Thursday, March 12, 2015
PMW: Fatah to Israelis: “Collect your body parts and leave!”
Fatah took pride in the terror attack, calling the terrorists “heroes,” and posting a photo of the destroyed bus in which terrorist Dalal Mughrabi and other terrorists killed 37 civilians and wounded over 70 in 1978. As in another post glorifying the attack yesterday, exposed by Palestinian Media Watch, Fatah exaggerated the number of Israelis they murdered as “exceeding 80 casualties” in order to make the attack seem more lethal:Fatah Central Committee Member to PA TV: Dalal Mughrabi, Female Suicide Bombers, Are Our Role Models
“Collect your body parts and leave!
On this day, March 11, in 1978, Dalal Mughrabi and her companions declared the birth of the Palestinian Republic in the heart of the occupied territories (i.e., Israel). The enemy admitted the death of 30 Zionists in the operation, yet according to the reports the number exceeded 80 casualties. Through this, Fatah heroes retaliated against the Verdun Operation (i.e., Israeli operation against PLO leaders, see below), following the retaliation by the Savoy [Hotel operation] members. Retaliation after retaliation and the windstorms will not subside.” [Fatah’s Facebook page, “Fatah - The Main Page,” March 11, 2015]
The Palestinian Authority and Fatah have turned Dalal Mughrabi into a role model for Palestinians.
In an interview on the official Palestinian Authority TV channel to mark International Women's Day, Fatah Central Committee member Amal Hamad said that Dalal Mughrabi, who led the 1978 Coastal Road terrorist attack in Israel, and female suicide bombers Wafa Idris and Rim Al-Riyashi were "role models." The interview aired on March 8, 2015.
Jake Lynch: A study in ‘Peace and Conflict’
Professor Jake Lynch, the director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies (CPACS) and an ardent opponent of Israel, shouted in the faces of students, including at a senior officer of the Jewish student union. He then proceeded to stand on chairs and film attendees. Lynch screamed that attempts to remove the protestors was a violent attack on freedom of speech by security guards. When another academic suggested that he ask a question, Lynch responded that was not what this is about, only later opting to ask a question when invited by the Colonel.Anti-Zionist-Not-Antisemite Jake Lynch Needs To Explain This
One student commented that Kemp “hadn’t even mentioned Israel or Palestine” in the time he had to talk. Another student mentioned that she did not have strong views on either side of this issue, was studying international relations and had come expecting a talk, not an ambush.
After about 20 minutes of shouting, the protestors were finally removed from the hall, having objected loudly to their treatment by the security guards and some others present. Kemp, resuming as if nothing had happened, continued to speak on engagement with non-civilian groups in armed conflict. Concluding his talk, Kemp briefly addressed what he termed a “commercial break.”
“This protest was about my perspective on the IDF… I was in Israel during the 2014 summer conflict and I do believe that the IDF in their attack on Hamas in Gaza… were doing everything they could to protect civilians… People have told me I am wrong, but no one has told me what more steps Israel could take to minimize civilian casualties.”
Students, academics and other interested people had come from all over to hear an expert speak on a topical and important subject.
You may recall last year Shurat HaDin Israel Law Centre sued Australian academic Jake Lynch for racial discrimination for his BDS activities. My friend Andrew Hamilton was the lawyer involved. Unfortunately, Shurat HaDin dropped the case and Lynch walked away.BDS PROTEST AT UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY 11/3/15
At the time, Lynch denied his BDSholing was racially motivated against Jews.
So let him explain this.
That’s Lynch at a disruptive protest against Colonel Richard Kemp at the University of Sydney, holding money to the face of a Jewish student.
So Mr Lynch, I invited you to explain yourself. I mean, surely this was not an antisemitic gesture, right? Perhaps you just wanted change. Because your actions against Israelis are not racially motivated. I mean, you said so.
