Monday, August 19, 2013
Terrorists ‘aim to hit Israeli, Jewish targets worldwide’ in coming weeks
Israeli and Jewish targets all over the world are likely to be sought out by terrorist organizations in the coming weeks, the Israeli government’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau warned in strikingly strident tones on Monday, listing dozens of countries where it said it had “concrete” indications of a terrorist threat.Israeli travel advisory takes Turkey off vacation destination list
It cited concerns about terrorist acts timed to coincide with the forthcoming Rosh Hashana (New Year), Yom Kippur and Succot festivals, and also said that the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US was likely to be “a favored period” for al-Qaeda and other global jihadist groups to attempt to carry out acts of terrorism.
The advisory, issued every year before the High Holidays and Passover when Israelis travel abroad in droves, grouped Turkey together with Azerbaijan, Nigeria and Kenya as countries where there are continuous potential threats, and where non-vital travel should be avoided.Al-Qaeda said plotting attack on European trains
According to the report, which cited unnamed sources in the US National Security Agency, top-ranking members of the Islamic terror group recently participated in a conference call in which various methods of attacking railways in Europe were extensively discussed, including planting bombs in tunnels or on the trains themselves and sabotaging train tracks and electrical systems.Why Obama needs al-Sisi
Reportedly, in response, German authorities have stepped up security and surveillance on the country’s national rail system.
Obama cannot publicly declare that he wants the Egyptian army, which has been an ally of Washington for decades, to defeat the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement which produced quite a few terrorists, including current al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri. Therefore, he is refusing to call the ouster of Islmist President Morsi a "military coup" – as it should be – and stresses that while Morsi was elected democratically, he ran Egypt according to the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood, rather than according to the interests of the general public.Al Sisi: We won't Kneel in the Face of Violence
Addressing the issue publicly for the first time on Thursday, Obama did try to play down the long-standing friendship between Washington and the Egyptian army, which is based on US interests: An open Suez Canal; open airspace for American logistical flights; preservation of the peace with Israel and the war on terror in Sinai and Gaza.
The commander of the armed forces, Gen Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, warned that his troops will not stand by silently in the face of violence. "Whoever imagines violence will make the state and Egyptians kneel must reconsider; we will never be silent in the face of the destruction of the country," he said in a statement posted on Facebook.Egypt on Brink of Hell – Analysis
He also said, however, that his message to Morsi supporters was that there was "room for everyone in Egypt" and the military had no intention to seize power.
Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a renowned Middle East expert from Bar Ilan University, thinks Egypt could turn into “hell” if Islamists smuggle in weapons from Libya, Sudan and Sinai, and use them against the security forces.Joel Pollak: Egypt: Echoes of Black September
The military in Egypt decided to depose Mohammed Morsi, who was elected president by a razor-thin majority of 50.7%, after it saw how Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan “neutered” the military in Turkey.
"Black September" became a potent symbol for Palestinians as the PLO carried out revenge attacks around the world--including the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. In addition, the PLO relocated its forces to Lebanon, where it quickly became a force for instability, terror, and destruction.Hosni Mubarak to be freed in days, officials say
Yet King Hussein preserved the most pro-American regime in the Arab world--one that not only has a free trade agreement with the U.S., but a somewhat freer (albeit less innovative) economy than Israel and a relatively warm peace treaty with Israel as well. Few would dispute that the status quo is better than PLO rule would have been.
The officials said there were no longer any grounds to hold the 85-year-old former autocrat because of the expiration of a two-year legal limit for holding an individual in custody pending a final verdict.Egypt’s Genocide recognition call politically motivated
His lawyer predicted that he would be released by the end of the week, once corruption charges against him were cleared.
The former president is still being held on another corruption charge but the attorney, Fareed El Deeb, was confident that this charge would also be dropped within days, Reuters quoted him as saying.
