed and honored a female terrorist who killed two Israelis, calling her "the great female fighter, who shines" and "a giant of the struggle."
The terrorist, Aisha Odeh, murdered two Israelis in 1969, by placing two bombs in a supermarket in Jerusalem. She was sentenced to two life sentences but was released in a prisoner exchange in 1979.


Song misrepresents Israel as "Palestine" - PA show about Palestinians in Denmark


No new findings over Arafat's death: official
Tawfi Al-Tirawi, head of a Palestinian committee investigating Arafat's death, told Xinhua that the journal "brought nothing new," noting it based its study on a 2012 investigative report by the pan-Arab news network Al-Jazeera.
"There are no leaks from the results and we are still waiting for the official test findings," said Al-Tirawi, adding there is no official time set for receiving the results.
Netanyahu makes a case for a preemptive strike
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu offered a thinly veiled defense of a possible Israeli preemptive strike on Iran during a Knesset commemoration Tuesday of the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
In a speech to MKs about the war, in which Israel was surprised by a coordinated Arab invasion on the northern and southern fronts, Netanyahu explained that IDF soldiers who fought in the bitter battles of that war “saved us from paying the price of complacency.”
“In the end we won a great victory, but the lessons of the war have stayed with us these 40 years,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli PM Netanyahu Says Relaxing Pressure on Iran Now Would be ‘Historic Mistake’
“There can be no giving in at this time and the pressure must be continued. It must be remembered that it is international pressure which has led to internal change in Iran, which has led the Iranians to any concessions at all and to the negotiating table, and which can bring them to make tangible concessions on their military nuclear program,” Netanyahu said. “I will tell you something that goes against the accepted view – easing the pressure will not strengthen moderate trends in Iran. On the contrary, it will strengthen the uncompromising views of the real ruler of Iran, the Ayatollah Khamenei, and will be seen as a significant victory by him.”
Report: US mulls letting Iran keep uranium enrichment facilities in nuclear deal
The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior US official as saying that Washington was willing to talk to Iran "about what President Obama said in his address at the UN General Assembly, and that is that he respects the rights of the Iranian people to access a peaceful nuclear program." The official stated that what this entails is exactly the matter that is up for discussion.
Israel's security cabinet released a statement prior to the start of talks on Tuesday, saying that Jerusalem "does not oppose Iran having a peaceful nuclear energy program. But as has been demonstrated in many countries, from Canada to Indonesia, peaceful programs do not require uranium enrichment or plutonium production. Iran's nuclear weapons program does."
UN Watch: UN hide carving of naked man ahead of Iran nuclear talks, “kowtowing to fundamentalist regime”
“This is a very dangerous and slippery slope,” said Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based watchdog group. Today the UN is covering up the artistic heritage of its most famous building, Geneva’s historic Palais des Nations, to appease the intolerance of a fundamentalist regime that subjugates women, executes gays, and persecutes Bahais; what will the UN hide tomorrow?”,
Assad: Nobel Peace Prize ‘should have been mine’
The Syrian president had local reporters in stitches on Monday, after one asked a question about the recent award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). “The prize should have been mine,” Assad “quipped,” according to the Lebanese al-Akhbar newspaper.
The ironic wisecrack shows Assad is careful to maintain a sense of perspective, and not take the deaths of at least 115,000 fellow Syrians too seriously.
Other knee-slappers by the president include his claim that “we don’t kill our own people.”
Assad: Hamas Has Betrayed Us Repeatedly, But…
Estrangement between Hamas and the Syrian regime ensued. Assad holds that Hamas ultimately decided to abandon resistance and to fully merge with the Muslim Brotherhood. He adds, “This was not the first time they had betrayed us. It happened before in 2007 and 2009. Their history is one of treachery and betrayal.” Assad then wished “someone would persuade them to return to being a resistance movement,” but says that he doubts this will happen. “Hamas has sided against Syria from day one. They have made their choice,” he adds.
Islamist militants destroy Sufi shrine in eastern Syria: activists
A Sufi Muslim shrine was blown up in eastern Syria on Sunday, opposition activists said, blaming al Qaeda-affiliated militants who have joined in the increasingly sectarian civil war.
Militants placed explosives at the shrine of Sheikh Eissa Abdelqader al-Rifaiy in the rebel-held town of Busaira, 45 km (30 miles) east of the provincial capital of Deir al-Zor, and detonated them on Sunday morning, they said.
Bomb found in Lebanon's Hezbollah stronghold on eve of Muslim holiday
Lebanese security forces defused a car bomb on Monday in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the Shi'ite Muslim militia group Hezbollah.
The discovery of a bomb happened on the first night of the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha and two months after a car bomb killed 20 people in the area, and looked like the latest sign of growing sectarian tensions in Lebanon exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria.
