WP Editorial: Sharing the blame for Gaza’s tragic cycle
International donors — above all, the Arab states — have meanwhile held back the reconstruction funding they pledged. The result was that the U.N. refugee relief agency in Gaza was forced to suspend payments to families last week. Its director, Robert Turner, issued a statement saying that “people are desperate and the international community cannot even provide the bare minimum — for example a repaired home in winter — let alone a lifting of the blockade, access to markets or freedom of movement.”Hamas, not Israel, is responsible for suffering in Gaza
U.N. officials, like much of the rest of the world, are quick to blame Israel for this horrific situation, even though Egypt’s border “blockade” is tighter. It’s certainly striking that while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to consider the danger of Iran so serious that it justifies his violation of diplomatic protocol to address a joint meeting of Congress, he appears to have no policy for Gaza — the source of the most lethal attacks on Israelis in recent years.
Israel, however, can hardly be expected to facilitate Hamas’s relentless preparations for more war, to which concrete and other reconstruction materials have been diverted in the past. An Israeli official told Mr. Booth that Gazan workshops were “assembling new rockets as fast as they can” and that the strip’s militias would be fully rearmed and trained within months. Sadly, that is likely to be the next time the world pays heed to Gaza — when war with Israel again erupts.
Oregonian guest columnists Ned Rosch and Maxine Fookson write a plaintive cry on behalf of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, describing Gazans heart-wrenching situation, suffering the consequence of this past summer's Hamas-Israel conflict — the third since 2009. They blame Israel for the terrible situation of these Palestinians. But Israel is no more to blame for the suffering of the Gazans than the Allies were to blame for the terrible suffering of civilians in Nazi Germany as they bombed German cities, or for the suffering of Serbian civilians when the United States bombed Serbia to stop the attempted genocide in Bosnia.Iran may already have its bomb, but it is not nuclear
Hamas kidnapped three Israeli teens this summer and then began firing waves of missiles into Israel, targeting Israeli civilians. In the week after the teens' murdered bodies were found, Hamas fired 180 missiles at Israeli towns and cities, including Tel Aviv, and attempted twice to invade Israel through tunnels it built into Israel. For the third time in six years, Israel was forced to protect its citizens by force.
Hamas' elected term ended five years ago. The U.S., European Union and Japan all recognize it as a terrorist organization. Jordan bans its leaders. Its charter calls for the murder of Jews everywhere and the "obliteration" of Israel through "jihad."
Thanks to events over the past weeks, Yemen’s Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran and supplied and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, have seized the Red Sea port of Hodeida, a mere 30 kilometers from Djibouti. For the first time Saudi Arabia’s archrival now has the ability to control the Mandeb Strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Iran now is as close as it has ever been to controlling the strategic link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. Through it, three million barrels of oil pass daily.Palestinian students admire terrorist Dalal Mughrabi who lead killing of 37
Straits in the Middle East are more than geographical features. They are nothing less than lifelines for the region’s countries. The blocking of the Straits of Tiran by Egypt triggered the 1967 war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Iran has in the past threatened to block the Straits of Hormuz if it was attacked by the West. The access to the Red Sea by Iran’s allies makes the threat of an effective use of sanctions against Iran smaller. Iran is poised to push back the West in the nuclear negotiations.
President Obama’s strategy of focusing on Iran’s nuclear ambitions ignores Tehran’s overall objective of asserting itself as the regional superpower. Failure to deal with the threat of an Iranian takeover of Yemen has now contributed to vastly increasing the cards that the Iranian regime can play. Further complacency will make it even more difficult to tackle this ever-increasing threat to regional and global stability.
Dalal Mughrabi, the terrorist who led the most lethal attack against Israel, in which 37 people were murdered in 1978, was born in January and her date of birth has been celebrated and honorably noted by Abbas' Fatah movement and others.Fatah TV broadcasts video celebrating terrorist Dalal Mughrabi on her birthday
Awdah TV, whose General Supervisor is Fatah's spokesman Ahmad Assaf, broadcast at length from a party celebrating the terrorist's birthday. Fatah's logo was displayed on stage.
