Thursday, March 26, 2015
Documentary Exposes Hamas Indoctrination, Training of Child Soldiers
Deputy Foreign Minister Ghazi Hamad confirmed that Hamas brainwashes Palestinian society to glorify terrorist attacks, admitting that the terrorist group seeks to “enforce a militant culture in Palestinian society.”Children's Army of Hamas - short
The indoctrination campaign appears to be extremely effective, as the documentary features numerous passionate camp participants espousing their commitment to engage in violent conflict targeting Israelis and Jews.
“The armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine, not negotiations,” a teen boy at the training camp explained.
CNEPR is an institute focused on investigative research that provides insights into the Arab-Israeli conflict and the plight of Palestinians in UNRWA-administered refugee camps. The film is meant to clearly demonstrate Hamas’ continued persistence for violent struggle against the Jewish State in an effort to deter the EU from removing Hamas from its list of terrorist organizations.
The youth terrorist training camp featured in the documentary has become a common facet of Hamas rule in Gaza, training thousands of teenage boys to handle Kalashnikov rifles and explosives.
Hamas historically glorifies terrorists systematically and encourages future attacks by indoctrinating Palestinian youth to adopt violent jihad and engage in suicide bombings. In the past, Hamas has featured a back-to-school program called “The Gifted” featuring a child narrator declaring: “we’ll wear the battle-vest of self sacrifice and follow the path of the Shahids (martyrs).”
Amb. Prosor adresses the Security Council debate on Children in armed conflicts
Amb. Prosor at the Security Council: “I speak before this Council today as the Permanent Representative of the State of Israel, but also as a father and grandfather. Like other Israeli parents, I want to see the day when our children can grow up without hearing the wail of a red alert siren or the boom of rockets overhead. We want our children to enjoy a life free from terrorism - but that day has not yet come. Terrorists have robbed our children of their dreams, their childhood, and their futures. Across the Middle East, terrorists and extremists are poisoning the minds of the next generation, teaching them to hate, vilify, and dehumanize Israelis and Jews. We have lost an entire generation to incitement. Enough is enough.”
SUPERcuts: Matt Lee Doesn't Suffer the State Department
Michael Lumish: The Impasse
I want to say that we are currently at an impasse in terms of negotiations in the long Arab war against the Jews of the Middle East.Poll: 68% of Palestinians support rocket fire against Israel
Unfortunately, I cannot say that we are currently at an impasse, because the fact is that we have been at an impasse - depending on how one chooses to reckon such things - for almost 80 years since the Peel Commission.
Decade upon decade upon decade, the Jews of the Middle East agree to share the tiny bit of land which is the historical Jewish homeland and decade upon decade upon decade, the Arabs turn us down. Yet the Europeans and American "liberals" still blame the Jews for Arab racism and intransigence.
Palestinian Authority "president" Mahmoud Abbas is in the eleventh year of a four year term, yet it is the democratic leader of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, who Barack Obama spits hatred at.
The truth is, this is a sucker's game and the Jews are the suckers.
A poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research shows that 68% of respondents support Hamas rocket attacks against Israel.Israel’s Second Declaration of Independence
The poll also indicated a decrease in Palestinian public perception that Hamas had emerged the victor in last summer's Operation Protective Edge, with only 51% of respondents claiming that Hamas had won, compared to 66% who said the same three months ago.
When asked if they were satisfied with the achievements of last summer's events in Gaza, 62% of the Palestinians polled said they were not, and 56% said they supported moving Hamas' armed struggle into Judea and Samaria.
Slightly more than half (51%) of respondents said they supported a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, compared to 49% who opposed that idea. Armed struggle was the option of choice for 37% of respondents, down from 42% who supported an armed struggle as of three months ago.
