Khaled Abu Toameh: BDS and Hamas: The New Partnership
Hamas is pinning high hopes on BDS to pave the way for the destruction of Israel through boycotts, divestment and sanctions. Hamas believes that such tools are no less important than rockets and suicide bombings, which have thus far failed to achieve the goal of wiping Israel off the face of the earth.How the EU Funds Illegal Construction in Area C
U.S. universities that allow the BDS activists to disseminate their hate against Israel are unaware that these people are serving as Hamas ambassadors. Moreover, Western governments, above all the U.S., are unaware that Hamas and BDS allies also consider them enemies of the Palestinians.
What Bahr is actually saying is that the BDS campaign should be intensified until Israel is forced to surrender and accept all the demands of Hamas, which include, of course, ending the existence of Israel.
While the anti-Israel activities of the BDS movement have emboldened Hamas, they have also undermined those Palestinians who believe in peace and coexistence with Israel. If BDS supporters really care about Palestinians, why don't they go to the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories to promote reforms, democracy, freedom of speech and the rights of women under the rule of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority? BDS seems to be more about promoting Hamas's agenda than advancing the cause of peace.
Chaos continues to reign: months have passed since Prime Minister Netanyahu ordered the destruction of all illegal buildings built by the EU in the E1 area · Mida checked and found that no actual change has happened on the ground · The State authorities are paralyzed, and Zionists NGOs are left alone in the struggle to cut of the EU pipelineImportant update from @LTCPeterLerner on Military Advocate General report on #Gaza beach incident
It is a story of unending frustration: the Palestinian illegal takeover of Area C is in full swing and no-one's trying to stop it. It didn't start yesterday. The originator of the idea, former Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, described already in 2009 his plan for a "creeping annexation," by creating corridors and territorial contiguity, which will serve as the starting point for any future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. By all accounts, he seems to have succeeded.
This impression is strengthened by the fact that one of the reasons for the Palestinian success in this land grab is the massive intervention of a foreign power. In recent years, the EU has acted to implement a "humanitarian plan for the occupied Palestinian territories." These innocent-sounding terms are a cover for active support and funding for the Palestinian illegal takeover of the plane of Mishor Edumim (E1), to the tune of hundreds of millions of Euros.
One of the most sensational Guardian reports during the summer war involved a July 16th IDF attack on a Gaza beach which killed four Palestinian children. Yesterday, Israel’s military advocate general’s office issued its report on the tragedy. Here’s the Facebook update from Lt. Peter Lerner, IDF military spokesman, on the report.
Today the Military Advocate General announced his decision on one of the most tragic cases of last year’s conflict with Gaza. I believe it is one of the most covered incidents that was reported on by the media, it was the incident of an air force strike on Gaza beach that resulted in the tragic death of four boys, Ahed Atef Bakr, Zakariya Ahed Bakr, Mohammad Ramiz Bakr, and Ismail Mahmoud Bakr.
The military police carried out an extensive criminal investigation. During the investigation testimonies were collected from a large number of IDF soldiers and officers who were involved in the planning and execution of the attack. Additionally, an extensive number of documents relating to the attack were reviewed, along with video footage documenting the attack in real time, as well as media images and video footage which documented parts of the incident. Efforts were made to collect the testimonies of Gaza Strip residents who were, allegedly, witnesses to the incident. In this context, the collection of testimony from three witnesses was coordinated. Regretfully, despite the prior coordination, the witnesses eventually declined to meet the investigators, and instead provided affidavits in regard to the incident.
From the factual findings collected by the investigators, it revealed that the incident took place in an area that had long been known as a compound belonging to Hamas’s Naval Police and Naval Force (including naval commandos), and which was utilized exclusively by militants. The compound in question spans the length of the breakwater of the Gaza City seashore, closed off by a fence and clearly separated from the beach serving the civilian population. It further found in the course of the investigation (including from the affidavits provided by Palestinian witnesses), that the compound was known to the residents of the Gaza Strip as a compound which was used exclusively by Hamas’s Naval Police.