Presidential Commitments Then and Now
The White House “outrage” at the “open letter” to Iran signed by 47 senators, led by Sen. Tom Cotton, was reinforced by Vice President Biden’s formal statement, which intoned that “America’s influence depends on its ability to honor its commitments,” including those made by a president without a vote of Congress. Perhaps we should welcome Biden’s belated insight. As Jonathan Tobin notes, President Obama on taking office in 2009 refused to be bound by the 2004 Gaza disengagement deal in the letters exchanged between President George W. Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. His secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, announced that such commitments were “unenforceable”–that they were non-binding on the new administration. In 2009, Obama disregarded previous commitments not only to Israel but also to Poland, the Czech Republic, and Georgia; he “fundamentally transformed” America’s previous commitments, as he likes to describe the essential element of his entire presidency.John Yoo: Tom Cotton’s Letter Is Exactly Right
The Gaza disengagement deal was (1) approved by Congress; (2) included in the Gaza disengagement plan presented to the Israeli Knesset, and (3) relied on by Israel in withdrawing from Gaza later in 2005. The history of the deal (which the current secretary of state endorsed at the time as a U.S. “commitment”) is set forth here, and the reason Obama sought to undo it is discussed here. In 2009, the Obama administration refused at least 22 times to answer whether it considered itself bound by the deal; in 2011 it openly reneged on key aspects of it.
President Obama is currently negotiating an arms control agreement in secret, refusing to disclose the details of the offers his administration has made to Iran, a terrorist state according to his own State Department, and a self-described enemy of the United States since 1979. He has opposed not only a congressional debate before he concludes the deal but also a congressional vote afterwards. If he closes a deal with Iran on that basis, it will not be binding on any future president–at least not if that president chooses to follow the precedent Obama himself set in 2009.
The Cotton letter is right. If President Obama strikes a nuclear deal with Iran using just instrument (c), he is only committing to refrain from exercising his executive power — i.e., not attacking Iran or lifting sanctions under power delegated by Congress. Not only could the next president terminate the agreement; Obama himself could terminate the deal.Kerry, State Dept. Spokesperson Agree: Iran Deal Would be “Non-Binding”
In fact, the Cotton letter could have gone farther and pointed out that Obama may be making promises that he cannot keep. Since a sole executive agreement is only a commitment for the use of the executive’s authority, it cannot make promises about Congress. Under the Constitution’s Foreign Commerce Clause, Only Congress has the authority to impose international economic sanctions. Obama’s executive agreement cannot prevent Congress from imposing mandatory, severe sanctions on Iran without the possibility of presidential waiver (my preferred solution for handling the Iranian nuclear crisis right now). Obama can agree to allow Iran to keep a nuclear processing capability; Congress can cut Iran out of the world trading and financial system.
Doubts can be raised about the diplomatic wisdom of the letter. The United States has long sought, ideally, to treat the President as “the sole organ” of its foreign policy, though in reality Congress has dominated foreign policy for periods of American history. Centralization of diplomacy in the presidency has been thought to prevent foreign nations from manipulating our branches against each other, though students of bargaining — or anyone who has to haggle over the price of a car with a salesman and his mysterious manager — will understand that having to overcome a subsequent Senate veto could result in a better deal for the U.S.
As a matter of constitutional law, however, the Cotton letter should be no more controversial than a letter that simply enclosed a copy of the U.S. Constitution (without President Obama’s editing).
Over the past two days, both U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki have admitted that the current nuclear deal being negotiated with Iran is “non-binding.”Michael Totten: A Real Downside to Any Deal With Iran
Speaking at a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee today, Kerry said that the deal is not “legally binding.”
“We’ve been clear from the beginning we’re not negotiating a legally binding plan. We’re negotiating a plan that will have a capacity for enforcement,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“We don’t even have diplomatic relations with Iran right now.”
Kerry made his remarks in the context of addressing what he called the “misconceptions” contained in the open letter released earlier this week that was signed by 47 Senators.
President Obama is pursuing an agreement for understandable reasons. Far better to resolve the West’s differences with Iran diplomatically rather than violently. Prime Minister Netanyahu, likewise, is wary of the president’s plan for understandable reasons. A bad deal may be worse for Israel than no deal at all. Yet neither Obama nor Netanyahu seem to notice how an agreement, regardless of its content and efficacy, will be viewed by the Middle East’s Sunni Arabs, who are as alarmed as the Israelis are by Iranian ambitions.John Bolton: Barack Obama and the Fatal Myth of Appeasement
The war against ISIS is being fought on two fronts in two countries, and the Middle East’s Sunni-Shia conflict rips right through the center of both. ISIS is the bloodthirsty wing of the Sunni jihadist movement, while Iran and its Syrian, Iraqi, and Lebanese allies make up the Shia resistance. In no way do average Sunni Arabs view ISIS as their standard bearer. Tens of thousands have lit out from its territory for squalid refugee camps abroad. But at the same time, most Sunni Arabs tremble at the rise of Iranian power and are reluctant to stand against the maniacs on their own side, especially when the U.S. and Europe appear to side with the Persians and Shia against them.
