Tuesday, December 03, 2013
Palestine: a study in addiction
"The West deludes itself by talking about a “Palestinian-Israeli” conflict for which it has no responsibility and in which it claims it is only aiding the downtrodden victims of one party. When in reality it is not a Palestinian-Israeli but in fact a pan-Arab-Israeli conflict and, indeed, particularly fuelled by the mullahs in Tehran, a wider Islamist-Jewish conflict."Netanyahu: Iran Will Wreak Havoc on Middle East
"That conflict is exploding in places far geographically removed from Ramallah, Amman, Gaza City and Jerusalem. And it is doing so with increasingly frequency – and increasing ferocity."
"It is time the UN and EU stopped investing hard-earned tax revenues in the wasteful Palestinian Arab addiction to violence, intransigence, corruption and fanaticism. And instead started demanding reciprocity, transparency and democracy. On pain of withheld financial aid." (h/t Bob Knot)
Netanyahu continued, firing back at criticism that Israel's talks with the Palestinians, which many have seen as a failure, are the key to peace across the entire Middle East.BBC explains why it did not report on toddler injured by stone-throwers
"The great turmoil that we see in Syria is not related to Israel and the Palestinians. The great turmoil we see in Libya is not related to Israel and the Palestinians. The great turmoil we see in Iraq is not related to Israel and the Palestinians. The great turmoil we see in Yemen, Egypt and other places not related to Israel and the Palestinians," he declared.
"Unfortunately, the broader question of [what will bring peace to the] Middle East remains open except for one question," he continued. "If we add the instability of Iran's deal regarding its nuclear program into the Middle-East reactor, what will happen?" Netanyahu asserts that continued neglect of the full ramifications of the deal between Iran and Western powers provides the answer: chaos.
The issue of the rising scale of terror attacks against Israeli civilians even as those talks continue is, however, one which has been largely ignored or downplayed by the BBC. That means that its audiences have no appreciation of the influence of those quotidian attacks (especially those in which children are injured) on Israeli public opinion regarding the issue of the ‘peace process’ and are deprived of the context necessary to understand Israeli policy and actions – as they were, for example, at the beginning of Operation Pillar of Cloud in November 2012 because the BBC had previously under-reported the missile attacks on Israeli civilians living in proximity to the Gaza Strip.Jihadist Terrorists Killed; Times Omits the Facts
On November 26, the IDF killed three Salafi jihadist terrorists in the West Bank. The Times of London reports on claims by an Islamist terror group with links to Al-Qaeda that the three terrorists were members of that group. Referring to the deaths of the three, it reports:Colonel's Killers Planned to Abduct his Wife
Palestinian officials have denounced Israeli claims about the men’s affiliations. They also condemned the deaths as “extrajudicial killings”, noting that Israeli special forces shot the men in their car without establishing that they were armed. Firearms and improvised explosions were discovered in the car.Rather than rely on less-than-reliable Palestinian sources, a professional journalist would have also published the details of the incident from the IDF, which were already in the public domain.
The Arab terrorists who murdered reserve colonel Sraya Ofer Hy”d at his home on October 10, also planned to abduct his wife, Monique. She succeded in escaping, however, suffering injury in the process.PA police arrest Palestinian-Canadian investor after calling to oust Abbas
Ouda Haroub, 18, and Bashir Haroub, 21, both from the PA Arab town of Deir Sammit in the Hevron region, were charged this week with murdering Ofer, whose nickname was Yaya, outside his Jordan Valley home
Palestinian Authority policemen arrested Palestinian-Canadian investor Mohamed Al Sabawi on Monday for “insulting” PA President Mahmoud Abbas. He was released after being held for eight hours.Israel Warns EU of Emerging Gaza Humanitarian Disaster
Al Sabawi, 68, was arrested from his office in Ramallah by several armed PA policemen and taken to a police station.