"Martyr Dalal Mughrabi raised the Palestinian flag from the heart of occupied Palestine," stated the Awdah reporter. "On her birthday we renew the promise to her and its fulfillment. Martyr Dalal Mughrabi will remain a path for the next generations to follow." [Fatah-run Awdah TV and Awdah TV Facebook, Jan. 3, 2015]
Fatah event honors terrorist killer and calls Israel "the poison in the snake's fangs"
The video shows a poster with a large photo of terrorist Bassel Arif and the Fatah logo.
Text on the poster: "The Palestinian National Liberation Movement - Fatah and its military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, Palestine. To the heroic prisoner Bassel Arif: Patience, brother; do not despair; prison has no meaning."
Folk singer: "I'm Palestinian, and the neighborhood is my neighborhood. The wounds on my heart are still open. If Israel is the poison in the snake’s fangs, my young men will pull out the snake’s fangs... The tears appeared and moistened my eyes. We have taught the world a lesson in honor, when our heroic prisoner, our hero, Bassel, on the land of his people, made the song of heroism heard with the sound of our bullets (i.e., shooting and killing of an Israeli civilian)."
[Official PA TV, Jan. 9, 2015]
Note: Bassel Arif – Palestinian police officer who carried out a shooting attack near the Israeli town of Ofra on May 28, 2002, killing Israeli citizen Albert Malul and injuring one other person. He is serving two life sentences.
David Singer: Obama Should Realize That Israel Alone Must Determine Where Its Secure, Recognized & Defensible Borders Are To Be Located
The furore engendered by House Speaker John Boehner inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on March 3 – supposedly in breach of Presidential protocol – marks the first step in Congress flexing its muscles to persuade President Obama to re-think his concerted attempts to undermine the written commitments made by President Bush to Israel’s then prime minister Ariel Sharon in his letter dated 14 April 2004 – as overwhelmingly endorsed by the House of Representatives 407:9 on 23 June 2004 and the Senate 95:3 the next day (“American Written Commitments”)Top House leaders urge Kerry to cut PA funding
Those 2004 American Written Commitments to Israel have become even more critical in 2015 – as a completely changed political environment sees America
1. leading negotiations with Iran on curbing Iran’s nuclear program
2. heading a coalition of 62 States seeking to degrade and destroy Islamic State
3. forming part of the London 11 countries' backing the unsuccessful bid to oust Assad from power in Syria
4. witnessing the shredding of the 2003 Bush Roadmap calling for the creation of a second Arab State in former Palestine – in addition to Jordan – as PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas chooses instead to travel the road leading to the United Nations and the International Criminal Court
Leaders from both parties on the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee urged Secretary of State John Kerry to suspend funding to the Palestinian Authority until it withdraws from the International Criminal Court.V15 bid to unseat Netanyahu linked to US-based 'OneVoice'
“The United States should not support direct economic assistance to the PA until it demonstrates a meaningful reversal of this destructive course and proves it can be a willing partner for peace,” said the letter sent January 22 and relayed to reporters late last week.
The letter, signed by the top Republicans and Democrats on the committee and each of its subcommittees, stopped short of a threat to take congressional action.
The only subcommittee leader not to sign was Californian Representative Karen Bass, the top Democrat on the Africa subcommittee.
Beyond Gitzin's comments, it appears the connection between OneVoice and V15 is not coincidental. In the organization's global report for 2014, former Labor MKs Colette Avital and Braverman were listed as members on its Honorary Board of Advisers.Cruz Calls for Investigation Into State Dept.-Funded Nonprofit
Israel Hayom has learned, meanwhile, that OneVoice has signed a form declaring it was not involved in political activity. The form is a procedural requirement for foundations seeking eligibility for donation tax exemptions from the American tax authorities. According to documents from the American Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations, received by Israel Hayom, OneVoice answered "no" when asked if it participates directly or indirectly on behalf of or against political candidates running for a public office. The goal of the V15 campaign, however, as stated, is the removal of Netanyahu from the prime minister's office and the replacement of his government.