That’s not how it is, but that’s how it looks. Consider this: Iranian Revolutionary Guard general Qasem Soleimani is personally leading the Iraqi operation to wrest control of the city of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s hometown, from ISIS. When Iraq’s Sunnis see Shia militias and Iranian Revolutionary Guard troops gunning for their territory, they feel a looming threat to their very existence. And at the same time, the West is bombing ISIS positions in both Syria and Iraq, while Washington is at least nominally allied to Baghdad and trying to cut a deal with Tehran. The Sunnis see the world’s only superpower teaming up with their enemies and gearing up to smash them to pieces.
Iran has, for more than 30 years, been pursuing a consistent, dogged strategy intended to achieve its objective of deliverable nuclear weapons. In seeking such an enormous military capability, Iran is prepared to make temporary, easily reversible concessions along the way — always keeping in mind the limited, time-bound nature of these arrangements. It has done so repeatedly in the past, and it is doing so again in the current negotiations. To the ayatollahs, deals are tactical maneuvers, not efforts to resolve disputes.Iran's Khamenei slams US Republicans and 'Zionist clown' Netanyahu
Particularly difficult for Americans to understand is that, when the deal is signed, the negotiating will not be over. In fact, to Iran, agreements are just hitching posts along the trail toward deliverable nuclear weapons, temporary resting places before Iran begins its inexorable search for further weaknesses, leverage points and terms of the deal it will violate.
By contrast, Obama is not pursuing a strategy but a myth called appeasement. Appeasers hope that buying off potential adversaries with concessions and demonstrations of goodwill would dissuade them from committing aggression. When dealing with insignificant threats in secondary regions at minimal costs, concessions of this sort might make sense. Or as an act of desperation, when no other alternatives are available, such concessions might also work.
But for mortal threats to security of our country and its allies — even their very existence — against an implacable opponent, where the costs of weakness are enormous, appeasement is a fatal mistake. Obama hopes that by making concessions on economic sanctions and perhaps even diplomatic recognition, he can somehow make the ayatollahs forget their own strategic objectives. This is delusional, as we shall regrettably see soon after the agreement is announced.
Mehr quoted Khamenei as saying: "Of course I am worried, because the other side is known for opacity, deceit and backstabbing."Iranian President: Diplomacy With U.S. is an Active ‘Jihad’
"Every time we reach a stage where the end of the negotiations is in sight, the tone of the other side, specifically the Americans, becomes harsher, coarser and tougher. This is the nature of their tricks and deceptions."
The negotiations, which resume in Lausanne, Switzerland, next week, are at a critical juncture as the sides try to meet an end of March target for an interim deal, with a final deal in June.
Khamenei added that US accusations of Iranian involvement in terrorism were risible. He also criticized a speech to Congress by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this month that warned the United States it was negotiating a bad deal with Iran that could spark a nuclear nightmare.
"When this Zionist clown spoke at Congress, members of the US government made remarks to deny any role in this event," a message on Khamenei's Twitter account read following his meeting with the clerics.
"But at the same time they accused Iran of terrorism; these remarks were cheap and despicable," he added.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described his country’s diplomacy with the United States as an active “jihad” that is just as significant to Tehran’s advancement as the slew of new weapons and missiles showcased by the Islamic Republic’s military.Iran Declares Pre-emptive Victory in Nuke Talks
Rouhani praised the country’s military leaders for standing “against the enemy on the battlefield” and said as president, he would carry out this “jihad” on the diplomatic front.
Iran has made headway in convincing the U.S. to allow it to maintain much of its core infrastructure through diplomatic talks that Rouhani said are viewed as a “jihad.”
“Our negotiations with the world powers are a source of national pride,” Rouhani said earlier this week. “Yesterday [during the Iran-Iraq War], your brave generals stood against the enemy on the battlefield and defended their country. Today, your diplomatic generals are defending [our nation] in the field of diplomacy–this, too, is jihad.”