He blamed the severe energy crisis on the confrontation between the new rulers in Egypt and the Hamas government—supporter of the deposed regime—which resulted in the Egyptians’ uncompromising assault on the smuggling tunnels into Gaza that used to be the lifeline of the densely populated strip.Gaza Division Commander: Hamas, IDF Cooperate
“Egypt sees Hamas as the enemy,” Dangot stated emphatically. This, he pointed out, has also led to Hamas avoiding new confrontation with Israel, since it can no longer rely on Egypt to replenish its lost assets in such a conflict.
He stressed that "Leaders of Hamas, both the political and military branches, do everything to maintain restraint." He also claimed that "Hamas soldiers have been prevented from shooting at or mounting charges at the IDF."Flotilla to nowhere
"Hamas neutralizes any terrorist attacks against Israel", said the commander of the Gaza Division, "Hamas has become Gaza's cop, but this does not guarantee it will continue to work over time." (h/t Yoel)
The "reverse flotilla" that left Gaza on Monday returned without confronting the Israeli Navy. About 150 Palestinian and European activists set out on 19 boats from the Gaza shore toward Israeli Navy vessels in an effort to break the sea blockade that the Israel Defense Forces has imposed on Gaza.Melanie Phillips: Nuclear holocaust? Yes he can.
Hamas personnel escorted the flotilla to prevent an altercation between activists and the navy, with the goal of ensuring that understandings reached after last year's Operation Pillar of Defense would remain in place. The IDF's naval blockade is enforced at a six-mile distance from the Gaza shoreline, and prior to Operation Pillar of Defense, it had been set at three miles from the shore. The activists approached the five mile line, and from there they threw plastic bottles with protest letters into the water.
Whatever the truth of these claims, Obama’s agenda has been clear from the start. To those like myself who warned about Obama from the moment he became a candidate for the US Presidency, it was clear that here was a man who believed that America was the world’s principal rogue state which needed to be shackled, and that its ‘victims’ – Third World tyrannies and enemies of the west – needed to be empowered to even up the score. As for Israel, well, these whingeing Jews always behaved as if they were the only victims in the world, and if Israel was destroyed it would be all its own fault anyway.Netanyahu: Iran deal insubstantial ‘political theater’
But let’s get this in perspective. UK media pin-up Rouhani is now starring in a music video which is said to mimic an Obama campaign production.
Nuclear holocaust? Yes he can.
At a press conference in the Italian capital, the prime minister again expressed strong opposition to the accord, urging European powers to demand a substantial rollback from Iran before agreeing to ease an effective sanctions regime. He warned that although Tehran, led by President Hassan Rouhani, presented a smiling face to the West, it continued to “butcher people in Syria, to promote terrorism” and to support Hezbollah and Hamas.Court Awards $9 Million to Victims of Iranian-Backed Terrorism
“Even though Iran has not even begun to implement the agreement, there appears to be a general relaxation of sanctions and a rush to accommodate Iran and to make it legitimate, as if Iran has changed anything of its actual policies except to smile, to speak English — on occasion — and to make Powerpoint presentations,” Netanyahu remarked. “What a revolution!”
A U.S. district court has awarded millions in Iranian government funds to five American families who were victims of an Iranian-backed suicide bombing, despite objections from Tehran and the U.S. Department of Justice.Talks on ‘technical aspects’ of Geneva deal to resume this week
The Nov. 27 ruling, which allows the American victims of a 1997 terrorist attack in Jerusalem to recover more than $9 million from a U.S.-based defense contractor that worked with Iran, was hailed as a precedent-setting case by the victims’ legal counsel.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said that the six-month interim period, during which Iran would take steps to rein in its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief, had not yet begun. She also said a number of details were still to be worked out, without specifying which points had yet to be finalized.State Department Does Not Dispute Majority Of Iranian Enrichment Has Occurred Under Obama
“The next step here is a continuation of technical discussions at a working level so that we can essentially tee up the implementation of the agreement,” Psaki told reporters. “Obviously, once that’s — those technical discussions are worked through, I guess the clock would start. Obviously, there’ll also be a reconvening of the political track with the P5+1, which Under Secretary Sherman will continue to be our lead negotiator on.”