OneVoice is also working with 270 Strategies, a consulting firm founded and staffed by Obama campaign veterans. Jeremy Bird, former national field director for the Obama campaign, is in Israel working with the anti-Netanyahu effort, Ha’aretz reported.‘OneVoice’ Used US Grant to Promote ‘Non-Violent Resistance’
Martin Indyk, who served as Obama’s envoy for the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations until last summer, sits on OneVoice’s board. Obama’s former Middle East adviser Dennis Ross is also a board member.
American taxpayers’ money helped fund a pro-Palestinian Authority group to encourage “non-violent resistance to end the occupation,” according to material gleaned from the website OneVoiceMovement website, which is involved in the “V15″ campaign against Prime Minister Netanyahu, as reported here.
“OneVoicePalestine” received grants from the U.S. State Dept. until last November, weeks after most political observers said it was only a matter of time before the Netanyahu coalition would collapse and new elections would be held.
The hammer fell in December, and two months before, OneVoicePalestine (OVP) launched “The Land is Ours” campaign last September 25 to promote the stated American policy of a “two-state solution” and the un-stated policy of deciding the borders for a Palestinian Authority country.
The OneVoice site, in a blurb on the video it produced, stated its aim is to “encourage young Palestinians to participate in non-violent resistance to end the occupation, realize the two-state solution, and establish an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
V15 group issues incitement complaint against Likud
V15 issued the complaint, claiming that in a video clip shown by the Likud at the press conference, the group was portrayed as supporting terror.Will Obama Give In to Iran? He Already Has.
"The Likud video proves that it has become a branch of the Lehava organization," V15 stated, referencing the extremist right-wing anti-assimilation group.
The group added that its activists were "Israelis who serve in the army, do reserve duty, pay taxes and work for a better future for Israel."
"This incitement does not scare us and it will not block our path to victory."
But even more to the point is the fact that, as President Obama’s comments about the negotiations have made clear, the goal is not so much to end the nuclear threat as it is to work toward a sort of reconciliation with Tehran without requiring it to halt their support for terrorist groups and cease working toward production of ballistic missiles, let alone give up their nuclear ambitions. Though the president wants to help Iran “get right with the world,” what his efforts are really doing is to advance their efforts toward regional hegemony. This position has influenced the U.S. to form an informal alliance with Iran in Iraq and Syria and frightened and alienated moderate Arab nations as well as the Israelis.McCain: Relations With Israel 'the Worst I've Ever Seen'
So far from being “nonsense,” Netanyahu’s concerns about the president’s diplomatic goals are very much to the point in the debate about sanctions. With the president showing no sign that he will ever admit that the negotiations have failed, the need to toughen the American position has now become imperative. Democrats might be forgiven for rallying around their leader when they perceive he is under attack. But those who care about nuclear proliferation and a potentially genocidal Iranian threat to both Israel and the West need to forget about protocol and start asking tough questions about what kind of a deal the administration is trying to conclude. Unless something drastic happens to change the American position, the problem isn’t that Obama might adopt a position that will let Iran become a nuclear threshold state. It’s that he has already done so.
Republican Senator John McCain on Sunday said that the relationship between the United States and Israel is “the worst that I've ever seen in my lifetime”.Giuliani: Perfect Time for Netanyahu to Address Congress
Speaking to CNN’s “State of the Union” program, McCain admitted that President Barack Obama is not the only one to blame for the tensions, but also said that Obama has “unrealistic expectations” of Israel.
The relationship between Obama and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is “poor, as we know”, said McCain, adding, “And it's the worst that I've ever seen in my lifetime. And that in itself is a tragedy because it's the only functioning democracy in the entire Middle East.”