“Our power is growing each day, but we don’t intend to be aggressive toward anyone. However, we will certainly defend our country, nation, independence, and honor wholeheartedly.”
Iran’s foreign minister and chief negotiator in nuclear talks with the West declared victory for his country, stating that no matter how the negotiations end, Tehran has come out “the winner,” according to remarks made on Tuesday and presented in the country’s state-run press.Networks Decline to Run Ad Warning of Dangers of Nuclear Iran
Javad Zarif, the Islamic Republic’s foreign minister, stated in remarks before the country’s powerful Assembly of Experts, which recently installed a hardline new cleric as its leader, that the nuclear negotiations have established Tehran as a global power broker.
“We are the winner whether the [nuclear] negotiations yield results or not,” Zarif was quoted as saying before the assembly by the Tasnim News Agency. “The capital we have obtained over the years is dignity and self-esteem, a capital that could not be retaken.”
Zarif’s comments were accompanied by a host of bold military displays by Tehran in recent weeks, including the announcement of one new weapon that Iranian military leaders have described as a “very special” missile.
Major networks declined to run an ad on their Sunday morning news shows from a bipartisan group of former senators warning of the seriousness of an Iranian nuclear bomb.Special Delivery
The ad comes from a new group called the American Security Initiative (ASI), which is led by former Sens. Saxby Chambliss (R, Ga.), Evan Bayh (D, Ind.), and Norm Coleman (R., Minn.).
Featured in the ad is a terrorist driving a van containing a nuclear bomb that detonates in the United States. It ends by urging for passage of the Corker-Menendez Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which would require any Iranian nuclear deal reached by the administration to be approved by Congress.
Worried About Iranian Nuke Deal, Group Floods Senate With 57,000 Emails
The US Senate received over 57,000 emails in 24 hours from people demanding congressional review of any nuclear deal with Iran, according to a statement from Christians United for Israel (CUFI) on Wednesday.Could US Inaction against ISIS be a Trap for Iran?
CUFI organized the grass roots email campaign in an effort to raise awareness about the lack of congressional involvement in the current negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Every major arms control agreement in recent history has been submitted to Congress for approval. A deal with Iran should be no different,” said CUFI executive director David Brog.
The CUFI email campaign specifically voiced support for the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (S.615). This legislation, among other things, directs President Obama to promptly transmit the details of any Iranian nuclear deal to Congress. It further directs the Secretary of State to assess the feasibility of verifying Iran’s compliance with any such deal. The bill also limits the President’s ability to lift sanctions against Iran.
While Binyamin Netanyahu and Barack Obama spar on the approach to Iran, one expert considers the strong possibility that the US is trying to make ISIS into "Iran's Vietnam."Report: Israel Conducts Military Maneuvers Simulating War With Hezbollah
The Netanyahu speech to Congress last week has influenced a number of questions from journalists and statements from the White House. It seems that if Netanyahu has not had direct influence on the Iran negotiations, he has successfully manufactured public pressure on the Obama Administration.
However, his critique of the way the US is allowing Iran more influence in Iraq might be misplaced. There is the possibility that the United States is not just trying to keep its boots off the ground to avoid entanglement in the conflict, but also to force Iran to insert its own troops.
"Hopefully, the economic and human costs of fighting ISIS will bring Iran to scuttle its program," says Professor Hillel Frisch of the Begin Sadat Center for Security Studies in Tel Aviv. "As far as I can ascertain, this might be the US strategy, given the very limited air campaign against the Islamic state. The problem is Iran's nuclear program, not ISIS."
Israel’s Home Front Command conducted military exercises on Wednesday morning which simulated dozens of rockets falling on the cities of the Galilee, in addition to the infiltration of tens of northern settlements by Hezbollah operatives, in an envisioned Third Lebanon War, Hezbollah’s news organ Al-Manar claimed.France launches probe into jihadi slaying of Israeli Arab
During these exercises, Israeli news sources, including Yediot Achronot, noted that warning sirens would be sounded throughout the Galilee at 5:55 PM on Wednesday.
Additionally, Al-Manar claimed that the Israel Defense Forces expects that dozens of Israelis would be killed if a new confrontation with Hezbollah erupts. The Lebanon based terror group says it closely follows Israeli Home Front Command exercises and simulations.