Amnesty International: Egyptian Christians Not Protected by Authorities
“It is deeply disturbing that the Christian community across Egypt was singled out for revenge attacks over the events in Cairo by some supporters of the deposed president, Mohamed Morsi,” Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa said in a statement.
The report details how Egyptian security forces failed to prevent angry mobs from attacking Christian churches, schools, homes and charities in the days following the August 14 raid. At least four Christians were also killed in the sectarian violence.
Egypt Closes Rafah Crossing for Muslim Festival
Egypt has announced that its border crossing with the Gaza Strip will be closed for the week because of the Muslim festival of Eid Al-Adha, but gave no specific reason for the measure, state news agency MENA reported.
Egypt’s Al Ahram Group Displays Hate Literature at Frankfurt Book Fair
Egypt’s Al Ahram Publishing Center was the highest profile purveyor of hate literature at the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world’s largest, which has been inspected annually by Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
In a statement, SWC said its dubious “Worst Offender 2013” prize was awarded to Egypt, led by Al Ahram (Hall 5.0 D132), which also publishes the widely-read Egyptian daily, and The Arab Publishers Association (Hall 50 E109.)

Friday, October 04, 2013

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: America and the good psychopaths
Obama wants to negotiate for the sake of negotiating. And he has taken the UN and the EU with him on this course.
It’s possible that Obama believes that these negotiations will transform Iran into a quasi-US ally like the Islamist regime in Turkey. That regime remains a member of NATO despite the fact that it threatens its neighbors with war, it represses its own citizens, and it refuses to support major US initiatives while undermining NATO operations.
Obama will never call Turkey out for its behavior or make Prime Minister Recep Erdogan pay a price for his bad faith. The myth of the US-Turkish alliance is more important to Obama than the substance of Turkey’s relationship with the United States.
Melanie Phillips: Obama is in la-la land over Iran
This was thought to be a warning to the US that Iran speaks with forked tongue. If so, the crudity of such a manoeuvre suggests a measure of desperation in Jerusalem.
Who can be surprised? Responsibility for stopping the Iranian genocide bomb rests with Obama — the man who helped put the Muslim Brotherhood into power in Egypt; the man who draws a moral equivalence between Israel and its Palestinian aggressors; and the man who is manufacturing an utterly spurious linkage between the Iranian nuclear threat and the Palestinian issue, presumably so he can blame Israel when Iran gets the bomb on his watch.
Kerry: Islamic Terrorists Only Want to Kill Us Because They Have No Jobs…
Study after study has shown that jihadis are wealthier and better educated than their peers. But we keep throwing money at the problem. The recipients, however, just think of it as jizya, the money that non-Muslims must pay the Muslims as per Qur’an 9:29, and continue waging jihad.
American Islamic Group Hiding Donations From Foreign Governments, Others
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is using a complex web of non-profit and corporate entities to keep millions of dollars in donations from foreign governments and other international donors from public disclosure, Washington’s Daily Caller reports.
“CAIR’s fundraising practices are constructed in a way that makes it impossible to trace large donations from overseas, including from foreign governments,” the story says.
September: Spike in Terror Attacks
There was a sharp rise in the number of terror attacks in Israel in September, compared to the previous month, according to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency).
The Shin Bet summary for September counted 133 attacks, compared to 99 in August. Most of the attacks were in the Biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, where there were 104 attacks, compared to 68 in August.
Two soldiers were killed by Arab terrorists: Sgt. Tomer Hazan Hy”d was abducted and murdered, and First Sgt. Gal Kobi was killed by a sniper in Hevron.
Israel Hopes to Avoid Third Intifada Despite Palestinian Rhetoric, Violence
The IDF believes it can keep a lid on the violence due its strong presence on the ground in the West Bank, and Israel’s tight intelligence grip of the sector.
Israel’s firm control of the Jordan Valley, the security fence, and a level of consistent cooperation with Palestinian Authority security forces have all acted as stabilizing factors that prevent a significant deterioration.
But the risk of violence spiraling out of control remains. Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Fatah-affiliated Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, and lone-wolf terrorists all have the potential to set in motion a series of attacks.
PMW: While Abbas talked peace at the UN
During the current peace talks, and on the same day Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas asserted at the UN the Palestinians' goal of achieving peace, an Abbas representative and other PA and Fatah officials were busy honoring terrorist Abu Sukkar.
The PA and Fatah held a well-attended memorial in Ramallah for Ahmad Jabara Abu Sukkar who planned a bombing attack, using a refrigerator filled with explosives, that killed 15 Israelis and wounded over 60 in Jerusalem in 1975.