The number of respondents who said they would opt for peace negotiations and non-violent resistance were nearly the same (29% and 30%, respectively), while 48% said they supported an armed intifada [popular uprising]. Three months ago, 56% of Palestinians polled said they were in favor of an intifada. (h/t Bob Knot)
And on Election Day, Israelis demanded the right to stand alone. Israel declared its independence a second time.Jerusalem Officials Say Obama Administration is More Hostile Than Europe — ‘Not Even Half a Minute of Grace Was Given’
Now, with the election behind us, we have also seen just how determined President Obama is to undermine Israel’s independence of action and impose his will on the Jewish State. Obama has proceeded to punish the people for their democratic choice and has shown not a morsel of respect for the voice of the Israeli public, spoken with clarity in Netanyahu’s reelection.
His effective goal now seems to be the isolation of the Jewish state from its allies both internationally and within the US. If he allows Israel to be fed to the wolves at the United Nations, as he has implied he will, it will be a major setback for Israel’s ability to act as an independent sovereign nation.
Within the US, where Israel’s position is strongest due to overwhelming public support for the Jewish state, the White House has apparently set about on a campaign to undermine Israel’s standing.
Israeli officials in Jerusalem said on Wednesday that the Obama Administration is acting in a manner that is more hostile to Israel than European governments, Israel’s Walla News reported.Leftist NGO Head: Freeze Meant for Arab Capital in Jerusalem
As the tensions between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu were ratcheted up by the Administration this week, the officials in Jerusalem noted the relatively positive response from Europe to Prime Minister Netanyahu’s re-election last Tuesday.
Since the results of the election came in showing that Netanyahu’s Likud had won 30 seats in the Knesset, European governments, as well as representatives of the European Union, have been content to send laconic congratulatory messages to Netanyahu, according to Walla‘s report. Some of the communiques also emphasized the importance of the negotiation process with the Palestinian Authority in order to achieve a two-state solution.
Seidemann revealed that part of Netanyahu's impetus in blocking the plans is that they would ensure the united nature of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and create a de facto barrier against the possibility of linking eastern Jerusalem with the Arab population centers in Judea and creating an unbroken chain of Arab residence that could be part of establishing an Arab state.Rubio: Obama Sent 'Political Machine' to Defeat Netanyahu
Expanding Har Homa would create "an effective buffer between Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and that is a game changer," he said, noting it would prevent establishing a contiguous Palestinian state with eastern Jerusalem as its capital.
Netanyahu quickly backtracked from his statements against the two-state solution during elections, saying he never changed his position and still is dedicated to creating a Palestinian state.
Jerusalem Councilman Arieh King has long charged the prime minister of creating a de facto division of the capital on the ground, forbidding Jewish entry to eight neighborhoods and blocking Jewish construction, all while allowing rampant illegal Arab construction to continue unchecked.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) accused President Obama of having a “personal” vendetta against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling radio host Hugh Hewitt Tuesday that Obama had sent “virtually” his entire “political machine,” including some of his “top people,” to defeat the PM last week.Palestinians Could Face Serious Backfire at the ICC
RUBIO: He can't say he has a business-like relationship or that it isn't personal when his entire political machine, virtually, some of the top people in his political operation, were in Israel on the ground trying to defeat Netanyahu, which is unprecedented… He didn’t send anyone in any other country to try to influence the outcome of those elections.
Rubio’s comments came in response to a press conference Tuesday in which Obama described his relationship with Netanyahu as “very businesslike” in an attempt to gloss over the increasingly hostile nature of his administration’s stance toward the Israeli PM.
The Palestinian Authority is far more confident than it was just a few short weeks ago about its diplomatic offensive. With tensions at a purportedly unprecedented level between Jerusalem and Washington, Mahmoud Abbas might think he will get a silent or even overt go-ahead from the United States to pursue its recognition campaign. But the gambit to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) might be the PA's Achilles' heel.EU plans to pressure Israel as diplomat warns of 'collision course'
"The ICC is a special situation because the US itself doesn't believe in the court and doesn't want the court to determine Palestinian statehood," says Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, Director of Shurat HaDin – Israel Law Center. "They don't want to strengthen the court."
The Palestinians' major threat diplomatically is bringing Israel to court with charges of war crimes. In order to join the court, 'Palestine' has to first be recognized as a state. But the ends do not justify the means for the United States, which itself has also avoided joining the court to avoid public prosecution - and scrutiny - for its own military operations around the world.