French officials Thursday launched a formal investigation into a video released by the Islamic State purporting to show the execution of an Arab Israeli, which featured a French-speaking man.Incitement to Murder Yehuda Glick at Shechem University
According to sources close to the investigation, the man is probably Sabri Essid, who has close links to French jihadi terrorist Mohammed Merah, the killer of three soldiers, three Jewish students and a rabbi in an attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse in 2012.
In the video, a youth identifying himself as 19-year-old Muhammad Said Ismail Musallam is shown kneeling in front of a boy who appears to be no more than 12. A man stands at his side.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit that is standard in videos of IS executions, the man who is kneeling recounts how he was recruited by Israeli intelligence, a claim denied by his father.
The man standing nearby, speaking in French, issues threats against Jews in France, before the boy walks around in front of the hostage and shoots him in the forehead using a pistol.
Five months after a Muslim terrorist critically wounded Temple Mount activist Yehuda Glick in an assassination attempt, Islamist incitement against Glick is continuing apace.Watch: Arabs Abuse Australians on Temple Mount
Veteran Israeli journalist Haggai Huberman revealed in the Matzav Haruach magazine how two weeks ago the Islamic Bloc inaugurated a new exhibition on "Jerusalem" at the An-Najah university in Shechem (Nablus). Instead of focusing on the history of the holy city, however, the entire exhibition was made up of anti-Israel incitement, expressed through pictures and other displays.
Among them: a poster of Yehuda Glick, who has been campaigning for decades in favor of Jewish prayer rights on the Temple Mount, emblazoned with two clear targets on his head and chest, in the form of a rifle's crosshairs.
Long before an Islamist gunman aligned with the Islamic Jihad terrorist group gunned him down at point-blank range outside a Jerusalem conference, Glick had been a target of Muslim incitement for his activities.
A group of young Australian visitors to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the holiest site in Judaism, found themselves face to face with violent Arab harassment as documented by a shocking video clip.Jerusalem Stabber: 'I Hate Religious Jews'
The video, posted by The Israel Project on Tuesday, shows a ragtag mob of Muslim men, women and children shouting "Allahu Akbar" - "Allah is greater" - at the Australians, and making shooing gestures to try and frighten them from the holy site, before going full out by physically shoving them and chasing after them.
Faced with the Arab onslaught, one Australian youth can be heard saying "don't be scared, they want you to be scared."
The Jerusalem Magistrates' Court extended by five days on Wednesday the confinement of an 18-year-old Arab terrorist from Bir Zeit, who stabbed a haredi man near Tzahal Square in central Jerusalem two weeks ago.Arab lawyer from east Jerusalem arrested for aiding Hamas
The terrorist has meanwhile told his Israel Security Agency (ISA, or Shin Bet) interrogators that he stole a knife in the Old City and selected a haredi man as his victim because, as he put it, he “hates the religious Jews.”
He also confessed that he had been involved in hurling firebombs and rocks at security forces near his home.
The prosecution told the court it intends to file charges soon.
The man who was stabbed is Avraham Goldschmidt, married with four children, from Betar Illit. He told the media from his hospital bed that he was on his way back from a Torah lesson, when he was stabbed by the terrorist.
An Arab attorney from east Jerusalem was arrested last month following a joint undercover investigation by Jerusalem Police and the Shin Bet into the man’s alleged meetings with Hamas prisoners to garner information in exchange for payment, police announced on Thursday.Israeli Arab Party’s Official Says Islamic State Learned Terror From Zionism
According to a statement, the suspect, Rami Alami, an attorney in his 30s from A-Tur who has an office in the Old City, was arrested on February 22 after meeting with multiple prisoners, including those in solitary confinement, for information to aid the terrorist organization.
Police initiated the investigation last month upon receiving intelligence about the activities of Alami, the statement said. The investigation revealed that following the visits, he would wire NIS 400 from Hamas coffers into the prisoners’ accounts from his Jerusalem office.
Upon his arrest, police and Shin Bet officials searched his office and home, where computers were seized, as well as receipts documenting numerous money transfers.
During interrogation, Alami claimed that the meetings with inmates in prisons were coordinated with the Palestinian Prison Authority, which the authority subsequently denied.