Asked why he thought the relationship is the worst he’s seen, the Arizona Senator replied, “I think because the president had very unrealistic expectations about the degree of cooperation that he would get from Israel, particularly, on the Palestinian issue, as well as the nuclear issue with Iran.”
Speaking to Channel 1 News, Giuliani, who is currently visiting Israel, noted that Netanyahu has addressed Congress before and added that it makes sense for him to do so again now, when Congress is discussing a possible deal with Iran over its nuclear program.
“The fact is the Prime Minister has addressed Congress before. He’s been invited to address Congress before,” Giuliani said. “What you should know is that right now Congress is holding hearings on Iran, so this would be the perfect time to ask him to come and speak, testify, whatever.”
“I think this is more their schedule than his schedule,” he added.
“In my own country, many people in my country support your Prime Minister’s position. I do,” Giuliani continued. “So does just about every member of my party which is the majority party in the Senate and the House, so my government is not just the President. It’s also the House of Representatives which is Republican, the Senate which is Republican, and a majority of members in both those houses support your Prime Minister’s position.”
'UN peacekeepers failing to stop weapons smuggling to Lebanon'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused United Nations peacekeepers on Sunday of failing to enforce a resolution barring Hezbollah terrorists from smuggling weapons into Lebanon.CiF Watch prompts correction to Telegraph claim that Shebaa Farms is in Lebanon
In a phone call with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Netanyahu blamed Iran, Hezbollah's main sponsor, for Wednesday's flare-up that killed two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper and wounded seven other Israelis in the worst fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border since the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
Netanyahu said the resolution ending that 34-day conflict was "not being implemented," and that the peacekeepers, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, "aren't reporting on weapons smuggling into southern Lebanon."
The Israeli soldiers and Spanish peacekeeper died when Hezbollah terrorists fired anti-tank missiles at Israeli vehicles on the border, and Israel responded with artillery shells and an air strike.
Netanyahu expressed sorrow for the U.N. soldier's death and said he had agreed with Spain to jointly investigate the circumstances, a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
A report in The Telegraph on the Hezbollah attack on Wednesday which killed two Israeli soldiers (‘Israel strikes target in Lebanon‘, Jan. 28th) included the following passage:Burned to Death by Arabs in Revenge Attack
However, though Hezbollah claims that Shebaa Farms (an area on the Western slopes of Mount Hermon in the Golan which Israel captured from Syria in 1967) is “an area of south Lebanon”, to justify its continued existence, the UN confirmed that Israel withdrew entirely from southern Lebanon in 2000 and, thus, that Shebaa Farms is not part of Lebanon.
Following our communication with Telegraph editors, they amended the passage.
The Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Monday lifted a gag order on details showing that the fire in the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Pisgat Ze'ev that claimed the life of a young Israeli woman ten days ago was caused by Arab arson.IDF Foils Two Potential Stabbing Attacks in Hevron
In the apartment that was set on fire, a young Jewish woman from the Neve Ya'akov neighborhood in northern Jerusalem lived with her partner, an Arab man named Ahmed Bardan.
The couple had been in conflict with another couple in the apartment building for several months, and apparently Bardan was in conflict with other Arab residents of the area.
It is suspected that Orit London fell victim to an arson attack targeting the couple's apartment that was below hers, in a revenge attack not connected to her at all.
IDF forces successfully foiled two stabbing attacks on Sunday, both in the area of the Machepelah Cave (Cave of the Patriarchs) in Hevron. Both potential stabbers – Arabs from the area – are in custody Sunday night.Egged Bus Attacked Traveling to Western Wall in Jerusalem
In one incident, an Arab from Hevron who arrived at a checkpoint near the Machpelah Cave aroused the suspicions of border guards, and they detained the Arab, who was found to be carrying two large knives. He was arrested and taken to the Hevron police station for questioning.
Several hours later, another Arab youth was arrested at another nearby checkpoint, also after arousing suspicion due to his behavior. He was found carrying a knife in his backpack. Police arrested him as well.