Darshan-Leitner sees the court threats as a way to force Israel to acquiesce to certain demands that the Palestinian Authority cannot get through negotiations. Asked by Arutz Sheva if an Israeli response to the court or a submission of affidavits to defend itself might imply Israeli recognition of the court's jurisdiction, she said there were still hurdles Israel would not be clearing to make that a reality.
A European Union report obtained by Ynet on Wednesday outlines suggestions on how to pressure Israel into returning to negotiations, in a list of 40 possible decisions.Officials say State Dept. report on spending beyond Green Line not linked to US-Israel tensions
An EU diplomatic source told Ynet that there was a definite chance that the recommendations in the report, which the member states have yet to approve, were more likely to be implemented following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement during his election campaign that a Palestinian state would not be created under his rule.
"We are on a collision course," said the European diplomat. "It's clear to everyone in Brussels that there must be a response to these statements."
The diplomat said the EU does not believe Netanyahu's subsequent backtracking on the creation of a Palestinian state. He added that Europe is interested in having a positive relationship with Israel, but considers Israel to be an entity that does not extend beyond the Green Line – the boundaries of Israel from its founding in 1948 until the 1967 Six-Day War.
Government officials on Wednesday downplayed reports that the State Department is preparing a document to submit to Congress that would subtract money Israel spent on construction beyond the Green Line from US loan guarantees.John Bolton: To Stop Iran’s Bomb, Bomb Iran
The officials said that this is standard procedure and not linked – as some have suggested – to the upsurge in tension between the Obama administration and Jerusalem since the election last week of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Israel has some $3.8 billion in loan guarantees left for it to use through 2016.
Loan guarantees serve both as an emergency stop-gap for a crisis and a means of lowering Israel’s borrowing costs. When the government goes to borrow money, it can pay substantially cheaper interest rates if it has a US guarantee, which promises the lender that Uncle Sam will pick up the bill for the loan if for some reason Israel can’t pay it back.
At one point, the threat of losing loan guarantees was a serious one.
The inescapable conclusion is that Iran will not negotiate away its nuclear program. Nor will sanctions block its building a broad and deep weapons infrastructure. The inconvenient truth is that only military action like Israel’s 1981 attack on Saddam Hussein’s Osirak reactor in Iraq or its 2007 destruction of a Syrian reactor, designed and built by North Korea, can accomplish what is required. Time is terribly short, but a strike can still succeed.Iran isn’t providing needed access or information, nuclear watchdog says
Rendering inoperable the Natanz and Fordow uranium-enrichment installations and the Arak heavy-water production facility and reactor would be priorities. So, too, would be the little-noticed but critical uranium-conversion facility at Isfahan. An attack need not destroy all of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, but by breaking key links in the nuclear-fuel cycle, it could set back its program by three to five years. The United States could do a thorough job of destruction, but Israel alone can do what’s necessary. Such action should be combined with vigorous American support for Iran’s opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.
Mr. Obama’s fascination with an Iranian nuclear deal always had an air of unreality. But by ignoring the strategic implications of such diplomacy, these talks have triggered a potential wave of nuclear programs. The president’s biggest legacy could be a thoroughly nuclear-weaponized Middle East.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said that Iran has failed to provide the information or access needed to allay the agency’s concerns about the weapons potential of the country’s nuclear program.Lausanne Dispatch: Kerry Returns to Switzerland Against Backdrop of Discord with France
With the deadline nearing for international talks on constraining Iran’s nuclear program, Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA, said in an interview that Iran has replied to just one of a dozen queries about “possible military dimensions” of past nuclear activities.
Amano said that Iran has provided only “very limited” information about two other issues, while the rest have not been addressed at all.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry returned to Switzerland early Thursday to begin a renewed round of talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif as the two make a push for an outline agreement in advance of an agreed-upon March 31 deadline. This, after a day that saw Saudi and other forces launch an assault on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as the U.S.-allied president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi fled the country. Meanwhile, U.S. forces launched air strikes in Tikrit in Iraq–apparently as air support for Iran-backed forces trying to take the city back from the Islamic State.NY Times reports that nuclear deal with Iran might be verbal
Reports on Wednesday continued to discuss the reverberations of a Wall Street Journal article from last Friday about increasing tension between Paris and Washington, stemming from French concerns that Americans were giving away too much too fast in the context of a deal expected to be wrapped up in the coming days regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Reuters reported on Saturday that France was taking a tougher stance in the talks than any other Western country and that Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius had urged the French negotiating team not to make any more concessions to the Iranians.