Raja Zaatra, a public relations official for the Joint Arab List political party in Israel, said the Islamic State terror group learned its actions from Zionism and refused to define Hamas as a terrorist organization.PLO's Barghouti: Our Greatest Hope is for Netanyahu to Lose
During a panel discussion about Israel’s upcoming March 17 election at Bar-Ilan University on Tuesday, Zaatra said, “Where did ISIS (Islamic State) learn all these things? Look at what the Zionist movement did in 1948, the acts of rape, murder, plunder, and mass slaughter that were committed.”
Turning to Hamas, Zaatra said that the Gaza-based group is “not a terrorist organization. A people under occupation have a legitimate right to resist.”
After drawing condemnation from across the panel’s political spectrum for his comments, Zaatra told Israel Hayom, “I believe in every word, and I certainly don’t regret what I said.”
Just after Labor leader Yitzhak Herzog received an endorsement from former President Shimon Peres on Thursday, top Palestinian Authority official Mustafa Barghouti also advocated - albeit indirectly - for the leftist candidate.JCPA: The Palestinian Authority’s New Economic StrategyMarch 12, 2015, Yoni Ben MenachemPalestinian leaders discuss an economic revolt to break Oslo Accords constraints.
“We all truly desire that Binyamin Netanyahu fall and be replaced, and that his administration come to an end,” Barghouti told the NRG news site in an interview.
With that, he said, he did not expect an administration led by Herzog to be much different than the one currently led by Netanyahu.
Barghouti, a member of the Palestinian Liberation Organization's Central Committee who is considered a leader of both the First and Second Intifadas, said that the PA does not expect major changes in Israeli policy, regardless of who is elected.
The Palestinians appear to be waiting for the Israeli election results before deciding on practical measures against Israel such as cutting security coordination.Poll: Gaza Residents Blame Hamas for Palestinian Division
Ashtiya calculated that after the elections Israel will cease withholding the Palestinian tax revenues, as it has been doing for more than three months, because “the PA in its current form is an Israeli interest.”
At the same time, some senior PA officials view these declarations of an economic revolt against Israel as empty threats, just like the decision to end security coordination with Israel. The economic threats are aimed at placating the Palestinian public in the territories amid growing economic distress and the delay in paying office workers’ salaries.
The explanation for empty threats is simple: the Palestinian National Unity Government has no influence on what happens in Gaza, where the Hamas shadow government is firmly in charge.
The separation between the West Bank and Gaza does not permit the formation of a single economic strategy.
Therefore, the basic condition for the success of a new economic strategy is to implement the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement and end the separation between the West Bank and Gaza. As things now appear, that is a very long way from materializing.
A public opinion poll conducted recently found that nearly half of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip believe that Hamas movement is the main party responsible for the endless split between Gaza and the West Bank.Suriname Leader's Son Gets 16 Years in U.S. Prison for Hezbollah Aid
The poll was conducted by the Jerusalem Media and Communication Centre in the West Bank and Gaza Strip between February 25 and March 1, 2015.
According to the poll, a plurality of respondents, 34.3%, blamed Hamas for the continued division in the Palestinian territories. 23.1% put the responsibility on Fatah, 17.8% blamed both movements, and only 7.9% who blamed Israel.
It is noteworthy that the largest proportion of those who blames Hamas (42.7%) are from the Gaza Strip while 29.2% are from the West Bank. That means that nearly half of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip believe that Hamas carries the main responsibility for the split.
The son of Suriname’s president was sentenced on Tuesday to 16-1/4 years in prison, after pleading guilty last August to U.S. charges that he tried to offer a home base to the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah.Angry Egypt feels the squeeze from jihadis, US and Hamas
Dino Bouterse, 42, who worked in a Suriname counter terrorist unit, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin in Manhattan. Bouterse had also admitted to drug trafficking and firearms charges.
U.S. prosecutors accused Bouterse of inviting people he thought were from Hezbollah to establish a base in his home country, located north of Brazil, in exchange for $2 million that was ultimately not paid.
