Monday, February 24, 2014
Follow the blood money: Exposing the secret US banking operations that help fund suicide bombers
Turner, who has taken part in negotiations with Arab Bank that were overseen by a mediator, has been asking for $2 billion to settle. The price could get a lot higher if it goes before a jury, he points out, since the Anti-Terrorism Act provides for a tripling of damages."American Taxpayers Must Not Subsidize anti-Semitism ... Stop Funding the United Nations"
He doesn’t mince words when characterizing Arab Bank executives. Turner calls them “criminals,” “roaches” who “move around in the dark of night, inciting terrorism for profit. There’s no lower form of humanity than a guy in a suit making money off a teenager detonating a bomb on a bus, then slithering home to watch CNN.”
Arab Bank isn’t the only bank in lawyers’ crosshairs. Osen has levied lawsuits against Crédit Lyonnais, and NatWest, which he also accuses of maintaining accounts tied to Hamas, and others have filed suit against Bank of China and Lebanese Canadian Bank, which allegedly used an account in New York City to transfer millions to the financing arm of another terrorist group, Hezbollah.
The Washington, DC-based American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), headed by Jay Sekulow, and with offices in several countries, concerns itself with constitutional and human rights law worldwide. Here is the text of a petition it has initiated, addressed to Barack Obama and John Kerry, requesting the United States government to cease funding the United Nations:Chloe Valdary: In defense of liberty
On February 22, a gentleman by the name of Richard Silverstein took considerable issue with an article I wrote in the The Times of Israel about the contentions of one Judith Butler, professor at the University of California, Berkley. I find Butler’s analysis regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict lamentably disagreeable.
Silverstein did not point out any possible faulty premises in my column. He did not question the evidence I presented. He did not find I was lacking in my analysis. Instead, to illustrate his (ahem) intellectual prowess, he shared a Facebook status linking to my column and in his commentary, wrote: “They finally did it: found a Negro Zionist: Uncle Tom is dancin’ for joy!”
'I'm Ready To Accept Palestine, Why Not Israel?'
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke on Sunday night, emphasizing that the Palestinian Authority's (PA) refusal to recognize Israel as the Jewish state is the fundamental factor preventing peace. "Recognition of the Jewish state is a necessary condition for peace," remarked Netanyahu.Jordan won’t be Palestine, king says
Speaking to a German television channel in advance of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Israel visit on Monday, Netanyahu praised US Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts to push through a peace deal between Israel and the PA.
Jordan’s King Abdullah II lashed out on Sunday against domestic opponents arguing for Jordan to become the “alternative homeland” for the Palestinians.Knesset Told: Settlements are Legal
“Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine, and nothing else, not in the past or the future,” Abdullah reportedly said, according to the official Jordanian news agency Petra.
Arnon went on to discuss the common misconception that in 1967, when Israel took control of Judea and Samaria, the Kingdom of Jordan had legal jurisdiction over the territory. This misconception led to the public perception the Jordanian territory later became, de facto, ‘Palestinian territory.’ In fact, he asserted, it was Jordan that contravened international law, when it had annexed the area. In any case, Israel took the land during a defensive war, which makes its own actions legal.Report: Growing Movement Within Palestinian Authority Seeks Compromise on Recognition of Israel as Jewish State
Arnon concluded with a statement that the settlements are not illegal, and all the injunctions and restrictions normally placed on an occupying nation are not relevant to Israel’s connection to Judea and Samaria.
While the Palestinian Authority continues to officially deny the possibility that it will ever recognize Israel as a Jewish state, a growing movement within the PA is actively seeking a compromise on the issue, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported on Sunday.Hamas: Recognizing Israel is a 'Death Sentence' to the PA
The willingness of the PA to even consider changing its official party line is the result of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s insistence, according to the report. In a meeting he held last week with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, he stressed that the framework agreement between Jerusalem and Ramallah currently under discussion, must include official recognition of the Jewish character of the state of Israel.
Lawmakers from Hamas on Sunday warned Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas against recognizing Israel as part of the ongoing peace process.Dahlan: Abbas pursuing negotiations with Israel for his own financial gain
The lawmakers said that recognition of Israel as a Jewish state would be a “death sentence” against the PA.
Speaking in an interview with Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Dahlan, a long-time rival of Abbas and the former security commander in the Gaza Strip, said that he was not against the principle of negotiations, however the talks in their current form constitute "a crime against the people fighting for freedom."Hundreds rally for spy Pollard outside US embassy
Dahlan said that Abbas had put together a negotiating team that was ensuring him and a narrow circle around him Israeli and American support without any regard for the plight of the Palestinian people.