The two arrests were just the latest in a long line of similar detentions by police of Arabs in the Machpelah Cave area who were found to be be carrying knives. At least three similar incidents occurred just in the Machpelah Cave area in the past month, IDF officials said.
An Egged bus was attacked by Arab terrorists as it traveled Sunday morning on the road to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem.IDF Chief of Staff Gantz: Entire Middle East is Upside Down
Arabs hurled rocks at the Israeli public bus, smashing the windshield and several windows on the vehicle as it reached the Nablus Gate at the Old City entrance.
An IDF soldier was treated at the scene for light wounds to his hand from flying glass.
A dragnet was thrown around the area as Jerusalem District police opened a search to hunt down the attackers.
IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said Sunday that Israel could “not afford” to let the northern front get too active. “We cannot allow the front to heat up too much with terror attacks launched against us,” Gantz said. The instability in Lebanon, he said, was a good example of how the old order in the Middle East was being eroded - and it is not clear what will replace it.‘I dragged my friends to safety while firing back at the terrorists’
Speaking at a memorial service for former IDF Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, who passed away four years ago, Gantz said “we are currently at what could be called a historical junction. There is a wide chasm between the way the Western countries split up this region 100 years ago through various agreements – mostly for their own convenience – and the reality of today,” with the arrangements for the nation-states decided upon in previous agreements between France, Britain, and other countries falling victim to revolution in places like Syria and Libya.
“As a result there is a conceptual threat to the entire structure of the Middle East, as we have known them,” said Gantz. “There are several different groups struggling now – the radical Sunni Jihadists, who are attacking countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. There is also Lebanon, which is now torn between different forces, and the group that seeks to preserve Syria and Lebanon's connection with Iran. And of course, there is the 'Arab street,' which is making itself heard loudly, even in Egypt, where even President a-Sisi cannot ignore it.”
Meet the woman who prevented terrorists from infiltrating Zikim
Among them is 21-yearold St.-Sgt. Ceirgio Albarran, who served in the 202 Battalion of the Paratroopers Brigade, and whose quick thinking and lightning responses helped save eight of this fellow soldiers in the midst of battle. Albarran shared his story with The Jerusalem Post.
He moved to Israel from Venezuela in 2006 with his siblings, and today lives with his girlfriend near Ashkelon.
On July 23, in the middle of Israel’s ground operation against Hamas tunnels in the Gaza Strip, his unit arrived at a neighborhood on the outskirts of Khan Yunis.
As he rescued his fellow soldiers, Albarran saw terrorists emerging from a tunnel shaft behind the collapsed wall and opened fire. At the same time, terrorists on the second floor of a nearby building fired at him as well. He was caught in the crossfire.
Despite being under fire from multiple directions, Albarran continued to drag his wounded comrades to safety, while returning fire.
“In one hand, I dragged them, and in the other, I shot back,” he recalled. The attack on him intensified, with grenades and RPGs exploding in his vicinity and Kalashnikov bullets flying all around.
“It was a mess,” he said. “I brought a wounded soldier back 150 meters, and went forward to get the next one.
I rescued a total of eight, including the company commander. He was the last one who remained. He was a big guy, and the hardest to evacuate.”
Without Cpl. Noa Teitel's watchful eye and quick responses, a disaster would likely have befallen Kibbutz Zikim during Operation Protective edge this past summer.Video: From the Eyes of A Soldier - First Person View of the IDF
Teitel, 19, spotted a group of terrorists approaching the entrance of the kibbutz, and alerted troops before they could breach the gates.
She was awarded a certificate of appreciation for her actions from the Israel Defense Forces, which was later amended, along with the rest of the certificates given to female soldiers, in response to criticism that their language was discriminatory and patronizing. The wording in the certificates praised each female soldier for "not losing her composure," phrasing which was corrected and for which the IDF apologized.
