2007 ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Monday, December 31, 2007

The first 2008 murder in Gaza

Palestine Press Agency (Arabic) has a breaking news item: "Death of a young man from a family Dairi during violent clashes taking place in the Sabra downtown Gaza." The dateline says 1:57 AM.So the new year started just as peacefully as the old one ended.Since I started counting on June 28, 2006, I have recorded 815 violent Palestinian Arab deaths in the territories by PalArabs.UPDATE: Two more die in a gun battle this morning. 3 this yea...

"Stranded?"

In yet another subtle but telling piece of bias by the media, a number of news outlets are describing the Gaza Hajj pilgrims in Egypt as "stranded:"Canadian Press: Stranded Palestinian pilgrims protest in camps in northern Sinai area of EgyptAll Headline News: "Thousands of Palestinian pilgrims were stranded on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border following a dispute over how they will return to the Gaza strip."BBC: "Protest by stranded Gaza pilgrims"Boston...

PalArabs end the year with a bang

The Jerusalem Post reports:Anniversary celebrations for the Fatah movement turned violent in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis after nightfall Monday, and medics said three people were killed.They said one of the dead was a Hamas police officer, and another was a Fatah supporter. About 30 people were wounded, they said. YNet confirms that the third to die is a teenager; Ma'an translates it to "child." Palestine Today says 5 were killed. Palestine...

It is not only the BBC that has these problems, of course, but the BBC claims to be "independent, impartial and honest", and this clearly isn't true:More than 1,000 Palestinian pilgrims stranded in Egypt have held protests after they were blocked from travelling through a border crossing to Gaza.The pilgrims broke windows and started fires to protest against the decision to...

Peaceful Gaza news

The Palestine Press Agency may be rabidly anti-Hamas but lately all of its stories ended up being corroborated by others, often a couple of days later. So here are today's stories from the Arabic edition:* Hamas looted trucks filled with aid from Jordan* Hamas threatened Egypt if it doesn't allow Hamas hajj terrorists to cross Rafah unimpeded* Hamas abducted 30 Fatah members in northern Gaza* Hamas threatened journalists not to cover Fatah celebrations...

UK interview with just another nutcase radical Imam

From the Sun (UK):A FANATICAL Pakistani cleric told The Sun yesterday of his chilling dream to turn the world Muslim – by force if necessary.Qari Hifzur Rehamn, 60, spoke openly of imposing Islamic law’s stoning and beheading on Britain – as Pakistan was rocked by unrest over the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.He warned: “We want Islamic law for all Pakistan and then the world.“We would like to do this by preaching. But if not then we would use...

Saddam party tomorrow. Dress informally. Poison gas optional.

From Ma'an (Arabic, autotranslated, cleaned up): The Arab Baath Socialist Party announced a rally tomorrow, Tuesday, in the city of Nablus, to commemorate the anniversary of the martyrdom of the late Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.The party's leadership called on the Palestinian masses to participate in the ceremony in the Hall bureau in the city of Nablus two p.m., in memory of the late President Saddam Hussein. Isn't it nice to know that the West...

Lies, damn lies, and B'Tselem's statistics

B'Tselem just came out with its annual report on how horrible Israel is, and for purposes of "balance" it threw in some statistics on Palestinian Arabs killing each other. It comes to the apparent conclusion that even with a reduction of Palestinian Arab deaths at the hands of Israel this year, Israel was responsible for more PalArab deaths than Palestinian Arabs themselves were. It counts 373 Palestinian Arabs killed by the IDF and 344 killed in...

Fayyad is ticking off Fatah, Islamic Jihad, Hamas

The Jerusalem Post reports:Fatah's armed wing, the Aksa Martyrs Brigades, on Sunday called for the murder of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salaam Fayad for "collaboration" with Israel and the US.This was the first time the group has openly called for Fayad's assassination. In the past, the group distributed leaflets strongly condemning Fayad and calling for his dismissal.Fayad has been under heavy criticism from some Fatah leaders and activists,...

The saga of the Gaza Hajj pilgrims and their likely terrorist guests continues. YNet reports:Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority reached an agreement on Sunday evening to allow more than 1,000 Palestinians returning from the haj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia to return to their homes in the Gaza Strip.Hamas had demanded that Egypt reopen the Rafah crossing to allow...

The polls are now open: vote for EoZ Dhimmi of the Year

On the right hand side of this blog you can see the poll. It will stay up through New Year's Day.Vote for the most deserving dhimmi of 200...