The Guardian: Setting The Stain Because Jews
The Guardian has done it again, shown its true Jew-hating colors to the world. And no, I don’t mean anti-Israel. Disgust at a country has to be founded on facts, whereas Jew-hatred does not. And there is no factual basis to the lies, insinuations, and distortions found in this latest Guardian piece.Madrid court shelves 2010 'Mavi Marmara' Gaza flotilla investigation
So what it is this time?
Remember the four kids who were killed on the beach during last summer’s war “Operation?” The IDF concluded its investigation and to make a long story short, everyone knew this part of the beach was a Hamas operative stronghold. It isn’t even easy for civilians to get in there. If the kids were there, it’s because someone wanted them there as human shields.
We, those of us who care for the truth more than about smearing one side or another, suspected this all along. But the media was quick to trumpet the news: the IDF targeted little Arab kids.
And while there would be an independent IDF investigation, it would be long in coming as the wheels of bureaucracy and justice grind inexorably forward, and ultimately, no one would care about the truth.
The original report and the false implication would be all that remains: Israel targets innocent little Arab kids playing on the beach.
A Madrid court on Thursday shelved a five-year-old investigation into the raid of the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara flotilla, though the probe could potentially be re-opened if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ever visits Spain.UN Racism Expert Condemns Antisemitism – But It Is Not Enough
The 2010 raid killed nine Turkish activists, while a tenth Turk died four years later from his injuries. Spanish activists were also on board the ships.
Spain has pioneered the use of universal jurisdiction, the concept that alleged crimes against humanity can be prosecuted across borders. The law was recently changed, however, so that judges could only investigate such cases if there was a Spanish connection, such as a native victim or perpetrator.
The Madrid court said in a written ruling on Thursday that it was closing the case in which Netanyahu and several of his ministers were accused of crimes against humanity.
But it left the possibility that the case could be re-opened, saying the investigation was shut until Netanyahu and those targeted by it came to Spain. It did not make clear what steps would be taken if they did.
Besides the continuing racist and xenophobic violence, the Special Rapporteur identified Holocaust denial and distortion of history as major issues, which “are generally motivated by strong anti-Semitism.” The Special Rapporteur is concerned about those views, which “perpetuate long-standing anti-Semitic prejudices and stereotypes.” Such attempts to falsify history contribute to the dissemination of Nazism and have been condemned by the Special Rapporteur. In fact, he emphasized the importance of criminalizing Holocaust denial in national law, as it is the case in a number of countries. In addition, in a clear reference to Iran, the Special Rapporteur expressed concern “about allegations regarding a cartoon competition disdaining the Holocaust and insulting the victims and remaining survivors of that tragedy.”The masquerade behind Obama’s Jewish outreach
Despite considerable recent efforts made by States to fight against “extremist political parties, movements and groups” as well as neo-Nazis and right-wing extremist movements, racist and xenophobic violence, especially against the Jewish communities remains as one of the principal challenges in today’s world. Therefore, the Special Rapporteur highlighted two key policy measures to counter those challenges, such as “awareness-raising programmes” and adopt “a victim-centred approach.” Instead, he just recalled the importance of collective action regarding good practices, by including “civil society and international and regional human rights mechanisms […] to counter extremist political parties, movements and groups.”
Nevertheless, the Special Rapporteur has ignored the scourges of antisemitism originating from the left, Islamic fundamentalist circles, as well as governments, especially in the Middle East. He also did not send any communications regarding antisemitism in his last “Communications Report on Special Procedures (A/HRC/29/50). Indeed, after the peak of anti-Semitic attacks in Europe, with the attack against the Hyper Casher in Paris in January 2015, the Rapporteur did not take any action on the issue. In a period when anti-Semitism has reached a new height, the Special Rapporteur ought to address this phenomenon more holistically.
Moralist hypocrisyObama’s latest wooing of Jews not working, poll suggests
Obama regularly invokes emotive themes, typically focusing on Palestinian children. In his Goldberg interview: “I think it is true to Israel’s traditions and its values – its founding principles – that it has to care about... Palestinian kids.”