For Teitel, both the certificate and the stir over its wording seemed unnecessary.
From skydiving to deep sea diving: The IDF has produced an incredible new viral video "from the eyes of a soldier," giving a brief first-person view of the various arms of the Israeli military in action.Eyes of A Soldier: First Person View of the IDF
Apart from jumping from or piloting airplanes, soldiers are also shown with their feet on the ground, exhibiting the diverse terrain IDF groundforces are trained to operate on; running through the desert, up hillsides and into urban warzones.
The clip also features some of the state-of-the-art equipment utilized by Israeli soldiers, including unmanned mini-drones, battleships, machine guns, tanks and surface-to-air-missiles.
Brother of Jordanian jihadist’s Israeli victim opposes her release to IS
The Israeli brother of a terror victim whose murderer was slated to go free as part of a prisoner swap between Jordan and the Islamic State has reportedly pleaded with the Hashemite Kingdom to keep the female al-Qaeda operative behind bars.American employee of Israeli defense firm Elbit mysteriously dies in Saudi Arabia
Jordan’s government renewed an offer Sunday to trade Sajida al-Rishawi for a Jordanian pilot in captivity. Al-Rishawi, a failed suicide bomber, faces death by hanging in Jordan for her role in a 2005 hotel attack that killed 60 people.
Ibrahim Abu-Garuf of Umm El-Fahm sent a letter to King Abdullah II imploring him “not to give in to terror, or make a deal with an organization of murderers,” the Yedioth Ahronoth daily reported on Monday.
Ibrahim’s brother Hussam, who was on a business trip in Jordan, was killed in a bombing at the Hyatt hotel in Amman in November 2005. Al-Rishawi was involved in a string of deadly attacks that day, and was poised to blow herself up at a hotel, but the explosives failed to detonate. The would-be suicide bomber then fled to the home of her relatives, and was later caught by Jordanian authorities and sentenced to death by hanging for her involvement.
There is a major mystery surrounding the death of Chris Cramer, 50, in Saudi Arabia, an employee of Kollsman Inc., a US subsidiary of Israeli defense electronics company Elbit Systems Ltd.Khaled Abu Toameh: Hamas ready to cooperate with Iran 'to destroy Israeli occupation'
Authorities in the Sahara Makarim Hotel in the Saudi city of Tabuk claimed that on Friday Cramer, an American defense contractor from New Hampshire, probably fell from the third-story window in an apparent suicide, Fox News reported on Sunday.
However, family and friends say there is no way he committed suicide and he was likely murdered for interfering with a significant arms deal.
Cramer family attorney Noah Mandell told Fox News, “The problem was with the customer. The missile system was already sold to the Saudi company and they were complaining that it wasn’t working.”
Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar on Sunday called on Iran to provide his movement with additional funds and weapons to enable it to “destroy the Israeli occupation.”Hamas Official: Egypt's Decision a 'Coup Against History'
Zahar told the Hezbollah TV station Al-Manar that Hamas is prepared to cooperate with Iran “for the sake of Palestine.”
Zahar’s remarks came amid reports that Hamas and Iran have agreed to restore relations, which were strained following the Islamist movement’s refusal to support the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Sources close to Hamas said that the movement’s Doha-based leader, Khaled Mashaal, is expected to visit Tehran in the coming weeks as part of the rapprochement between the two sides.
The sources confirmed that Iran has agreed to resume financial aid to Hamas in the aftermath of last summer’s Operation Protective Edge.
A senior Hamas official on Sunday slammed a decision by an Egyptian court to brand Hamas’s “military wing” a terrorist organization.Here's what a Hamas training camp for teens looks like
Meanwhile, the group’s spokesman toned down Hamas’s initial response to the move, in which it said that Hamas no longer viewed Egypt as a mediator between the group and Israel.
Mousa Abu Marzouk said that the Egyptian ruling against the Al-Qassam Brigades “is a coup against the history, ethics of Egypt and its principles,” reported the Alresalah news website.