"Sugar" explosives followup

As I suspected, this story was all but ignored in the European press. The exception proves the rule.And note how the EU condemned it: EU spokeswoman Alix deMauny said the bloc distributes its food aid through U.N. agencies, rather than directly, and does not export any sugar to Gaza. "Based on the information received, it appears that these bags cannot be confused with any kind of EU humanitarian aid," deMauny said. "We would consider it an...

PA: "Don't worry about murders, it was only Jew-hatred"

From Ma'an:Hebron security commander Samih As-Sayfi said on Sunday that Friday's killing of two Israeli soldiers in the West Bank was a criminal offense, not an act of political violence in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.Earlier, the military wings of Hamas, Fatah, and Islamic Jihad all claimed responsibility for the attack.And since robbery wasn't the motive, it must have only been old-fashioned anti-semitism. You know, the usual Jew target-practice....

The Iranian PRESSTV website used a satirical Photoshopped image as proof of Iran's benevolence towards Jews. I had noticed and even linked to this picture (since replaced.)Read the whole story at The People's Cub...

Nice shooting (5)

al-'Aretz notices what we've noted a few times in the past month - how accurate the IAF has been in killing terrorists and not killing civilians:The Shin Bet and the IAF (in some cases the IDF Southern Command is also involved) are responsible for the most lethal part of combating terror organizations in the Gaza Strip: the assassinations from the air, for which Israel coined the euphemism "pinpointed thwarting." This past month alone, at least 40...

From the Jerusalem Post:The IDF and Shin Bet uncovered 6.5 tons of potassium nitrate hidden in sacks that were disguised as aid from the European Union, the army announced on Saturday.Security forces discovered the stash in the cargo of a Palestinian truck at a West Bank checkpoint earlier in December. According to the IDF, the material, hidden in sugar sacks, was planned...

EoZ Dhimmi of the Year update

Thanks for all the comments and nominations for EoZ Dhimmi of the Year.Because there is a probability of coercion and abject fear behind the Iranian Jewish community leaders' statements, I will take them off the nominee list.Some of these fit in better with Jihad Watch definition (the person "who behaved in the most pusillanimous, abject, and/or suicidally stupid way in the face of Islamic supremacist bullying and intimidation, peaceful or violent")...

Nice shooting (4)

In another astonishing day of IDF effectiveness, some 8 terrorists were eliminated yesterday with no civilian deaths.Seven Palestinian terrorists were killed in several incidents in the Gaza Strip. A top Islamic Jihad man, Muhammad Abu Abdullah, also known as Abu Murshud, was killed in an air strike late Thursday evening. An IDF...

That legendary Palestinian Arab religious tolerance

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) -- Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests attacked each other with brooms and stones inside the Church of the Nativity as long-standing rivalries erupted in violence during holiday cleaning on Thursday.The basilica, built over the grotto in Bethlehem where Christians believe Jesus was born, is administered jointly by Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and...

Check out the differences in captions of these three pictures:A view is seen of the Israeli neighborhood of Har Homa in east Jerusalem, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007. At their first summit since pledging to renew peace talks and try for a treaty next year, Israeli and Palestinian leaders faced a familiar obstacle on Thursday, Israeli construction in a disputed part of Jerusalem.(AP...

Egypt not allowing Hamas members to return from Hajj?

Ma'an (Arabic) is reporting that Egypt is not allowing the Gaza Hajj pilgrims to return through the Rafah crossing, from where they came. 1200 of the pilgrims are stranded at the Gulf of Aqaba and Egypt is saying that they can only re-enter Gaza through the Keren Shalom crossing, which is controlled by Israel. The report further confirms earlier Israeli claims that some of the "pilgrims" were Hamas members who refuse to go through Keren Shalom because...

Despite all the faults of the Arab countries - despite all of their anti-semitism, misogyny, corruption, antipathy towards the West, persecution of minorities and myriad other problems - they still manage to keep their governments going. Even when run by dictators or monarchs-for-life, a government still needs thousands of faithful civil servants to do the millions of ordinary,...

Al-aretz editor hits bottom, digs

Unbelievable:Israelis are known for being direct and blunt. But comments made by David Landau, editor of the Israeli daily, Haaretz, to Condoleezza Rice about Israel needing to be “raped” by the U.S. to achieve a Mideast settlement caused quite a stir among the 20 or so attendees at a confidential briefing with the secretary of state on a recent visit to Israel.The incident, which took place Sept. 10 at the private residence of America’s ambassador...

