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Thursday, June 20, 2013

6/20 Links Part 1: New Iranian Pres Implicated in Argentina Bombing, Rubin on the New Moderates

From Ian:

Barry Rubin: New Moderates! Syrian Rebels, Iranian President, and the Taliban!
It is surprising that it doesn't seem to bother a lot of people to support an antisemitic, anti-Christian, anti-woman, anti-gay movement that has already committed atrocities, whose leading organization also once collaborated with the Nazis, and about 20 percent of which consists of al-Qaida supporters?
Also we have just seen the proliferation of weapons and terrorists following the U.S.-sponsored support of Islamists after the Iraq, Libya, and Afghanistan wars.
Fatah warns US not to pressure PA to resume talks
The Fatah leadership warned the US administration on Wednesday against exerting pressure on the Palestinian Authority to resume peace talks unconditionally with Israel.
The warning came as US Secretary of State John Kerry prepares to return to the region next week to continue his efforts to revive the stalled peace process.
Reports: Angry Demonstrations Forced High-Level Hamas Delegation to Flee Cairo
Arabic media outlets are now suggesting that the popular anger directed against the delegation was more substantial than originally reported, and that the delegation was forced to leave Egypt ahead of schedule for safety reasons.
Reports describe thousands of students and veterans attempting to storm the hotel, with hotel workers succeeding in closing the doors only after some protesters broke through. Other sources had Hamas political bureau Khaled Mashaal escaping the hotel via the back door, leaving behind Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and the rest of the delegation. Demonstrators called for the delegation to be tried and arrested.
Netanyahu: Iran’s ‘feet should be held to the fire’
Netanyahu told Ashton — who heads the international community’s nuclear negotiations with Iran — that he expected the EU to demand a complete cessation of Tehran’s uranium enrichment and to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.
PM to EU Chief: Iranian Issue Not Spin, It’s Spin of Centrifuges
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton in Jerusalem that recent elections did not change the Iranian nuclear threat to the world.
"The elections in Iran will be tested by whether Iran changes its policies and stops all enrichment, takes out the nuclear material and shuts down the illicit nuclear facility in Qom," Netanyahu said at the start of the meeting Thursday between the two leaders.
Iran’s president-elect implicated in 1994 Argentina bombing
Iranian president-elect Hasan Rowhani was allegedly involved in plotting the deadly 1994 attack on a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, according to the indictment filed in the case. The attack, attributed to Iran and carried out by the terrorist group Hezbollah, killed 85 people and injured hundreds.
The 2006 indictment names Rowhani as a member of the committee headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei that planned the bombing, the deadliest attack of its kind in Argentinian history. Rowhani’s name in the indictment was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon.
Efforts to blacklist Hezbollah in Europe curtailed by Bulgaria
“London, Berlin and Paris decided to nail Hezbollah for the Burgas attack because of Hezbollah’s role in the Syrian civil war,” a Western European diplomat told JTA.
But Bulgaria, which provided the strongest case for blacklisting Hezbollah, has gone wobbly. In February, its interior minister at the time, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, said he had “well-grounded reasons to suggest” that two Hezbollah operatives were behind the attack. Since then, however, the country has appeared to backtrack.
Lebanese president urges Hezbollah to leave Syria
"If they take part in a battle for Aleppo, and more Hezbollah fighters are killed, it will lead to more tension," Suleiman told the Lebanese newspaper As-Safir in an interview published on Thursday.
Syrian Rebels Murder Hizbullah Men in Lebanon
A group of Syrian rebels claims it killed four Hizbullah terrorists across the border in Lebanon this week. The "Syrian Mujahedeen Unit" posted a video on the Internet Tuesday, featuring one fighter saying his unit killed the men as they were crossing the border into Syria.
The Sunni Islamist rebel group claimed the victims were Shi’ite members of the Hizbullah terrorist organization now fighting alongside loyalists defending Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Free Syrian Army Accuses Hizbullah of Using Chemical Weapons
According to Al Arabiya, the town of Zamalka, outside of Damascus, was targeted by chemical weapons, which caused victims to choke and led to a number of casualties, opposition activists said.
Syrian Rebels: We've Received Heavy Weapons from Saudis
The first delivery of heavy weapons has arrived on Syria’s front lines following President Barack Obama’s decision to put Western military might behind the official opposition, rebels told the British Daily Telegraph on Wednesday.
The sources told the newspaper that Russian-made “Konkurs” anti-tank missiles had been supplied by America’s key Gulf ally, Saudi Arabia. They have already been used to destructive effect and may have held up a promised regime assault on Aleppo, the report said.
Rebel group won’t fight Israel if it enters Syria
A rebel group that operates on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights stated Thursday that it would not fight Israel if Israel sends forces into Syria. A spokesman for the rebel group, which is based in Quneitra, made the comments to Al-Jazeera.
“We’ll leave the fighting to Hezbollah and to [Syrian President] Bashar Assad’s men,” said Abu Jafar. “We won’t fight Israel.”
Former PM: Lebanon On Brink of “Collapse” as Hezbollah Stokes Sectarian Conflict
“Hezbollah is serving Syria and Iran at the expense of the Lebanese,” ex-Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told reporters. He said President Michel Suleiman should launch an initiative “to stop the state’s collapse and give the Lebanese hope. Siniora, head of the Future Movement that is part of the “March 14” coalition opposed to Syrian influence in Lebanon, said March 14 had sent a memorandum to Suleiman calling for the deployment of the army on the northern border with Syria, and suggesting a role for United Nations peacekeepers there.
E.U. Tells Turkish PM To Learn “How to Deal With Criticism”
Turkish security forces have widened a broad arrest sweep targeting anti-government protesters. Hundreds of people are continuing to gather in silent vigils across the country.
The ongoing demonstrations have eroded Ankara’s legitimacy domestically and abroad. The European Union issued a declaration expressing concern over the government’s heavy-handed response. Erdogan reacted to the resolution by lashing out. Today the European Union told Erdogan’s to grow up:
Turk-Friendly German Green Politician Gets Brutalised By Police In Istanbul
This is Claudia Roth, a German Green, one of the most pro-Islam, pro-Turk, pro-multicult politicians you can imagine. She thought she'd go on a jaunt to Istanbul to show her support for her beloved Turks. This is what comes of it. She can no longer see because of the tear gas. But could she see before?
In Turkey, ‘World War Z’ is no World War Zion
According to the bilingual Istanbul-based film critic Ali Arikan, the Turkish version changes spoken references of the word Israel to read “Middle East” in the subtitles.
They still land in a recognizable Jerusalem (the movie was actually shot in Malta, but inserts make it appear as Jerusalem) but when the English supertitle reads “Jerusalem,” the Turkish one beneath it again repeats the phrase “Middle East.” The shot of the Israeli flag remains, but even when the action is in Jerusalem and someone refers to Israel it is just called “Middle East.”
Arikan reached out the company distributing the film in Turkey (United International Pictures, which is co-owned by Universal Pictures and Paramount), which said that the subtitles and translation came its way from Paramount.