"History recorded the Qassam Brigades has always been civilized in dealing with Egyptian intelligence … Is it today a terrorist organization?" Abu Marzouk reportedly wrote on Facebook.
“In a move, the first of its kind, Cairo Court for Urgent Matters, considers the Qassam Brigades as a terrorist organization; for the first time in the Arab and Muslim world, alongside with most countries in the world except for Israel and its supporters in the West, the Palestinian resistance has been condemned," he continued.
Judging by the orderly rows of hundreds of young wannabes lined up in crisp military fashion at their graduation ceremony here Thursday, the armed wing of the Islamist movement Hamas will have plenty of eager recruits this year.Thousands of Gaza Youth Train at Hamas Military Wing Camp
More than 17,000 fresh-faced teenagers and young men, ages 15 to 21, mustered at a dozen camps over the past week in the Gaza Strip to climb ropes, practice close-order drills and fire Kalashnikov rifles, all of them pledging to defend the coastal enclave and ready to fight the next war against their Zionist enemies.
They also learned how to perform first aid and throw a grenade. They watched — but did not touch — as instructors showed them the basics of improvised explosive devices.
For the first time, the Hamas military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, hosted the Gaza teens and young men for a week of training in the martial arts at previously off-limits Qassam bases. In the past, the military-style camps have been run by Hamas’s political wing, and during the summer sessions, the camps included lots of sports, religion and playtime on the beach.
Jordan to return ambassador to Tel Aviv, citing Israel's steps to ease Temple Mount tensions
The Foreign Ministry confirmed Monday that Jordan is returning its ambassador to Tel Aviv after he had been recalled in November over what Jordan referred to as Israeli “aggression” on the Temple Mount.Egypt’s Foreign Minister: Muslim Brotherhood/State Dept Meeting ‘Incomprehensible’
Jordanian government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said Israel had taken significant steps to ease tensions and had lifted restrictions on Muslim worshipers at the holy site in Jerusalem. King Abdullah is the official custodian of the site, the third holiest in Islam and also the location of the holiest place in Judaism.
"We noticed in the last period a significant improvement in Haram al-Sharif with numbers of worshipers reaching unprecedented levels," Momani said. Haram al-Sharif, known in Judaism as Temple Mount, is where al Aksa mosque is located.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the Jordanian decision, calling it “an important step that reflects Israeli-Jordanian joint interests, first and foremost stability, security and peace.”
Questions had been raised during that Jan. 30 briefing regarding criticism of the State Department for meeting with officials from the Muslim Brotherhood, especially given the recent spate of terrorist attacks in the Sinai believed to be at least supported, if not perpetrated, by the Muslim Brotherhood.Al-Qaradawi and Sayyid Qutb books banned
Psaki acknowledged that amongst the delegation were former parliamentarians from the Freedom and Justice Party. Psaki said that amongst the State Department officials who met with the delegation was the deputy assistant secretary for democracy, human rights, and labor.
Shoukry told Egyptian media on Saturday that any kind of communication with a group affiliated in “terrorist attacks is not understandable, as they are not a political party, and according to the Egyptian law they should be treated as a terrorist group,” the Cairo Post reported.
The confiscated books of the Qatar-based Muslim cleric Youssef Al-Qaradawi from the Cairo International Book Fair that started Wednesday, 28 January, saying they were removed by the publisher, The publisher removed the books due to "disapproval and dismay".Egypt policeman kills hospitalised Islamist
Ahmed Megahed, director of the General Egyptian Book Organisation, confirmed that Dar El-Shorouk withdrew the books from its wing. The ministry said that it “believes in freedom of expression and does not put any restrictions or censorship on which books are be displayed and which books are not. Thus it was not informed that these books will be displayed" and neither interferred to remove them. The ministry said that the only books that are subject to censorship are books that come from abroad, as "they fall under different rules that the ministry has no authority over.”