He accused the Palestinian negotiators of "filling their sacks."
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the US Embassy in Tel Aviv Sunday to demand the release of American-Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard, who is currently incarcerated in an American prison.The case of Jonathan Pollard: A legal analysis
Holding signs saying that 29 years in prison is enough and lofting pictures of US politicians who have called for Pollard’s release, protesters led by Pollard’s wife Esther called for him to be brought home.
Though he was neither charged with nor convicted of treason, there is no dispute that Jonathan Pollard committed serious offenses and that he deserved to be punished severely. However, it is doubtful that Pollard received a fair trial and whether the sentence imposed on him – life in prison without parole – was appropriate. Even if this were the case, it seems that at this stage Pollard’s incarceration does not serve a rational purpose.Knesset: 40 Diplomats to Discuss Incitement at UNRWA Schools
MK Yoni Chetboun (Jewish Home) is chairing a special discussion in the Knesset on Monday about the UNRWA schools in Palestinian Authority (PA) “refugee” neighborhoods.Hamas Criticizes UNRWA Curricula in Gaza for Teaching Human Rights, Not Armed Resistance
Diplomats from dozens of countries that donate to UNRWA are to attend the session, which is to present them with the hard facts about illegal activities in the UNRWA schools.
Hamas seeks to privatize border crossing activities
Hamas is considering handing off control of the crossings along its borders with Egypt and Israel to private companies in Gaza, a Hamas official said Saturday.Security and defense: Thwarting the Sinai terrorism threat
The move is meant to combat a deepening economic crisis in the coastal enclave by creating more jobs and streamlining the transfer of goods through the crossings, according to Hamas Economy Minister Alaa Rafati.
The bomb blast that tore through a tourist bus carrying South Korean nationals on Sunday, killing four civilians and wounding several more, was heard loudly in next-door Eilat. The senseless attack on innocent civilians is the latest reminder to both Egypt and Israel that the Salafi jihadi terror organizations, entrenched in the desert dunes of Egypt’s semi-lawless province, are not going anywhere.Egyptian government resigns, paving way for military chief Sisi to run for president
In the past two years, as Egypt deteriorated into anarchy (before making a partial recovery), and as radical warlords began setting up base in Sinai, posing a growing threat to Israel, the IDF’s Southern Command took a number of steps to change its security arrangements along the Egyptian border.
Egypt's government has resigned, the prime minister said on Monday, a step likely to pave the way for army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy for president of a strategic US ally gripped by political strife.Morsi Accused of Leaking Secrets to Iran
"(The government) made every effort to get Egypt out of the narrow tunnel in terms of security, economic pressures and political confusion," Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawi said in a live nationwide speech.
Beblawi, who was tasked by interim President Adly Mansour with running the government's affairs until the election, did not give a clear reason for the decision.
Prosecutors in Egypt on Sunday accused deposed president Mohammed Morsi of leaking state secrets to Iran's Revolutionary Guards as part of a plot to destabilize Egypt, AFP reported.Daniel Pipes: Washington is No Longer a Player in the Iran Game
The accusations came at the second hearing of the former Islamist president’s trial for espionage.
The trial, one of three that are under way against Morsi, is part of a relentless government crackdown targeting him and his Muslim Brotherhood movement since his ouster by the army in July.
In short, Washington is no longer a player in the Iran game. The views and actions of the U.S. government count about as much as those of the Belgian government – i.e., hardly at all.McCain: Obama Most Naive President In History
In contrast, the one potential force that still might stop Iran is the Government of Israel; and the only way it can obstruct the Iranian program is through the use of force (as opposed to economic sanctions or computer viruses). Whether or not Netanyahu and his colleagues decide to deploy military force is the only question hanging over the mullahs’ acquisition of a nuclear arsenal.
Senator John McCain (R-AZ) slammed US President Barack Obama on Sunday during an interview on CBS. According to McCain, Obama is the most "naive president in history."Hezbollah channels European mercenaries to Syria
McCain, who ran against Obama in the 2008 presidential elections, criticized Obama's "Geneva farce," in reference to negotiations with Syria even as President Bashar Assad's regime has been accused of horrific war crimes. McCain also cited Obama's deal with Iran that has eased sanctions despite Tehran's ongoing threats and nuclear development.
March 14 officials received security information about new Eastern European mercenaries arriving in batches at the Rafik Hariri International Airport on their way to Syria to fight alongside President Bashar Assad’s regime. According to the one Eastern European country’s intelligence unit, most of these fighters have professional military experience and have fought in Chechnya.