And in this Channel 2 interview: “... the truth as I see it is that the very moral imperatives that led to the founding of Israel... those things also require me from my perspective to say clearly that a Palestinian youth in Ramallah who feels their possibilities constrained by the status quo, that they have a claim on us, that they have a claim not just on Palestinian leaders, they have a claim on Israeli leaders.”
But don’t Israeli children huddling in bomb shelters have a claim on Palestinian leaders? Israel has shown unprecedented concern for the children of its adversaries – and often paid dearly for it. Perhaps the most searing example is that of Wafa al-Bass, the young girl from Gaza who, after her life was saved by Israeli doctors at Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, attempted to return to the hospital she was treated in with a 10 kg. bomb strapped to her leg, to murder the very people who cared for her. Since her release from prison in the Schalit prisoner exchange, Bass has been urging young Gazans to engage in terrorism against Israel.
A yawning moral chasm separates Israel and the Muslim world, in general, and the Palestinians in particular.
Until Obama addresses that honestly, all his heart-wrenching expression of concern for the welfare of Palestinian kids will be nothing more than moralistic hypocrisy.
It’s early days for the White House’s latest charm offensive among American Jews, but a new poll suggests that the wooing effort is having little effect.US seeks a compromise on 'managed' access to Iran's military sites
The poll, published Wednesday by J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group that generally backs President Barack Obama’s Middle East policies, shows Obama stuck at the same mid-50s approval ratings he was registering in April, when US-Israel tensions were prominently in the news.
Jim Gerstein, whose GBA Strategies conducted the poll, suggested that Obama and his supporters face an environment among Jews that has been shaped largely by the president’s critics.
“The balance of criticism against the president on issues related to Israel has far outweighed the statements of support for the president, certainly among the organizations that have the largest reach,” Gerstein told reporters on Wednesday.
The 56 percent approval rating among Jews that Obama scored in the GBA poll is still about 10 points higher than the national average. It’s also not the first time he has scored in the 50s among Jews. Obama’s numbers among voting-age Jewish Americans have fluctuated throughout his seven years in office.
US diplomats are bracing for a tough road toward a final nuclear agreement with Iran and other world powers by the June 30 deadline, searching for compromise on key political matters that may decide the fate of the entire effort.Iranian Envoy to IAEA: Iran Will Not Commit To Additional Transparency Measures
The most challenging gap appears to be over Iran’s refusal to allow access – managed or otherwise – to its military sites, some of which are suspected of hosting its experimentation with nuclear weapons technology.
France, Israel and several senior officials in the Obama administration see this as a fatal loophole in the emerging deal: A way for Tehran to preserve no-go zones, where it could continue its nuclear work in violation of an international agreement.
“We must be able to verify the sites,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Thursday. “We want a deal with Iran, but... the deal must be verifiable, solid, robust, and today we don’t have guarantees on this.”
“A deal that cannot be verified cannot be implemented,” Fabius said.
Reuters reports, “requires from Iran early notification of the construction of any new nuclear facilities.” The Additional Protocol would allow inspectors access to suspected nuclear sites with as little as two hours notice, as well as the ability to take soil samples to detect past nuclear activity.World powers would accept Iran deal without answers on past arms activity
Najafi also rejected cooperating with the IAEA on assessing the possible military dimensions (PMD) of Iran’s nuclear program. Iran claims that existing documentation on its PMD is forged.
“We can discuss new practical measures provided that the inauthentic documents and information would be put aside,” Najafi said. The IAEA has said it carefully reviews information provided for its investigations and takes nothing at face value.
Despite refusing to commit to essential conditions that would make Iran’s commitment to a nuclear agreement verifiable, Najafi believes that “reaching an agreement by the end of June is achievable,” referring to the June 30 deadline of the ongoing talks.