Despite recent reports of progress in talks on the Iranian nuclear program, it remains unclear what is really happening behind closed doors, and a report in The New York Times said that even if an agreement is reached by the deadline, it might remain a verbal one, without anything down on paper and signed.Iranian Negotiator Claims Western Powers Have Withdrawn From Past Stances in Nuclear Talks
According to the report, which quoted Western diplomats involved in the talks, in recent weeks Iran has balked at any binding agreement, opting for a general declaration about understandings being reached, only after which would a formal deal be signed in June.
The Times noted that such a scenario would comprise a political challenge for the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama, already under pressure to present the details of the incipient deal to Congress. Only last week, a senior American official said that the framework agreement would have to include a real "quantifiable dimension," not mere declarations. But Iran refuses to go into detail, at least for now.
One European diplomat involved in the talks explained: "The politics in America demand specificity, and an Iranian commitment. And the politics in Iran demand vagueness."
Western Powers have backed down from their previous positions in nuclear talks with Iran, Hamid Baeidinejad, Iran’s Director General for Political Affairs at the Iranian Foreign Ministry and one of the country’s nuclear negotiators, said on Wednesday.Sanctions-buster Iran Uses UN Platform to Call for Criminal Sanctions Against Israel
“The other side has withdrawn from its positions, compared with the past, otherwise we wouldn’t have stood at this point and stage in the talks at all,” Baeidinejad said, according semi-official state news agency Fars.
He added that it was his hope that Iran and the P5+1 powers would reach a final deal within the current Iranian year, in other words by some time next March.
Iran, the subject of Security Council sanctions for its illicit nuclear program and serial violator of international law, lectured the UN Human Rights Council about the importance of international law. "We stressed the urgent need for the international community to uphold its duties and to act decisively to sustain international law, international humanitarian law and international human rights and to ensure accountability for any violation and address the issue of penal sanctions ..."Arlene from Israel – Exposed.
This Friday, March 27th, at noon, there will be a press conference and a “Keep Iran Nuclear Free” rally, at 780 Third Avenue (between 48th & 49th Streets) in Manhattan. This is in front of the offices of the Manhattan offices of New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, to urge these Senators to commit to overriding President Obama’s expected veto of two important pending bills on the issue of Iran.IRGC Chief Says Jordan Is Next Target for Conquest; Iran Erases Evidence
The Bipartisan Nuclear Weapon Free Iran Act of 2015, sponsored by Senators Kirk and Menendez, imposes new sanctions on Iran if international negotiators fail to reach a deal by June 30 on Tehran’s nuclear program. Fourteen Senators, including Senator Schumer co-sponsored the bill.
The Bipartisan Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, sponsored by Senators Corker, Menendez, Graham and Kaine, mandates that the president must submit the text of any agreement with Iran to Congress; prohibits the administration from suspending congressional sanctions for 60 days, during which Congress would hold hearings and review the agreement; provides for Congressional oversight; and requires assessments and certifications of Iranian compliance.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is denying that Qods Force commander Gen. Qassem Suleimani said that Iran seeks to control Jordan, just as it controls Iraq and Lebanon. Iran has also removed the report of Suleimani’s remarks from the Iranian Students’ News Agency website.Saudi Arabia, allies, launch air campaign in Yemen against Houthi fighters
Al Masdar reported on Monday:
Earlier on Sunday some media outlets reported General Suleimani had allegedly said that “Iran can control both of Iraq and Lebanon and also has such ability in Jordan.”
“Reports which recently emerged over alleged remarks by the commander of al-Quds force General Qassem Suleimani are baseless,” the statement said.