Rosen cited Secretary of State John Kerry’s statements after the Geneva deal was signed in which Kerry contended Iran’s increase in centrifuges from 164 in 2003 to the current 19,000 indicates the international community achieved the best possible agreement with the Iranians.CNN Reporter Sees ‘Israel Lobby’ Behind Anti-Nuke Group
However, Rosen asked Psaki if she would acknowledge 70 percent of those centrifuges were installed during the Obama administration. The statistic, Rosen said, calls into question Kerry’s implication that the agreement was actually the result of Bush administration foreign policy.
According to Tehran-based CNN correspondent Reza Sayah, the bipartisan advocacy group United Against a Nuclear Iran promotes anti-Iranian “propaganda” on behalf of “powerful bosses” and because of its “Israeli connections.”Iran News Agency Claims Israel, Saudi Arabia Making 'Stuxnet 2'
Sayah then linked to a June blog post on the anti-Zionist website Mondoweiss that claimed UANI was part of the “Israel lobby” because it “gets a portion of [its] funding from organizations with a focus on Israel and Judaism.”
The news agency, which has been associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, claimed that an "informed source" told reporters that “Saudi spy chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency Tamir Pardo sent their representatives to a meeting in Vienna on November 24 to increase the two sides' cooperation in intelligence and sabotage operations against Iran’s nuclear program.“Analysis: Coming peace talks on Syria are likely doomed before they start
“Assad and Iran are the winners in the regional equation at this point,” he said. In fact, Assad and his allies may have gained more confidence to attack the rebels in a more ferocious way, said Bligh. He points out that Syria might even try to provoke Israel in a way similar to the shots fired at Israel on Monday in the Golan. This could bring Iran into the arena.UN: Syria crimes evidence ‘indicates’ Assad role
Iran could even have Hezbollah remove its forces from Syria to concentrate on fighting against Israel, said Bligh. This could be a face-saving way for Hezbollah to withdraw from the Syrian war, where it has suffered many casualties, he said.
But the other option, he said could even be for Iran to use the issue to “attack Israel in a preemptive strike.” This option, he said, should not be overlooked.
The statement by Navi Pillay, who heads the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, adds to the pressure for quicker action on Syria ahead of a key peace conference planned for Geneva in January. The conference, brought on by combined UN, US and Russian diplomacy, would for the first time bring the Assad government and opponents together for face-to-face negotiations.French envoy honors Hezbollah lawmakers in dinner reception
“As we look around the world at the end of 2013, we see examples of situations where that readiness of the international community to act in time is already being sorely tested,” Pillay told a news conference that touched on trouble spots around the world.
Patrick Paoli, France’s Ambassador to Lebanon, hosted a dinner reception in early November for two Hezbollah MPs and the political militia’s international affairs representative.Egyptian Nazi Party Leader Arrested
The Lebanon Daily Star reported the dinner gathering on Thursday. Hezbollah MPs Ali Fayyad and Nawwar Saheli along with international affairs member Ammar Moussawi were honored by Paoli.
It is unclear if the ambassador violated EU sanctions outlawing contact with the military wing of Hezbollah.
Egyptian Nazi Party leader Ramy Jan has reportedly been arrested by Egyptian military authorities, according to Arabic language reports.MEMRI: Uproar In Egypt Following Cancellation Of Bassem Youssef's Satirical TV Show
Jan—who was recently invited to, and then uninvited from, a forum at Georgetown University—was reportedly seized by authorities under “mysterious circumstances,” according to the Arabic newspaper Almesryoon.
Following the cancellation of the second episode Bassem Youssef spent a week in the UAE, during which his weekly column in the daily Al-Shurouq did not appear and no new messages were posted on his Twitter account, which is usually quite active. However, on November 12, 2013, after remaining silent for nearly two weeks, Youssef published a new article in Al-Shurouq in which he indirectly referred to the affair by sharply criticizing regimes that accuse artists and creators of treason simply because "they refuse to be led like a herd".
The decision to drop the program sparked a new wave of controversy in the Egyptian press, with some decrying the gagging of the media and others criticizing the amount of public attention the affair was receiving.