PM Netanyahu on Charlie Rose
Netanyahu talks Israeli settlements and peace with Palestinians


Netanyahu on Iran nuke ambitions evidence: "This is not a guesstimate"


The speech I want to hear from Netanyahu
Being intellectually honest means laying out the moral asymmetries between Israel and the Palestinians. The fact is that we recognize them, but they’re not willing yet to recognize our legitimate, historical rights in the Land of Israel. The fact is that Israel protects religious rights and minority rights in Israel for religions and peoples of the world, while the nascent Palestinian state already in place does not, and could very well be on its way to becoming yet another failed Arab state. The fact is that Israel proudly hosts 1.5 million Arab citizens, while the Palestinians demand a Judenrein, ethnically cleansed state in historic Judea and Samaria.
Inaccuracy and distortion in BBC report of Netanyahu’s UN speech
The article opens with a gross inaccuracy:
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned against working with the Iranian government.”
To ‘warn against’ is defined as “to advise someone against someone, something, or doing something”. “Warned against working with the Iranian government” would therefore be understood by any reasonable reader as meaning to advise not to work with the Iranian government.
In fact, a significant proportion of Netanyahu’s speech was devoted to the subject of safeguards which should be employed by the international community whilst negotiating with Iran.
JPost Editorial Party pooper
Not only does Netanyahu have the right to speak the truth in the face of misguided ideas and notions, he has a moral obligation, as leader of the Jewish state, to make this point as clear as possible in every international forum, including the UN General Assembly, even if he ruins the mood of optimism. It is, after all, in large part thanks to Netanyahu’s ceaseless diplomatic work – including threats that Israel will act alone militarily if necessary – that the US has been motivated to assemble a broad coalition of nations to adopt crippling sanctions against Iran.
As the economic situation worsens due to these sanctions, Iran may soon face the gritty question of regime change. Only this combined with a real military threat will ultimately convince Iran to abandon its nuclear program.
Iran's Rouhani Boasts: I Rejected Obama Five Times
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani told reporters on Wednesday that he turned down five requests from U.S. President Barack Obama to meet at the United Nations, according to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency.
Bibi Speaks Rouhani's Language in BBC Persian Interview
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu mixed in a couple of expressions in Farsi, in an interview on BBC Persian Thursday aimed at the Iranian people.
Speaking with conviction, Netanyahu said: “I would welcome a genuine rapprochement, a genuine effort to stop the nuclear program, not a fake one, not harf-e pootch ['nonsense' in Farsi]. ”We are not sadeh-lowe ['suckers' in Farsi],” said the prime minister.
He said that if Iran develops nuclear weapons, it will not only threaten Israel and the United States, but spell slavery for the Iranian people themselves. The Iranian people “will never get rid of the tyranny” of the regime if it obtains nuclear weapons, he said.
Avigdor Lieberman: NY Times Editorial on Netanyahu as Delusional as 1938 Story on ‘Peace’ With Hitler
“Today, The New York Times attacked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his speech [Tuesday], saying he was inciting to war and thwarting chances of peace with Iran,” Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page. “In 1938 the very same New York Timesreported with excitement at the peace deal between Britain and Nazi Germany, over how Hitler got less than what he demanded. … How did this ‘peace deal’ sit with the Nazi dictator—we all know. So of course it is preferable to stand up for the State of Israel’s crucial interests, and [it is preferable] for The New York Times to attack you than it is to end up like Czechoslovakia in 1938.” (h/t Yoel)
Poll: Most Israelis Support Iran Strike
A majority of Israelis would support unilateral military action against Iran, according to a poll published Friday, after Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said his government was ready to act alone.
Some 65.6 percent of 500 Jewish Israelis surveyed by the Israel Hayom newspaper said they would support military strikes to halt Iran's nuclear program, and 84 percent believed the Islamic republic had no intention of reining in its alleged drive to build a bomb.
Hamas: We're Avoiding Confrontation With Israel, But...
Abu Ubaida, the spokesman for Hamas’s military wing the Al-Qassam Brigades, said on Thursday that the terror organization is trying to avoid going to battle with Israel in order to avoid the consequences for Gaza residents.
At the same time, he said in a recorded message that the 'Hamas resistance' to Israel was in a better condition than ever before in Gaza, and that the group was ready for a confrontation if one is needed.
Elie Wiesel: Jewish Response to Syria Gas Attack Not Powerful Enough, Considering Gas Was Used by Nazis to Kill Jews
“Here I feel very bad about our own leadership,” said Wiesel, responding to a question from the event’s moderator Rabbi Shmuley Boteach who asked, “What do you think about Syria? should we punish Assad for gassing children? And for us Jews of course, gas has the worst possible connotation.”
“Jewish leadership, the moment we knew that they are using gas should have organized a mass demonstration of 500,000 people in the streets.
CIA ramping up covert training program for moderate Syrian rebels
The CIA is expanding a clandestine effort to train opposition fighters in Syria amid concern that moderate, U.S.-backed militias are rapidly losing ground in the country’s civil war, U.S. officials said.