“Alleged analysis and remarks by General Suleimani on the situation in the region and Jordan are pure lies.”
According to Middle East Monitor, the Iranian embassy in Jordan also denied that the remarks had been made.
Saudi Arabia launched air strikes in Yemen on Thursday in coalition with Gulf region allies to counter Iran-backed forces besieging the southern city of Aden, where the US-supported Yemeni president had taken refuge.Iran condemns Saudi strikes in Yemen as ‘dangerous step’
Shortly after the kingdom's ambassador in Washington announced the military action, unidentified warplanes launched an attack on the Yemeni capital Sanaa's airport and its al Dulaimi military airbase, residents and an official said.
The White House said in a statement late on Wednesday that the United States supported the operation led by the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council countries and that President Barack Obama had authorized US "logistical and intelligence support."
"While US forces are not taking direct military action in Yemen in support of this effort, we are establishing a Joint Planning Cell with Saudi Arabia to coordinate US military and intelligence support," National Security Council spokesperson Bernadette Meehan said in the statement.
Iran condemned regional rival Saudi Arabia on Thursday for launching air strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, saying it was “a dangerous step” that violated “international responsibilities and national sovereignty.”Yemen rebels threaten revenge on ‘Zionist’ Saudis after airstrikes
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said that the military action would “further complicate the situation, spread the crisis and remove opportunities for a peaceful resolution of Yemen’s internal differences.”
“This aggression will have no result except to spread terrorism and extremism, and increase insecurity throughout the region,” she said in a statement, calling for an immediate halt to the air strikes.
As Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes in Yemen Wednesday against Houthi forces, an official from the Shiite rebel group said they would exact revenge on “the Zionist Saudi regime,” the Israeli Ynet news site reported.Jordan joins anti-Houthi operation in Yemen
Saudi Arabia launched an operation early Thursday to save the government of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi as the country teetered on the brink of civil war after the Iran-backed separatists overran the southern stronghold of Aden.
The Houthi official promised there would be no pilgrimage to the holy Saudi city Mecca this year.
Another Houthi official, a member of the Houthi political council, said on Al-Jazeera that “we will threaten you in your own homes.”
Jordan joined the Saudi-led coalition attacking Houthi rebels who had driven Yemen’s president from the country.As US lets Yemen fall, Israeli ire pales next to Arab fury
Pakistan, Morocco and Sudan were also joining the mission, the Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday.
Other regional players were involved in the Saudi operation: The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain joined Saudi Arabia in a statement published by the Saudi Press Agency, saying they would answer a request from Hadi “to protect Yemen and his dear people from the aggression of the Houthi militias which were and are still a tool in the hands of foreign powers that don’t stop meddling with the security and stability of brotherly Yemen.” Oman, the sixth member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, didn’t sign onto the statement.
Decision makers in Israel have come to an understanding that the Americans have no intention of imposing demands on Iran with regards to halting military operations and even terrorist attacks in other countries as part of the agreement over Tehran’s nuclear program.US counterterrorism strategy in Yemen collapses amid chaos
But Israel’s concerns regarding the Houthi takeover of Yemen are nothing compared to the profound discontent of Riyadh and other Arab countries, in light of Iran’s rampage throughout the Middle East and the blatant inaction on the part of the US.
The outcome of the Saudi military operation may not be decisive, but reflects much Saudi, Jordanian and Egyptian frustration. The anger of these regimes is not directed at Iran, which is more or less engaged in the kind of hostile activity expected of it, but mainly at Washington.
It is slightly hard to believe, but at a time when the White House is intensively negotiating with Iran in an attempt to reach an agreement on the nation’s nuclear program withing the next five days, the Shiites in Tehran have helped topple a majority Sunni regime and made significant territorial advances. Yemen is a state with a long and unmanned border with Saudi Arabia, Iran’s number one regional rival. Yet Washington remains silent.
