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Monday, December 02, 2013

12/02 Links Pt1: Syrian violence spills into Israel, Ex-CIA Chief: We've Accepted Iranian Enrichment

From Ian:

Violence from Syria spills over into Israel
The Syrian civil war was felt in Israel on Monday as, in two separate incidents, a mortar shell hit the town of Majdal Shams and an IDF unit came under fire in the southern Golan Heights, according to the army.
The unit that came under fire incurred no casualties and returned fire toward the source of the attack. The IDF said it believes the shooting was an inadvertent spillover from violence in Syria, not an intentional attack on Israeli forces.
The Israeli soldiers returned fire and reported that they hit at least one Syrian soldier, Israel Radio reported.
Navy Expects 'Reverse Gaza Flotilla'
The IDF estimates that dozens of Arab and European activists will be on the flotilla, and that it will include several boats.
The flotilla is the initiative of a group that is calld Shabab al-Intifada and was planned to take place Friday, but was postponed. The group said on its Facebook page that its intent is to “break the naval siege of Gaza,” and that the participants will be young people from Gaza and other countries, who do not belong to any political movement.
IDF sources told Israel Hayom that it is too early to say how “serious” the flotilla will be.
The Partition Plan, the Negev and the Next Accusation
Today, Israel’s sovereignty over the Negev is being challenged by European NGOs and elected officials, who deny Israel’s sovereign right to implement the Prawer Plan dealing with the resettlement of the region's Bedouin population. In July 2012, the European Parliament passed a bill calling upon Israel to stop the Prawer Plan. On October 17, 2013, the “Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats” in the European Parliament took part in a seminar in Brussels on the Bedouins in the Negev. The event displayed a large poster that read: “Stop Prawer-Begin Plan, no ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Bedouins.”
When Chaim Weizman finally obtained the Negev’s inclusion into the proposed Jewish state, he did not imagine that Israel’s sovereignty over that desert would be challenged six decades later. And today’s Israeli leaders, who seem to believe that Israel will be left alone once it retreats to the 1949 armistice lines, would be well-advised to take note of the fact that Israel is being accused of “occupation” within its pre-1967 borders. (h/t Bob Knot)
Bayit Yehudi: Probe Arab MKs over Beduin protests
Bayit Yehudi called for Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein to investigate Arab MKs for incitement Sunday, following their participation in protests against the Prawer-Begin Plan for land in the Negev that turned violent Saturday night.
MK Orit Struck (Bayit Yehudi) wrote a letter to Weinstein in the name of her party, extensively quoting speeches Arab lawmakers gave about the Prawer-Begin Bill in the Knesset on June 24 of this year, which she said incited to violence.
“MKs incited in the plenum and clearly called for violence if there is progress in legislating and implementing the Prawer Bill,” Struck explained. “We can see a direct connection between their calls for violent protests and the events in the south Saturday, which endangered the lives of police and citizens in a way that is unacceptable in a democracy.”
Video: Arab MK Aids Rioters
Radical Arab Knesset Member Ahmed Tibi, a former advisor to Yasser Arafat, played a part in the large-scale violent Muslim riot in the Negev Saturday. A video aired by an Arab television channel – and proudly posted by Tibi on Facebook – shows him trying to prevent the detainment of a boy who had taken part in the violence. Tibi can be heard shouting at police, "He's a boy... you are inflaming the atmosphere... you should be ashemed of yourselves."
Other rioters shout "you are racist!", a very popular refrain among Arabs engaged in confrontations with Israeli law enforcement. (h/t Jewess)
Tel Aviv bus bomber convicted in plea bargain
Muhammad Mafarji, 18 years old at the time of the attack, was found guilty of attempted murder and aiding the enemy during wartime. This was an apparent reference to Hamas, which runs the Gaza Strip.
Mafarji’s lawyer reached a plea bargain with the prosecution, under which the state will not seek a sentence of more than 25 years in prison for the act.
He confessed to the Shin Bet security service that he placed an explosive device on bus No. 142 on November 21, at the time of Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense against Gaza rocket fire. The bomb detonated near the Israeli military’s headquarters in the center of Tel Aviv, injuring 28 people.
PMW: Released prisoner, murderer: "We will not regret what we did"