But the CIA program is so minuscule that it is expected to produce only a few hundred trained fighters each month even after it is enlarged, a level that officials said will do little to bolster rebel forces that are being eclipsed by radical Islamists in the fight against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Assad warns Turkey of 'heavy price' for backing Syrian rebels
In an interview with Turkey's Halk TV due to be broadcast later on Friday, Assad called Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan "bigoted" and said Turkey was allowing terrorists to cross into Syria to attack the army and Syrian civilians.
"It is not possible to put terrorism in your pocket and use it as a card because it is like a scorpion which won't hesitate to sting you at the first opportunity," Assad said, according to a transcript published on Halk TV's website.
Assad: If People Object, I Won't Run for Re-election
Interviewed by Turkey's Halk TV, Assad stressed that if the Syrian people are not interested in his serving another term, he won't run.
Assad says “the picture will be clearer” in the next four to five months since Syria is going though “rapid” changes on the ground.
Syria: Rebels Seize Hundreds of Tanks
Eye witness testimonies and video footage point to a devastating blow for the Syrian army, as rebel forces claim to have captured 300 Syrian army tanks along with huge stores of ammunition.
Rebel forces have uploaded a clip to the YouTube channel presenting their control of an army base in the Rahm el Kalmon area, West of the capital Damascus.
Saudi jails, lashes “naked” dancers, reports say
A Saudi court has sentenced four men to up to 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes for dancing "naked" in public, media reported on Thursday.
In a video posted on YouTube, several men appear dancing atop a vehicle in the ultra-conservative province of Qassim. None seemed naked.

Thursday, October 03, 2013

From Ian:

The Real Big Winner of the Arab Spring
Finally, analysts tend to overlook the most important factor: Israel’s overwhelming military superiority. The Arab states have fought four major wars against the Jewish state, all won convincingly by Israel. In the intervening 40 years, the IDF has only gotten stronger while Arab armies have petrified. Israel currently maintains a massive qualitative edge over its potential enemies, honed over decades of battle experience. The Egyptian and Syrian armies, untested since the Yom Kippur War, are not even capable of controlling their own territories, while Jordan has not gone to war since 1967. The Arab states know full well that they would be decimated in any large-scale conflict with the Jewish state.
Obviously, none of this should be taken as cause for sanguinity with regard to the long-term threats to Israel’s survival and prosperity. But the Arab Spring has compromised strategic rivals and devastated a number of these threats. While its neighbors are roiled by chaos and violence, Israel remains strong. By exercising restraint, keeping a low profile, and strengthening its defenses, Israel is in a better position now than it was several years ago. In fact, Israel may be the only real long-term winner of the Arab Spring.
JCPA: After the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Is Hamas in Gaza Next in Line?
Indeed, Egypt has finally decided to tackle the security threat from the Sinai Peninsula, a region that was nearly under the control of jihadist organizations with links to al-Qaeda and Hamas. The Egyptian army has massed troops, deployed combat helicopters, dispatched navy patrol boats, and is carrying out coordinated attacks against concentrations of terrorists in Sinai.
The Egyptian army’s ultimate goal is clear: to recover Egypt’s sovereignty in Sinai. In order to succeed in its mission, the Egyptian supreme command understands that it must neutralize Hamas, which it sees as partly responsible for the security situation in Sinai during the last few years.
Egypt drafts plans to launch strikes on Gaza terror targets
Military sources told the Palestinian Ma’an news agency that the new Egyptian plans call for attacks on specific targets in the Strip, and that Egyptian unmanned aerial vehicles recently overflew the territory and photographed a number of sites.
According to the report, the UAVs’ mission was focused on Rafah and Khan Yunis, cities along the Gaza Strip’s southern border with Egypt.
These statements were made following Egypt’s Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy’s warning his country could take military action against Gaza terrorist groups last week. The warning was issued in light of continuous attacks against the Egyptian army in Sinai, particularly in the areas of Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid, also adjacent to the Gaza border.
Soldier’s killer still at large 10 days later
Nearly two weeks after Kobi’s death, however, the shooter remains at large. According to the Maariv daily, the IDF and Shin Bet security service believe the gunman acted on his own — and have no real leads in the case. Among the indicators supporting this theory is the fact that no organization has claimed responsibility for the attack. The fact that the killer likely acted alone has made it harder to gather intelligence and crack the case, unnamed sources told the paper.
Jerusalem Councillor: Time to Stop Illegal Mosque Noise
Despite their many protests, residents of the Pisgat Ze'ev neighborhood of Jerusalem have still found no relief from the ongoing din made by mosque muezzins who issue the call to Muslim prayer at all hours of the day – and the night. Especially at issue is the first call to prayer of the morning that is made – very loudly – at dawn.
Arab Witness 'Lied' Over Cemetery Vandalism; Suspects Released
The four argued that they had been in the area only because they were walking to the mikvah (ritual bath), and that they had no connection to the vandalism.