Once hailed by President Barack Obama as a model for fighting extremism, the US counterterrorism strategy in Yemen has all but collapsed as the country descends into chaos, according to US and Yemeni officials.Report: American Equipment, Documents Fall Into Hands of Iran-Backed Rebels in Yemen
Operations against militants have been scaled back dramatically amid the fall of the American-backed government and the evacuation of US personnel. What had been consistent pressure on Yemen’s dangerous al-Qaida affiliate has been relieved, the officials say, and a safe haven exists for the development of an offshoot of the Islamic State group.
It’s a swift and striking transformation for an anti-terror campaign Obama heralded just six months ago as the template for efforts to fight the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The shift has left Obama open to criticism that he failed to anticipate the risks of a light footprint strategy that aims to put fragile governments and beleaguered local security forces, not the US military, at the forefront.
Barbara Bodine, a former US ambassador to Yemen, said even the most optimistic regional experts did not share Obama’s view that the Yemen campaign was a model of success.
Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen captured secret American documents and then passed that information along to Iran, a report by the Los Angeles Times revealed today. The news comes amid significant gains by the Houthis, including the capture of an air base used by United States forces, as well as forcing the U.S.-backed president to flee into hiding once again.State Dept: Kerry Won’t Mention Iran-Backed Chaos in Yemen When Meeting with Iranian Leaders
The Los Angeles Times reports:
U.S. intelligence officials believe additional files were handed directly to Iranian advisors by Yemeni officials who have sided with the Houthi militias that seized control of the capital of Sana last September and later toppled the U.S.-backed president.
For American intelligence networks in Yemen, the damage has been severe. Until recently, U.S. forces deployed in Yemen had worked closely with President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s government to track and kill Al Qaeda operatives, and President Obama hailed Yemen six months ago as a model for counter-terrorism operations.
Yemen is moving further toward a full civil war as Iran-backed rebels threaten to take over Yemen’s second largest city, Aden. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to go to Switzerland to continue nuclear talks with Iran, but he said he will not mention Iran’s sponsorship of the chaos happening in Yemen.MEMRI: Senior Houthi Official Al-Bakhiti: Saudi Military Intervention in Yemen Will End Rule of Saud Family
“We certainly share the concern that Iran has in many regions in the area played a destabilizing role,” said State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf.
When asked by AP’s Matt Lee whether this will have any impact or come up during Kerry’s trip back to negotiate with Iranian leaders, Harf said she did not anticipate it would come up.
In a March 23 interview, senior Houthi official Muhammad Al-Bakhiti said: "If Saudi Arabia intervenes militarily, this will lead to the end of the rule of the Saud clan in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques." The interview aired on Mayadeen TV.
Yemen's Jews seek way to escape quickly deteriorating conflict
In the meantime, with the country on the brink of violent collapse, Yemen's Jewish population was also feeling the effects of the deteriorating security situation.Assad Regime Criticizes Israel for Treating Victims of Syrian Atrocities, Calls for "De-Judaization"
"We know that you in Israel are worried about us and are thinking of us. Our country is being taken over and there isn't much we can do. We want to move to Israel but we have matters to finish tending to and everything here is very difficult," said Yehiye, 35, a father of six from Sanaa.
Avraham, 40, a father of five from the city of Rayda, said: "The situation is very bad here. Every day -- there is danger. We want to sell the house, but can't. No one wants to buy. The [non-Jews] want us to leave without getting money. We want to get out of here as quickly as possible. The moment I can get paid for the house I'm gone. I barely let my kids out of the house. I am worried about them; there is a lot of hatred and racism. If we need something, I jump out, buy it and return immediately."
Moshe, a 50-year-old father of three also from Rayda, said that "people next to me are fleeing and leaving. We are now wasting what we've saved all our lives.
"The situation here is awful," he said.
Syria's representative to the UN Human Rights Council said in Geneva that medical assistance for casualties of the Syrian war was wrong. "Today, Israel adds to its series of violations by supporting armed terrorist groups in the demilitarized zone in the Golan, including the Nasra Front, the terrorist arm of Al-Qaeda in Syria. This logistic support is provided by the Israeli Occupation Forces to these terrorist organizations... Furthermore, it treats these terrorists when they are wounded so that they can go back to fight the Syrian Army ..."Islamic States Tell UN Human Rights Council That Only Civilians Killed in 2014 Gaza War - No Terrorists
Syria also called for more Arab apartheid, or the elimination of Jews from Arab-claimed land. It told the Council: "Israel is ... escalating campaigns of colonization and Judaization, particularly in Jerusalem."