After a November 2013 interim accord, the Obama administration said a comprehensive solution “would include resolution of questions concerning the possible military dimension of Iran’s nuclear program.”Meeting PM, Orange CEO corrects ‘misunderstood’ boycott comments
But those questions won’t be answered by the June 30 deadline for a final deal, officials said, echoing an assessment by the UN nuclear agency’s top official earlier this week. Nevertheless, the officials said an accord remains possible. One senior Western official on Thursday described diplomats as “more likely to get a deal than not” over the next three weeks.
Much of Iran’s alleged work on warheads, delivery systems and detonators predates 2003, when much of Iran’s nuclear activity first came to light. But Western intelligence agencies say they don’t know the extent of Iran’s activities or if Iran persisted in covert efforts. An International Atomic Energy Agency investigation has been foiled for more than a decade by Iranian refusals to allow monitors to visit suspicious sites or interview individuals allegedly involved in secret weapons development.
Instead of resolving such questions this month, officials said the US and its negotiating partners are working on a list of future commitments Iran must fulfill in an agreement setting decade-long curbs on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
The CEO of mobile giant Orange, Stephane Richard, vowed on Friday that Orange “as a company has never supported and will never support any kind of boycott against Israel.” He said remarks he made last week about wanting to withdraw from Israel as soon as possible had been distorted and misunderstood.Orange Head In Israel; Can’t Quite Apologize For Appalling Comments
His statements came during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
“It’s no secret that the remarks you made last week were widely seen as an attack on Israel,” Netanyahu told the Orange chief executive, “and so your visit here is an opportunity to set the record straight.”
Richard said he deeply regretted the controversy, praised Israel, and said his firm intended to “keep on investing here.” He said it was an honor to meet with Netanyahu and that he appreciated the opportunity to “set the record straight.”
Stephane Richard, head of French Telecom giant Orange, has come to Israel to surrender meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, following his disgraceful comments about Israel.PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Meeting with Stéphane Richard, Chairman of Orange
Note Netanyahu’s demeanor. He would rather be anywhere else with someone he can stand the sight of. Or perhaps go medieval France on his ass. But he realizes it is important to have his “guest” apologize for his statements.
As for the French Richard, he can’t quite apologize. Instead, he “regrets deeply this controversy.” Not his statements. the controversy. He would rather no-one made a big deal out of them. Then he wouldn’t he standing here, in front of all those cameras, expressing regret in front of someone he also clearly cannot stand the sight of.
Haifa Arabs Physically Assault Holocaust Survivors
Police announced Thursday that seven Arab residents of Haifa, all members of the same family, were arrested for abusing and assaulting elderly Holocaust survivors.Gaza Rocket Aimed at Ashkelon Falls Short, Lands in Gaza Strip
The seven reportedly physically struck the residents of a home for survivors in the Hadar neighborhood of Haifa, and likewise stole from them, verbally abused them, and made them walk in the street according to Yedioth Aharonoth.
The Arab family lives on the same street as the Holocaust survivor residence and the offices of the facility, and some have a prior criminal record according to police.
Members of the Holocaust survivors residence organization complained to police after members of the Arab family previously vandalized property that belongs to the survivors, but police reportedly took no action on the complaint.
Another complaint filed this Wednesday finally got the police to get involved and arrest the culprits.
Sirens blared around the Israeli city of Ashkelon and the local Hof Ashkelon district late Thursday night after a rocket directed towards Israel was fired from the Gaza Strip.Gaza Salafi group claims responsibility for Thursday rocket attack
According to Israel’s Channel 2 news, the projectile fell short and exploded within Gaza.
Immediately after the sirens rang, residents around Ashkelon said they heard an explosion, according to the report.
Asheklon resident Tal told Channel 2 that his family was “sitting in a restaurant when suddenly a waitress told us we had to leave. People got up in a panic and ran to the closest shelter.”
The missile was the fourth such attack directed at the Jewish state in the past week.
In response to the attack, Knesset Member Haim Yellin, of opposition party Yesh Atid, and a former head of Israel’s Eshkol Regional Council, said “the Israeli government is not taking care of this problem” and accused the country’s leadership of being too busy “maintaining its political survival.”