“The only one who testified against us was the Arab man, a man we know who had a clear interest in doing us harm,” one of the suspects said Thursday morning, following his release.
PLO Flag Flies over Homesh
Palestinian Authority resident Arabs took over the town of Homesh on Thursday morning, just two weeks after a government order supported turning the Jewish community over to PA hands.
Pictures showed Arab men celebrating at the scene by waving PLO flags and holding up signs with what appeared to be anti-Semitic images, including a depiction of a religious Jew being speared through the head.
The men painted over the picture of a menorah on the local water tower that had been Homesh’s trademark, replacing it with PLO images and slogans in Arabic.
PMW: Terrorist Dalal Mughrabi glorified in ping pong tournament sponsored by Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub
On the same day that Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas spoke about the Palestinians' desire to live in peace with Israel and their "rejection of terrorism in all its forms," Fatah Central Committee member Jibril Rajoub, who also heads the Palestinian Olympic Committee, glorified terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.
Dalal Mughrabi led the most lethal terror attack in Israel's history in 1978, when she and other terrorists hijacked a bus and killed 37 civilians, 12 of them children.
Rajoub chose to sponsor "The Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Table Tennis Tournament." At the closing ceremony, Vice President of the Palestinian Table Tennis Association, Radwan Al-Sharif, honored terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, when he "mentioned the glorious deeds of hero Martyr Dalal Mughrabi."
Top minister: Makes sense for Israel, Arabs to cooperate on Iran
Israel has held a series of meetings with prominent figures from a number of Gulf and other Arab states in recent weeks in an attempt to muster a new alliance capable of blocking Iran’s drive toward nuclear weapons, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Wednesday. An Israeli minister said Thursday that it made sense for Israel and worried Arab states to work together, though he did not confirm the specifics of the report.
According to the report, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been supervising a series of “intensive meetings” with representatives of these countries. One “high-ranking official” even came on a secret visit to Israel, the report said.
Israel no longer certain Obama would ever use force against Iran, Likud MK indicates
Speaking to The Times of Israel in New York in the wake of Netanyahu’s speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, Hanegbi said “the most dramatic part” of the prime minister’s address was the passage in which he warned, “Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone.”
Why was this so dramatic, Hanegbi asked rhetorically? “Because it marked the first time it was said in public, and not behind closed doors, that Israel will act even if stands alone.”
Netanyahu: Ayatollah Khamenei ‘heads a cult’
Netanyahu dismissed the notion that Rouhani was freely elected, saying Iranians would topple the regime if they could.
“These people, the Iranian people, the majority of them are actually pro-Western,” he stated, adding, “But they don’t have that. They’re governed not by Rouhani, they’re governed by Ayatollah Khamenei. He heads a cult. That cult is wild in its ambitions and its aggression.”
New sanctions likely despite thaw in US-Iran ties
In July, the House approved tough new sanctions on Iran’s oil sector and other industries. The bill blacklists any business in Iran’s mining and construction sectors and commits the United States to the goal of ending all Iranian oil sales worldwide by 2015. It also builds on US penalties that went into effect last year that have cut Iran’s petroleum exports in half and left its economy in tatters. China, India and several other Asian nations continue to buy billions of dollars of Iranian oil each month, providing Tehran with much of the money it spends on its weapons and nuclear programs.
No bill would likely be finalized before November. That gives the administration at least several weeks to see whether Iran changes course under Rouhani.
Video: Testimony on Prison Conditions in Iran
In her first, full-length witness interview since her escape from Iran, former political prisoner Zaynab Bayazidi--a Kurdish women's rights and children's rights activist--describes her multiple arrests, interrogations and imprisonment in exile in Maragheh Prison in Iran. In her statement, Bayazidi explains in careful detail the substandard health and sanitation conditions in prison, sexually coercive practices in interrogation, suicide attempts of inmates, the treatment of children in prison, sexual abuse of female inmates, violence in prison and other prison circumstances and practices that she herself experienced or to which she was a first-hand witness.
Egypt Cancels all Flights, Tourism Ties with Iran
The announcement came Tuesday, with Egypt stating it has ordered an end to all tourism activities with Iran. These had increased considerably during the yearlong rule of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Whereas deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi tried to improve relations with Iran, seeing it as a natural ally, the new regime is trying to distance itself from Tehran.
Egypt’s Liberals Can’t Get a Break. Will They Ever?
I came looking for the country’s beleaguered secular liberals, hoping to find out what they think about the difficult situation in which they and the people of Egypt now find themselves: Two years after the Egyptian revolution ended President Hosni Mubarak’s 30 years in power, the country’s liberals, who bitterly opposed Mubarak, are now largely aligned with another military-dominated regime.