Bouterse was arrested by Panamanian authorities after a sting in which he allegedly talked about his activities with confidential informants from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
There is one thing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can take comfort in regarding his relations with the US administration — he is not the only Middle Eastern leader struggling to understand American President Barack Obama. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi has also been at a loss in recent weeks amid the administration’s almost surreal conduct towards Cairo.Obama Gives Sisi the Netanyahu Treatment
On Monday Sissi was asked what he and the other Arab allies thought of US leadership in the region. It is hard to put his response in words, mainly due to his prolonged silence.
“Difficult question,” he said after some moments, while his body language expressed contempt and disgust. “The suspending of US equipment and arms was an indicator for the public that the United States is not standing by the Egyptians.”
It turns out that although the American administration recently agreed to provide the Egyptian Air Force with Apache attack helicopters, it has been making it increasingly difficult for Cairo to make additional military purchases.
In a Middle East where Islamist terror groups and the Iranian regime and its allies have been on the offensive in recent years, the one bright spot for the West in the region (other, that is, than Israel) is the way Egypt has returned to its old role as a bulwark of moderation and opposition to extremism. The current government led by former general Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has clamped down on Hamas terrorists and has been willing to deploy its armed forces to fight ISIS in Libya while also clamping down on a Muslim Brotherhood movement that seeks to transform Egypt into another Islamist state. Yet despite this, the Obama administration is unhappy with Egypt. Much to Cairo’s consternation, the United States is squeezing its government on the military aid it needs to fight ISIS in Libya and Sinai terrorists. As the Israeli government has already learned to its sorrow, the Egyptians now understand that being an ally of the United States is a lot less comfortable position than to be a foe like Iran.ISIS Leader al-Baghdadi: 'Religious Duty' to Destroy Egyptian Sphinx, Pyramids
The ostensible reason for the holdup in aid is that the Egyptian government is a human-rights violator. Those concerns are accurate. Sisi’s government has been ruthless in cracking down on the same Muslim Brotherhood faction that was running the country until a popular coup brought it down in the summer of 2013. But contrary to the illusions of an Obama administration that hastened the fall of Hosni Mubarak and then foolishly embraced his Muslim Brotherhood successors, democracy was never one of the available options in Egypt.
The choice in Egypt remains stark. It’s either going to be run by Islamists bent on taking the most populous Arab country down the dark road of extremism or by a military regime that will keep that from happening. The obvious Western choice must be the latter, and Sisi has turned out to be an even better ally than Washington could have dreamed of, as he ensured that the Brotherhood would not return to power, took on Hamas in Gaza, and even made public calls for Muslims to turn against religious extremists.
Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi joined others in calling for the destruction of Egypt’s Great Sphinx and Pyramids. In a statement out this week, said it is a Muslim’s “religious duty” to destroy the monuments. The monuments are the only one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World still in existence.Australia investigating if local teen was IS suicide bomber
Militants have looted and destroyed ancient cities as the terrorist group attempts to expand their self-proclaimed caliphate. Over the weekend, the Islamic State destroyed Hatra, Nimrud, and Khorsabad, three sites full of ancient artifacts. The spokesman of UNESCO called the demolitions “war crimes” as Iraqi officials blamed the international community for lack of support. The group has called for the destruction of shrines and tombs because they promote “idolatry,” though they also fund their terrorist activities by selling priceless antiques to collectors.
Ibrahim Al Kandari, a Kuwaiti Islamist preacher, also demanded the destruction of the pyramids and Sphinx. He claims “the great buildings should be destroyed to put an end to the worship of images.”
Australia’s government was trying to confirm reports that an Australian teenager was among a group of suicide bombers from the Islamic State movement that struck Iraq’s embattled Anbar province.Former ISIS Hostage: Jihadists Enjoy Teletubbies, Game of Thrones
The Islamic State group claimed in an online statement that it used foreign fighters from Australia, Belgium, Syria and Uzbekistan in Wednesday’s attack, in which at least 13 suicide car bombs exploded almost simultaneously in Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, killing two soldiers and wounding eight. One photo that was posted featured a white van driving down a dusty street, alongside an image of a young man who closely resembles 18-year-old Australian Jake Bilardi sitting behind the wheel.
“I can confirm that we’re seeking to independently verify that he was part of this suicide bombing attack,” Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Thursday. “The news appears very grim, but we are seeking to independently verify it.”