Dar El-Shorouk is the publisher of the works of Al-Qaradawi since many years. It also publishes the works of radical Islamist author and educator Sayyed Qutb, the former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood who was executed in 1966.
An Egyptian policeman was arrested Sunday for having shot dead an Islamist detained in a Cairo hospital with injuries from his arrest, the interior ministry said.Outspoken Saudi royal launches pan-Arab news channel
The ministry, on its Facebook page, said the victim was a member of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood arrested as he tried to plant a bomb in the capital's Al-Warraq district, without giving a date.
The suspect had insulted and provoked his police guard in hospital, threatening to kill him. The enraged policeman had shot him dead, it said.
The ministry said the policeman was arrested and an investigation opened.
Outspoken billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal on Sunday launched a pan-Arab satellite news channel aimed at challenging established networks in the region.YouTube flooded with terror content
From a studio lit in green and white, the Bahrain-based Alarab News Channel took to the air, leading with a story about Japanese hostage Kenji Goto, whom the Islamic State extremist group claimed in a video late Saturday to have beheaded.
Alarab is the latest player in the Arabic-language television market, after Qatar-subsidized al-Jazeera became the first regional news broadcaster 19 years ago.
It will also be a rival for Dubai-based al-Arabiya, established in 2003 and owned by Sheikh Waleed al-Ibrahim, a brother-in-law of Saudi Arabia’s late King Fahd.
Google Public Policy Manager Verity Harding said that about 300 hours of video material is being uploaded to YouTube every minute, making it virtually impossible for the company to filter all images.Tunisia Joins Israel as Only 'Free' Countries in Middle East
Harding spoke at a European Parliament meeting of the ALDE liberal group on a counter-terrorism action plan.
She said that “to pre-screen those videos before they are uploaded would be like screening a phone call before it’s made.”
The European Union’s counter-terror chief believes it is time to help companies to contain the security risk by having experts from member states flagging terror-related content.
2014 saw a distinct decline in global freedom, according to an annual report from the watchdog organization Freedom House released Sunday - with the Middle East the worst region for freedom worldwide.Tunisia Busts Through Arab Glass Ceiling
The annual Freedom Report ranks 195 countries by political rights and civil liberties, with scores assigned to each country via a complicated scoring system over the country's legal, judicial, and executive systems as well as current events.
In 2014, 89 were rated "free" (46% overall), 55 (28%) are "partly free," and 51 (26%) are "not free" - a sharp decline since 2013 which Freedom House noted is due not only to ISIS in Iraq and Syria, but Recep Tayyip Erdogan's restrictions on internet freedom in Turkey and the extended Russia-Ukraine conflict. China has also centralized its government monitoring, it noted.
The report cites a number of factors for the overall decline, including a global shift toward authoritarian methods, a decline in internet freedom, and the cumulative effect of terrorism over years of conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere.
The only two countries listed as "free" in the Middle East were Israel, which was joined for the first time by Tunisia. Syria, by contrast, had the lowest Freedom Index rating for any country in over ten years.
There isn’t much good news coming out of the Arab world nowadays—civil war in Syria and Libya, state failure in Yemen, sectarian repression in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and the struggle against the Islamic State and radical Shi’ite militias in Iraq—but Tunisia is increasingly becoming a consistent exception to the rule.
Tunisia was the birthplace of the Arab Spring. After overthrowing dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisians had a rough couple of years: Ben Ali stole billions, and it has been a constant struggle to recover even a fraction of those lost resources. The root of the Arab Spring was a desire for economic and political accountability, but the achievement of that is easier said than done. Throw into the mix the collapse of state control in Libya and the flood of Libyan weapons and refugees throughout the region, and Tunisia seemed to be buffeted by, if not in the midst, of a perfect storm. As the Egyptian-American sociologist Saad Eddin Ibrahim characterized it, in the decades before the Arab Spring, political organization devolved into a competition between the autocrats and theocrats; any more liberal group that sought to occupy the space in between ended up attacked by both sides.