Is this a betrayal of the revolution’s core principles, or the only way Egypt’s secular democrats can eventually triumph over the theocratic forces of the Muslim Brotherhood who seek to create a coercive sharia-based state? Are Egypt’s liberals simply rebooting their revolution after the failure of Morsi’s government, or is their tolerance of the new military-backed government a strategic error?
John Greyson and Tarek Loubani: Egypt considering murder charges against Canadians
For the first time, the Star is publishing a detailed list of the intended charges the authorities are pursuing against them. Similar charges are also being sought for 140 Egyptians scooped up during demonstrations in the heart of Cairo that left dozens dead.
The most serious allegations against the Canadians include murder, “intention to kill,” aiding and abetting murder, and “using explosives against the Azbakiya police station” in central Cairo. At least one of those allegations — murder — carries a potential death sentence in Egypt.
Islamist Group Tied to Obama Downplays Violence Against Coptic Christians
Dalia Moghaed, credited with helping President Obama draft his June 2009 Cairo speech about American relations with the Islamic world, recently downplayed attacks against Egypt’s Coptic Christians on a Facebook page.
More than 80 Coptic churches were burned by Brotherhood supporters after the Egyptian military’s crackdown last month on Muslim Brotherhood encampments in Cairo. A local branch of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party appeared to sanction violence in retaliation for the Coptic Church’s backing of the Egyptian military.
Amnesty International accuses Turkey of gross rights violations
“The attempt to smash the Gezi Park protest movement involved a string of human rights violations on a huge scale,” Amnesty International’s expert on Turkey, Andrew Gardner, said. ”They include the wholesale denial of the right to peaceful assembly and violations of the rights to life, liberty and the freedom from torture and ill-treatment.”
Protests broke out at Gezi Park in June over government plans to redevelop Istanbul landmark Taksim Square and build a replica Ottoman-era military barracks at Gezi, one of the last green areas in the city. The public rallies then evolved into an outpouring of discontent with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which many have accused of becoming authoritarian, and spread to other cities in Turkey.
Daniel Pipes: U.S.-Turkey Partnership is a Gigantic Blunder
A headline declaring “U.S. and Turkey to Create Fund to Stem Extremism” may look like a parody headline but it’s the entirely serious title of a New York Times article by Eric Schmitt. Some details: John Kerry and Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu announced recently at a meeting of the Global Counterterrorism Forum
Future says Hezbollah’s arms reason behind Lebanese emigration
Lebanon’s Future bloc said on Tuesday that non-state arms, in reference to Hezbollah’s weapons, are why the Lebanese people are emigrating from the country.
“The arms which are not under the state’s authority are the reason behind the Lebanese people’s emigration [legally] and illegally,” the Future bloc said in a statement issued following its weekly meeting in reference to the recent incident of the sinking of a boat carrying Lebanese asylum-seekers.
At least 29 Lebanese asylum-seekers are missing after their boat capsized off Indonesia on its way to Australia, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
Hezbollah Withdraws 1,200 Troops from Syria
The fighters were sent in to help Assad retake the city of Qusair, near the border with Lebanon, which they did in early June. They were accused of murdering women and children during the fighting, which exacted a heavy toll on both sides.
Hebollah then redirected its efforts towards Homs, to help Assad’s troops retake that area, and intended to move on afterward to Aleppo.
However, instead of quickly retaking the area, the Hezbollah and Syrian soldiers, and their Iranian advisors, found themselves increasingly trapped in endless bloody skirmishes in the region. Not only did they not retake land from the rebels, but they found themselves suffering heavy losses.
The losses lead to increasing division within Hezbollah, with many criticizing the group’s head, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, for spending Hezbollah lives in a foreign country. Nasrallah's own brother Khader was among the dead.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

From Ian:

Israel removes last significant ban on Gaza imports
An Israeli source told The Times of Israel that 350 trucks carrying building materials will now be allowed to enter the Hamas-controlled territory every week, an increase of 250 truck loads, in a bid “to increase employment and strengthen the private sector in the Gaza Strip.”
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the change in Israeli policy followed talks with the Palestinians “in cooperation with the international community,” and had “no connection” to the peace negotiations underway between the sides.
Palestinian Govt Endangered By Economic and Political Double-Bind
The IMF specifically called on the Palestinian Authority (PA) to cut the wages, pensions, and benefits of public employees.
The recommendation risks trapping the PA in a double-bind, forced to choose between floating the West Bank economy or sustaining the Palestinian government’s political institutions.
Building and sustaining the economy will require, per the IMF report, cuts in employee compensation. But PA government employees are already going on strike – 95% of them walked out this weekend – over insufficient compensation. Further cuts could endanger the viability of the Palestinian government.
Jerusalem police arrest Islamic Movement leaders for allegedly disturbing the peace
Jerusalem policemen were attacked this morning near the Temple Mount in the old city, by Palestinian stone throwers.
Three men were arrested as a result, including the two Islamic Movement leaders, while two policemen were injured after being hit by rocks.