Two tunnels collapse in Gaza in two days

Yesterday, a tunnel collapsed in Gaza, injuring 8.Today, another one collapsed, killing 1 and injuring several.The 2007 PalArab self-death count rises to 601.UPDATE: "Training accident" kills a 26-year old Hamas member in Gaza. 602.UPDATE 2: It was no accident: it was an internal Hamas murder.UPDATE 3: One PalArab reported killed, another injured in a presumed family feud. No names yet. 60...

Get your nominations in for 2007 Dhimmi of the Year

I recently wrote about the 2006 winner...who do you think should get the honor for 2007?The nominees should be prominent non-Muslims who have accepted and embraced their second-class status in a Muslim-dominated world.A couple of likely nominees would be:Iranian Jewish leaders Maurice Mo'atamad and Ciamak MorsatheghRev. Manuel MusallemBishop Tiny Muskens (and if you follow that link, enjoy the irony of this one)Who else?UPDATE: I see that Jihad Watch...

Another reason for "honor killings"

Ma'an (Arabic) has an article about honor killing statistics this year, saying that the number of such killings has gone down this year to only 9 as opposed to somewhat higher numbers in years past.One very interesting paragraph (autotranslated and cleaned up): The study revealed that some of the murders, which are committed against women for reasons of honour, in reality are caused for a completely different reason. They are often related to the...

On December 21:The attempts by a Zionist organization to persuade Iranian Jews to leave the country and receive $10,000 in return have failed.The organizers of the project in Israel and the United States have voiced their disappointment after they were given the cold shoulder.According to a report by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), of some 25,000...

Muslims abandon babies, Jews are blamed

From the Daily Telegraph (h/t Backspin):A Christian children's home in Bethlehem, which has provided sanctuary for abandoned youngsters and orphans for more than a century, is being squeezed between Israel's security clampdown and growing hostility from Palestinian Muslims.Babies have been abandoned to die on rubbish tips or in the street because the Israeli security wall that now hems in the West Bank city makes it difficult for distressed mothers...

Bot Mitzvah

YouTube didn't like me posting the 30 second clip, so here is the next-best thing: [Lodgatorium Comfort Dome Inn: Corridor. Fry and Zoidberg walk out of Ballroom A and Fry sees a sign outside Ballroom B.] FRY Ooo, a bot-mitzvah. Shalom hunger, shalom free food! [He walks in and Zoidberg follows....

Egypt wants to revoke citizenship of 25,000 Egyptian Israelis

Palestine Today reports that Egypt is considering revoking the citizenship of some 25,000 Egyptians who have moved to Israel by marrying Israeli Arabs, saying that they are a threat to Egyptian national security.Some observers think this is unlikely in light of the Egyptian/Israeli peace treaty.The article quoted a recent World Bank report that the 25,000 Egyptians in Israel sent some $42 million back to Egypt, compared to the total of $78 million...

Saudis really hate Jews. Not Zionists - Jews.

An organization, Terror Free Tomorrow, recently surveyed 1004 Saudis as to their opinions of various subjects.The MSM picked up on the Saudi antipathy towards Bin Laden and the Saudis' desire to have closer relationship with the US, trumpeting how relatively "moderate" the Saudis are. The beginning of the AP story:People in Saudi Arabia deeply dislike countryman Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida, yet have only lukewarm views about the United States, one...

Last year's Dhimmi of the Year trying hard to keep his title

Last year, I declared Jerusalem Greek Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna to be the 2006 Dhimmi of the Year for his consistent, slavish adherence to the Islamist position on pretty much everything, including religion. He is a man who can be counted on to consistently blame Jews for everything that happens in the Middle East, including Arab attacks on Christians.Today, he is desperately trying for two in a row. In an Arabic interview during a trip to...

Another day, another terror group in Gaza

Al-Hayat al-Jadida reports that on Sunday, mortars were fired towards Sderot - by the Fatah al-Islam group, known for its affinity to al-Qaeda and its fighting against the Lebanese army last summer: (autotranslated, cleaned up): Dubai - a. P. B - The group "Fatah al- Islam," associated with Al-Qaida, said that it fired a missile Sunday at Sderot in southern Israel, according to a statement by the Palestinian branch reported yesterday on an Islamist...

December Qassam Calendar

As usual, this is far from complete, and it is more to show how ignored the Qassam issue is rather than to show how many are being fired. Many Qassams never make it in the news, and the rare times that the IDF publishes statistics shows that I am usually undercounting by about 50%. Also, these are Qassams that make it to Israel; many that are fired explode in Gaza itself.This list does not include mortars being shot from Gaza, which are usually much...