PA Security Forces Arrest 20 Salafists
Palestinian Authority security forces arrested 20 Salafists on Sunday, AFP reported, citing a senior source.
The report of the arrests came hours after a Gaza-based group affiliated with Al-Qaeda confirmed it has infiltrated Judea and Samaria as part of its war against “the Jews,” Christians, infidels and the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas Cancels 26th Anniversary Celebrations Due to Lack of Funds
2 weeks after Hamas marked the 1-year anniversary of "Operation Pillar of Defense," the terrorist regime in Gaza has been forced to cancel its 26th anniversary celebrations, Channel 10 reports.
"The smart thing for us to do right now is to cancel the festivities and spend the money on other projects to alleviate the suffering of the residents. we do not have the money for it now," said Ashraf Abu Zaid.
According to the report, the terror organization encountered budgetary difficulties due to restrictions imposed by Egypt's siege on the rogue territory, as well as Israel repeatedly destroying its arms and supplies smuggling tunnels.
Paramilitary Training in Gaza High Schools


Geneva: A Historic and Dangerous Agreement
Furthermore, this interim arrangement leads to a profound reconfiguration of the entire region according to the new U.S. orientation to advance a comprehensive dialogue with Iran, which leaves Israel and Saudi Arabia behind — America's traditional allies in the region. Obama apparently wants to restore good relations with Teheran and nothing else matters as long as it's achieved, even if this requires turning a blind eye to Syria, accepting a pro-Iranian government in Iraq, reaching a tacit understanding with the Hezbollah terrorists, and allowing Iran to become virtually a nuclear state — that is, with the capability to produce a nuclear bomb in no time. The problem is that the U.S. Administration just doesn't seem to understand the Middle East: that no one in the region is going to sit idly. The nuclear proliferation that America didn't want is going to be the only thing it will get, due to its rushed desire to sign a deal with Iran.
This agreement is based on a double delusion: That we can trust Iran and that, if Iranians don't honor the deal, we will be able to impose new sanctions. And yet, what it actually does is to put an end to the sanctions regime without the ayatollahs putting an end to their stated ambitions. In six months, Iran will not be further from a nuclear bomb but we will be further from the capacity to impose more sanctions.
Ex-CIA Chief: Face It, We've Accepted Iranian Enrichment
The United States' former CIA and NSA Director, Gen. Michael Hayden, said Sunday that the deal made with Iran at Geneva means that Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium and be a nuclear threshold state.
“Let's be honest with ourselves,” Hayden told Fox News Sunday. "We have accepted Iranian uranium enrichment. There's no question about that. That's a different red line than we used to have."
"It says in the agreement that we will come to an agreement with regard to their right to enrich, which is very different from the UN Security Council resolutions to date, which say that they do not have a right to enrich.”
Obama's Iran optimism will fade
However, it is likely that this wave of optimism will soon fade away and become etched into the collective memory as another Obama-created illusion that, like those that preceded it, crashed in the face of pesky reality. Let's bear in mind that the interim deal with Iran is open to various interpretations, which may make things more difficult for President Barack Obama as he tries to mobilize public and congressional support for his conciliatory policy toward Iran. For example, America's willingness to allow Iran to continue construction work at the Arak plutonium reactor site could enable Iran to nibble away at the prohibition that the interim deal imposed on the operation of the reactor.
Netanyahu: I will not 'shut up' when Israel's interests are at stake
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his predecessor Ehud Olmert battled over Israel’s Iran policy Sunday, with Olmert slamming Netanyahu for “waging war” against the US administration and Netanyahu responding that he would speak out loudly when Israel’s security is at stake.
“As opposed to others, when I see that interests vital to the security of Israel’s citizens are in danger, I will not be quiet,” Netanyahu said in Rome in a clear reference to comments Olmert made earlier in the day.