Arab Youths Carrying Molotov Cocktails Arrested at Tapuach Jct
Israeli Border Police have arrested two Arab men at the Tapuach junction after being alerted by suspicious-looking bags the pair were carrying.
The two men, aged 18 and 20, both residents of the Raas el Ayn refugee camp near Shechem, arrived at the checkpoint at the junction on Tuesday afternoon carrying plastic bags.
After border police stationed at the junction approached the two to check the contents of the bags they discovered four Molotov cocktails ready for use.
Terror attack thwarted in West Bank
A terror attack was prevented Wednesday when Israeli security forces in the West Bank caught a Palestinian youth carrying a pistol and knife.
The suspect was arrested by police and Givati soldiers at the Tapuah Junction in the northern West Bank, Yedioth Ahronoth reported. He tried reaching for an improvised knife hidden in his belt when security forces grabbed him.
UN Security Council faces reform calls following inaction on Syria
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ban said he also endorsed reforming the Security Council, and that "almost all member states are in agreement that the Security Council should be reformed, but how to reform, how to change, the member states have not been able to agree."
"Sadly, the international community has not been able to help the Syrian people enjoy security and peace for the last two-and-a-half years," Ban said.
"The Security Council should be united at this time. The findings [in the UN chemical weapons report] by Dr. Selltröm and his team were indisputable and overwhelming."
Ban did walk back remarks that he made over the weekend in which he accused Syrian President Bashar Assad of crimes against humanity, maintaining that he was not assigning blame for the chemical weapons attacks.
Lebanese MP Echoes Claims Hezbollah Received Chemical Arms
A claim made Monday by Syrian National Coalition member Kamal al-Labwani, that Syria has transferred chemical weapons to Hezbollah, was echoed Tuesday by another politician.
MP Khaled el Daher, a member of Lebanon's Al Mustakbal party, asked the United Nations to send international inspectors to Lebanon, to inspect Hezbollah's weapons stores. He claims that he has “well founded” information, according to which Hezbollah recently received chemical weapons from Syria's president Bashar al-Assad.
UN Envoy: Golan Fighting Could Draw Israel into Syrian War
The Associated Press quoted the envoy, Robert Serry, as having told the Security Council the fighting could "jeopardize the ceasefire" between Israel and Syria that has been in place since 1974, monitored by UN peacekeepers.
Serry said that during "heavy clashes" last Thursday between Syrian troops and the opposition, five artillery shells and one tank shell landed on the Israeli side of the truce line.
He noted that the Israelis did not retaliate.
Syrian defector: I was told to use chemical weapons
In an interview with Abu Dhabi newspaper The National, Brigadier General Zaher Saket, a commander in the military’s 5th division who defected from President Bashar Assad’s army in March, claimed he had been instructed to attack rebels with poison gas on numerous occasions.
“I am a witness and received orders three times to use chemical gas last year,” Saket said.
Syria Hands Russia 'Proof' of Rebel Chemical Weapons Use
A Russian official has claimed to have received evidence of the use of chemical weapons by Syrian rebels, and dismissed a UN report suggesting the Syrian regime used poison gas as unreliable.
Deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov also slammed a UN report on an August 21 chemical weapons attack in the Syrian capital Damascus, which killed over 1,000 people, as "politicized and one-sided." The report - which concluded that Sarin gas had been used in the attack on a rebel-held Damascus suburb - did not explicitly apportion blame for the attack, but western leaders claimed it was proof that the Assad regime was indeed behind the deadly attack.
China: 'UN Report on Syria Not Impartial'
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular briefing that Beijing would have a “serious look” at the report, but did not say whether China thought that government forces were responsible when asked.
“The relevant investigation should be carried out by the U.N. investigation team on an impartial, professional and independent basis,” he said.
MEMRI: In Egypt, Public Campaign Against Obama, U.S.; Calls For Intensified Cooperation With Russia, China
The Egyptian pro-regime and -army press published articles notable in their vilification of President Obama himself – insulting his mother, calling him mentally deficient and his administration "the Adolf Obama Reich," and even going so far as to offer a prayer that he would die in agony. Many articles contended that Obama and his administration supported terror by virtue of their support for the MB; columnists also opposed U.S. intervention in Egypt's internal affairs, and, in response to American threats to cut off aid, argued that Egypt was better off without it.
Egypt Freezes Brotherhood's Assets, Arrests its Spokesman
Among those facing sanctions are Brotherhood general guide Mohammad Badie, his two deputies Khairat al-Shater and Rashad Bayoumi, as well as Salafist leader Hazem Abu Ismail and preacher Safwat Higazy, reported AFP.
Since August, Egypt's authorities have rounded up dozens of senior leaders of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood, including Badie, who was caught in a building in Cairo’s Nasr City district near Rabaa El-Adaweya.