Former Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) hostage Nicolas Henin, 39, spoke out recently about his ten months with the jihadist group. He told the BBC the militants enjoyed Teletubbies and Game of Thrones. He also claimed there were some who could not come to terms with the blood the group spills on an almost daily basis.Canada says foils plot by ISIS supporter to bomb Toronto financial district, US consulate
“I noticed that these jihadists have little to do with the local culture — Arab or Muslim culture — they are children of our societies,” explained Henin. “They speak our language, they have the same cultural references we do. They watch the same movies as us, play the same video games our children play. They are products of our culture, our world.”
The interview was based on the children’s book Will Daddy Hedgehog Ever Come Home?, which Henin and fellow hostage Pierre Torres, 30, developed while in captivity. Former British hostage David Haines helped develop the story as well. The Islamic State beheaded him in 2014.
Canada said on Wednesday it had foiled a plot by a self-proclaimed Islamic State supporter to bomb the US consulate and other buildings in Toronto's financial district.The Islamic State wins prestigious Turner Prize for modern art (satire)
The alleged plot came to light after the Pakistani man, who has lived in Canada since 2004, tried to recruit an undercover Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, officials said.
Jahanzeb Malik, 33, was arrested on Monday by Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and appeared at a deportation hearing on Wednesday on grounds of being a danger to security. He has not been charged with any criminal offenses.
The Islamic State has sensationally won the prestigious 2015 Turner Prize for its conceptual art piece ‘Smashing Mosul Museum To Pieces: Death To The Infidels.’Saudi Arabia recalls ambassador from Sweden as rift widens
“By demolishing priceless 3,000 year old statues with sledge hammers, ISIS is asking: ‘What is art?’, while retextualising normative art as transgressive, daring and counter cultural,” said the chairman of the Turner Prize jury, Sir Nicholas Serota. “I was very moved by their performance.”
The pulvarised pieces of rock left by the Islamic State were later purchased by modern art collector Charles Saatchi for $5 million for an installation entitled: ‘Lumps Of Rock In A Wheelbarrow, 2015′.
The Turner Prize, considered the greatest prize in modern art, has previously been won by artists using elephant dung, a dead shark and a garden shed reimagined as art.
“In destroying this ‘art’, the Islamic State has liberated it from bourgeoise, middle class concepts of ‘beauty’ and invited us to examine pig ignorance as an artistic expression in itself,” said Serota, while being held at gunpoint by the Islamic State winning team.
Saudi Arabia has recalled its ambassador from Sweden, widening a diplomatic rift between two countries with sharply contrasting views on everything from women's rights to criminal justice.Turkish gov’t yet to issue Interpol Red Notice for Israeli officers
The move comes after Sweden refused to renew a 10-year-old weapons deal with Saudi Arabia and the Saudis blocked the Swedish foreign minister from giving a speech to the Arab League.
Swedish Foreign Ministry spokesman Gabriel Wernstedt said Wednesday that the Saudis were recalling their ambassador because of "Sweden's criticism regarding human rights and democracy" in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
The official Saudi Press Agency reported that the Saudi Foreign Ministry recalled its diplomat because it considered remarks by Sweden's foreign minister about the kingdom as "blatant interference it its internal affairs."
The issue of the Mavi Marmara has particular symbolic significance for the AK Party government, as it made a significant political investment in the dramatic event in a bid to win political points at home. For this reason, party elites, the prime minister and other senior figures gave the Mavi Marmara case almost divine status for its symbolic meaning as a representation of rightful resistance to the oppression of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, a coastal enclave ruled by Hamas.
An İstanbul court last year issued an arrest warrant for four top Israeli commanders for their role in the deadly raid of the Mavi Marmara in 2010 that left eight Turks and a Turkish-American dead and dealt a devastating blow to Turkish-Israeli relations. The İstanbul 7th High Criminal Court ordered the arrest of retired Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, retired Israeli Navy commander Vice Adm. Eliezer Marom, retired IDF chief of Defense Intelligence Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin and retired Israeli Air Force intelligence head Brig. Gen. Avishai Levi in May 2014.
Although 10 months have passed since the court requested that the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Justice seek an Interpol Red Notice, government officials have not taken single step to do so. This reveals a clear contradiction between the AK Party government's discourse on the Mavi Marmara issue and its policies. The judges who ruled for the arrest of the Israeli commanders were also re-assigned to other judicial posts in different provinces, and the chief judge in the case was demoted.
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