“For us, it is naturally important for an Arab country like Egypt to acknowledge and condemn the Armenian Genocide, given especially that the Armenians have played an essential role in the history of Egypt. But on the other hand, the selection of timing gives grounds for concerns a little bit, especially in the context of these regional political re-arrangements,” he told Tert.am.No more Turkish soaps in Cairo
Maybe Turkey’s prime minister will learn to keep his mouth shut about the goings-on in Cairo, now that the Egyptians have decided to hit back where it (melodramatically) hurts most — the Turkish soap opera industry.25 police executed after northern Sinai ambush
Days after Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for putting Egypt’s military leaders on trial for the violence that has swept the country over the last week, several Egyptian television channels have decided to boycott a number of popular Turkish dramas and soap operas.
Suspected militants on Monday ambushed two mini-buses carrying off-duty policemen in Egypt’s northern Sinai, killing 25 of them execution-style and wounding two, security officials said.Dozens of Egyptian Brotherhood members killed in jailbreak as army warns against violence
The militants forced the two vehicles to stop, ordered the policemen out and forced them to lie on the ground before they shot them to death, the officials said.
Some 38 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood died on Sunday in an incident at an Egyptian prison, security and legal sources said, giving conflicting versions of the deaths.In Egyptian village, Christian shops marked ahead of church attack
The Interior Ministry did not immediately confirm the death toll, but said in a statement that a number of detainees had tried to escape from a prison on the outskirts of Cairo and had taken a police officer hostage.
On June 30, when millions of Egyptians took to the streets to protest against now ousted President Mohamed Morsi, residents of Al Nazla marked Christian homes and shops with red graffiti, vowing to protect Morsi's electoral legitimacy with “blood.”3 Nuns Paraded like 'Prisoners of War;' 2 Christians Killed; 58 Churches, Properties Attacked in Egypt
Relations between Christians and Muslims in the village, which had worsened since Morsi's election in 2012, grew even more tense as Islamists spread rumors that it was Christians who were behind the protests against Morsi and his ouster by the military on July 3.
Islamists burned down a Christian school, paraded three nuns on the streets like "prisoners of war," and sexually abused two other female staff even as at least 58 attacks on Christians and their property were reported across Egypt over the last four days. At least two Christians have died in the attacks.Cairo Cracks Down on Al Jazeera Channel
The military interim government in Cairo is cracking down on a key adversary – satellite news network Al Jazeera, which is widely seen as being biased in favor of the Muslim Brotherhood.Report: Hezbollah's Top Syria Commander Killed
“The Cabinet has assigned competent authorities to assess the legal status of the Al Jazeera satellite channel, accusing it of threatening stability and national security,” local media said, according to a report on the Egypt Independent Sunday.
Arab media reported Sunday that a senior Hezbollah terror leader was killed in recent days in a battle with Syrian opposition forces. The battle occurred in the Damascus area.Israeli officials: Iran talks do only one thing – give Tehran more time
The reports did not identify the terrorist, but in recent days Hezbollah-affiliated news outlets showed images of the funeral of senior Hezbollah commander Ali Hossam Nasser. The funeral took place in the area of Nabatiya in south Lebanon. Nasser is considered the supreme commander of Hezbollah forces in Syria.
The only thing talks between Iran and the world’s powers have achieved until now is buy Tehran more time, Israeli officials said Sunday, following EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton’s comment that the P5+1 group is eager to restart the talks.Catherine Ashton plans meeting with new Iranian foreign minister
“We are skeptical in the extreme,” one official said of a new round of talks. He said there was no hope the talks would help “unless the Iranians feel the pressure is being upgraded.”
Catherine Ashton’s office said the 28-nation bloc’s top diplomat called Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday to congratulate him on his appointment.Australian Sheik to Obama: Oh Enemy of Allah, You Will Be Trampled upon by Pure Muslim Feet
Ashton says she and the nations negotiating with Iran on the nuclear issue — the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany — are looking forward to engaging with Tehran’s new negotiating team as soon as it is appointed to find a diplomatic solution.
“Listen, oh Obama, oh enemy of Allah, you who kiss the shoes and feet of the Jews. Listen! The day will come when you are trampled upon by the pure feet of the Muslims.”
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