Last week, authorities began investigating former President Mohammed Morsi’s family wealth and assets, reported Al Arabiya.
Analysis: Following US-Russian agreement, Iran will aim for a deal of its own
Meanwhile, Iran’s new nuclear energy chief has pledged increased cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency ahead of upcoming talks later this month.
Even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that he believes in “heroic flexibility,” according to a report by the Iranian Fars News Agency on Tuesday.
“I agree with the issue that I called ‘heroic flexibility’ some years ago, since this move is highly good and necessary on certain occasions, but with commitment to one main condition,” he said. Khamenei added, “A technical wrestler also shows flexibility for technical reasons sometimes, but he would never forget who his rival is and what his main goal is.”
So it seems “tactical flexibility” means to serve the strategic goal of achieving nuclear weapons
Iran Denies Willingness to Make Nuclear Concession, Nixes Possibility of “Fresh Proposal”
Even if Iran did close Fordo, the country’s stockpile of low- and medium-enriched uranium and the 18,000 centrifuges installed at another enrichment plant near Natanz would allow it to make highly enriched fuel for nuclear weapons, said Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.
Yuval Steinitz – Israel’s Minister of Intelligence, International Relations, and Strategic Affairs – explained to Israeli Army Radio that “most of the centrifuges are not there; without Fordo they might be able to produce six, not seven, nuclear bombs.”
Iranian media is flatly denying the details of a Der Spiegel report published yesterday describing Iranian president Hassan Rouhani as ready to decommission the country’s uranium enrichment facility at Fordo in exchange for the West easing economic sanctions.
Startling Revelations From an Iranian Smuggling Case in Hamburg
I rarely attend trials, but this one is special. On July 24, 2013, the main hearing in the case of German businessman Rudolf M. and Iranian-Germans Gholamali K., Kianzad K., and Hamid Kh. opened at Hamburg’s Higher Regional Court. The defendants are charged with exporting 92 German-produced specialized valves for use in Iran’s Arak plutonium reactor and arranging the shipment of 856 nuclear-usable valves from India to Iran in 2010 and 2011.
The reasons why the UN Security Council has ordered Iran to halt the construction of the Arak reactor are compelling. If this nuclear plant comes online in 2014, as the Iranians anticipate, it could produce enough weapons-grade plutonium for two bombs a year. The smuggling of nuclear valves from Germany is therefore of exceptional significance and tops the latest UN list of reported alleged violations of the sanction regime against Iran.
Recently, an important detail of this smuggling operation was revealed on the German public television current affairs program, Fakt: “German officials clearly (knew) about this illegal trade since 2009 and did nothing about it for years.” How so? Did such an explosive shipment really take place before the very eyes of the German security services?
Human Rights Group Urges Facebook to Boycott Iranian Regime
The Israeli organization, which represents victims of terrorism in courtrooms around the world, sent a formal letter to Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, in an attempt to dissuade the multibillion dollar company from violating a U.S. law.
It was recently reported that 15 Iranian government ministers launched a new account on the popular social network even though Facebook is supposedly closed to the citizens of Iran. Ministers have made the new accounts by using proxy servers. The fact that Facebook is an American company headquartered in Palo Alto, California, makes it subject to U.S. laws.
Technical Glitch Momentarily Restores Social Media Access in Iran
A technical glitch briefly restored access to social media sites Twitter and Facebook Monday in Iran.
The social media sites have been blocked since 2009 after they were used to organize protests against the reigning regime.
Iranians reacted with cautious optimism when they realized the sites were accessible.
“If it is true, I think they have to register today in calendar as a day of Free Filtering,” user Abbas Farokhi told BBC Persian.
Thailand Jails Hezbollah Bomb Suspect
A 49 year-old Swedish national has been jailed over an alleged Hezbollah bomb plot in Thailand.
Atris Hussein was arrested in January after Israeli intelligence services tipped off their Thai counterparts over a planned terrorist attack during the New Year.
He was sentenced to four years for "illegal armament possession," but will only have to serve two years and eight months after the prosecution failed to convince judges of his connection to the Hezbollah terrorist group.
Instead, the conviction relates to Hussein's possession of 2,800 kilos (2.8 tons) of ammonium nitrate, which is used in the manufacturing of explosives, and the possession of which is banned in Thailand without a permit - which Hussein did not have.
Part Iran-Owned NYC 5th Avenue Office Tower Worth Up to $700 Million Cleared for Seizure by U.S. Government
A 36-story Manhattan office tower, partially-owned by a shell company controlled by Iran, has been cleared for forfeiture to the U.S. government by a federal judge, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The building is expected to fetch between $500 million and $700 million, the New York Daily News said.
U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest made the forfeiture finding in a case first brought by the U.S. government in 2008, ruling that the building is subject to forfeiture because revenue from it was secretly funneled to a state-owned Iranian bank, in violation of a U.S. trade embargo.

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