'Olmert Thinks Israel is America's Slave'
MK Tzahi Hanegbi ('Likud Beytenu') fired back at former prime minister Ehud Olmert Monday after Olmert attacked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for publicly airing differences with the White House.
"He spoke only about one thing, as if we have one enemy, Prime Minister Netanyahu,” Hanegbi said. “It is too bad that he wasted such an important and meaningful event on personal matters against the prime minister.”
"His belief is not new,” added Hanegbi. “He believes that Israel should be the lowly slave of the United States.”
Iran: Quran has marked Israelis as ‘rabid dogs and pigs’
In the wake of news that Israel will send a delegation to Washington, D.C. to influence the Obama administration’s international negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, the Islamic Republic is stepping up its attacks on the Jewish state.
“This vicious temperament of dogs and pigs is you (Israel),” said Ayatollah Mohammad Imami Kashani, a member of the Assembly of Experts, the body that appoints the supreme leader, at Tehran’s interim Friday prayer. “The Quran has marked on your foreheads that you will be humiliated. The Zionist officials are like animals, and truly as rogue thugs they do whatever they want, killing people, creating bloodshed and destroying whatever they want.”
Syrian opposition splintered ahead of peace talks
The Geneva talks have raised the possibility of a negotiated end to a conflict activists say has killed more than 120,000 people. But with a fractured opposition, many have little hope for strong negotiations with emissaries of President Bashar Assad.
“Each of them represents himself and maybe his wife,” said an anti-government activist in the central Homs province, who uses the pseudonym Abul Hoda. “Nobody here pays any attention to what they say.”
Unconfirmed Report: Nasrallah Injured
Syrian rebel forces claim that they have succeeded in injuring Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, a Lebanese website reported this morning, citing a Facebook message. No other source has confirmed the report.
The Lebanese report was cited by JerusalemOnLine, which did not name the website that carried the news.
According to the report, a commander of the Free Syrian Army announced that members of Jabhat Al-Nusra, an Islamist Sunni rebel group linked to Al Qaeda, succeeded in the early morning hours in blowing up the headquarters where Nasrallah lives in Bint Jbeil, Lebanon.
The Lebanese report relies on a Facebook message published by one of the rebel organizations, according to which 22 Hezbollah members guarding Nasrallah were killed during the blast while Nasrallah himself was injured.
Saudi Arabia's foreign labour crackdown drives out 2m migrants
More than eight million migrant workers in Saudi Arabia – more than half the entire workforce – fill manual, clerical, and service jobs. "Many suffer abuses and labour exploitation, sometimes amounting to slavery-like conditions," says Human Rights Watch.
The kafala system ties foreign workers' residency permits to sponsoring employers whose consent is required for workers to change jobs or leave the country. A Pakistani man employed as a driver, for example, needs permission to work in a shop. Employers often abuse this power in violation of Saudi law to confiscate passports, withhold wages and force migrants to work against their will or on exploitative terms.
Saudi Offers “Castrated African Slave” for Sale on Facebook
No it’s not a joke. Saudi Arabia had an estimated 300,000 slaves in 1960. Slavery was then officially abolished, but unofficially continues to exist.
Saudis who travel outside their country sometimes bring their slaves with them, leading to run-ins with the law. One of the ugliest such incidents was the murder of a slave by a Saudi prince in London.
Saudi preacher: It's OK if you accidentally kill Muslim women & children when murdering Infidels VIDEO
A Saudi Wahhabi preacher who appeared on Saudi "al-Thaminah" TV stated that the killing of Muslim women and children is permissible according to his sources when it's done as collateral damage resulting from the "lawful" aim of killing infidels. These Wahhabi preachers are the ones providing fatwas to combatants in Syria regarding what they view as religiously approved rules of war. Civilians in Syria have been indiscriminately targeted by Wahhabi terrorists supported by Saudi Arabia, all done under the justification of fighting an "infidel regime".