Pakistan, speaking on behalf of 56 member states of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, told the U.N. Human Rights Council that all casualties from the 2014 Gaza War were civilians, and none were terrorists. In its words: "Last summer, the international community witnessed one of Israel's most brutal criminal military aggressions against the Palestinian civilian occupation in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of more than 2,256 Palestinian civilians..."Terror attack thwarted after bomb found near Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs
The most recent examination of actual casualties from the Gaza war indicate that approximately 50% were terrorists. According to an investigation by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, "The findings of our investigation so far based on an examination of approximately 61% of the names of the dead) suggest that fatalities affiliated with terrorist organizations constitute approximately 48.7% of the names that have been identified, and non-involved civilians constitute approximately 51.3%. This ratio may vary in the future...[T]he following distribution of the 1,314 fatalities examined to date: A. 553 of those killed were affiliated with terrorist organizations. B. 583 of those killed were non-involved civilians. C. 178 of those killed (approximately 13.5% of all the names that have been examined) are unidentified at this stage. Therefore, it is not possible to determine whether they were affiliated with terrorist organizations or non-involved civilians."
Border Police thwarted a terror attempt near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron after discovering an explosive around their guard station.Dalya Lemkus’ terrorist murderer sentenced to 2 life prison terms
On Wednesday night, Border Police performed a search of the area around the guard station, located very close to the famous holy site where both Jews and Muslims pray. During the search, they found the explosive device, a pipe bomb.
A bomb sapper was brought in to diffuse the weapon. After being diffused, the explosive was taken for further investigation in order to track down those responsible for placing it.
"We are aware of attempts by terrorists to hurt security forces and that is why we perform checks like this," said the the commander of the squad that found the explosive. "We are ready for everything."
The Judea Military Court on Thursday sentenced Maher al-Hashlamoun to two life prison terms for the conviction of murdering Dalya Lemkus on November 10, 2014 in a terrorist stabbing. In addition, he was ordered to pay NIS 4 million in compensation to the victim's family.Israeli Court Sentences Hamas Terrorist to 15½ Years in Prison
Al-Hashlamoun stabbed Lemkus, 26, of Tekoa, to death as she stood at a bus stop by the Alon Shvut settlement.
He was also convicting of injuring and attempting to murder with a knife Yishayahu Horovitz and Yishai Katz.
Israel’s Beersheba District Court on Tuesday sentenced 24-year-old Muhammad Abu Draz, an operative of Hamas’s Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, to 15½ years in prison after convicting him of membership in a terrorist organization, conspiracy to commit an act of terror, attempted murder, several illegal arms offenses, and a series of national security offenses.Turkish caricaturists fined for implying Erdogan is gay
Draz was convicted and sentenced as part of a plea bargain that his defense attorney had negotiated with Israel. A resident of the Gaza Strip, Draz was apprehended by security forces during last summer’s Operation Protective Edge, near the entrance to a tunnel dug close to a Gaza City kindergarten. He was heavily armed and carried an explosive device, which he unsuccessfully attempted to detonate when the soldiers approached him.
It is believed that Draz and other Hamas operatives were instructed to ambush Israeli soldiers clearing terror tunnels, with the aim of either killing them or abducting them to be used as bargaining chips in future prisoner-exchange negotiations with Israel.
Two Turkish caricaturists have been fined for insulting President Tayyip Erdogan after a court ruled that one of their cartoons implied he was gay, local media said on Wednesday.Former Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa: Erdogan Is a Whore, and So Is His Country.
Bahadir Baruter and Ozer Aydogan were prosecuted for an illustration on the front page of satirical magazine Penguen last August in which an official greeted Erdogan while apparently making a circle with his thumb and forefinger.
Prosecutors launched the indictment after a citizen complained that the hand signal, commonly used in Turkey to insult homosexuals, was against the country's moral values.