“Our lives are worthless,” Yellin added. “In a normal country, this ongoing military ping-pong — while the Israeli government restores Gaza — would not make sense.”
A Gaza Strip-based Salafi group affiliated with the Islamic State claimed responsibility Friday for a rocket launched at Israeli territory on Thursday evening.Hamas Terror Tunnels - Terrorizing Israeli civilians on the Gaza border
A pamphlet published by the group stated that the attack came in response to “crimes committed by the Jews against members of Sheikh Amer al-Hadid Beit al Maqdis,” the Hebrew-language website NRG reported. The pamphlet also noted the shooting of a Palestinian youth in the Jenin refugee camp on Thursday and Israel’s treatment of members of the fringe group in Israeli jails.
The Jenin incident referred to in the pamphlet occurred Wednesday overnight when Border Police forces entered the refugee camp and identified a youth holding an explosive device and preparing to throw it at them. One of the policemen shot the youth and wounded him. Residents of the camp say the youth died of his injuries, an account disputed by the Border Police forces who say he dropped the explosive device after he was wounded by the shot and it detonated on the ground near him, killing him.
The rocket attack Thursday evening follows several incidents where one or two projectiles were fired at Israel over the past weeks.
On a moonless night, masked terrorist maneuver through the shadows. One by one, they enter an innocent-looking house, open a carefully concealed hatch and lower themselves deep beneath the ground. Built over months, or even years, the tunnel may extend for a kilometer or more. As the squad of terrorists moves swiftly but silently through the concrete-lined walls, they cross under the border and near their objective. Submachine guns, grenades, landmines and rocket-propelled grenades are readied. Hoods and plastic handcuffs – to be used to restrain hostages – are distributed. As the last few meters of earth are evacuated, the terrorists appear to relish the thought of the mayhem they are about to unleash. In an instant, they emerge from the ground, smack in the middle of a community of innocent civilians.
What is Hamas rebuilding in Gaza?
Hamas doens't care about Gazans, Hamas only cares about killing more and more Israeli civilians.
PA Unity Government Reveals Lack of Power in Gaza
Assaf also called on the Hamas movement, which holds de facto control in Gaza after having ousted Fatah in 2007, to hand over control of the border crossing to the PA unity government, an issue that has been highly contentious between the two rival factions.Report: Apple Includes Palestinian Flag Among New iOS 9 Emojis
"Hamas is refusing to hand over the border crossings and is thwarting all the efforts of the government on this issue," he said.
The Fatah spokesperson emphasized that Gaza is part of the land the PA aims to control, saying, "there won't be a state without Gaza, there won't be a state in Gaza, and the Israeli plan to separate the (Gaza) Strip to establish a state at the expense of Jerusalem and the (West) Bank will fail thanks to the efforts of our people in Gaza."
Assaf's statement once again highlights how the unity government, formed after Fatah and Hamas signed a reconciliation deal last April torpedoing peace talks between the PA and Israel, does not truly function or have any control in Gaza.
Not only has Gaza proven impervious to the PA attempts to rule it from Ramallah via the unity government, Hamas last summer even tried to launch a coup attempt against the PA in Judea and Samaria which was foiled by Israel.
The Palestinian flag is likely to be among the national symbols included as part of the emoji line-up of Apple’s new iOS 9 operating system, Israel’s NRG reported on Wednesday.Hamas Loves Rockets More Than Gazans (Part 1)
The version of the upcoming iOS 9 referenced by the report is still in development stage, and is expected to undergo a number of changes before it is released to the general public.
However, if no changes are made to the emojis featured in the new operating system, the Palestinian flag will remain available to iPhone users internationally.
Between now and iOS 9’s official release, Apple is expected to release at least seven iterations of the operating system, each of which will include additional changes.
The expected inclusion of the flag will not be the first time that Apple has found itself in the midst of a controversy related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2012, as part of an upgrade to Apple’s software, Jerusalem was not displayed as the capital of Israel. The omission led to an Israeli uproar against the company, eventually prompting Apple to reverse its decision.
Palestinian Bassam Eid shares how Hamas forced Gazans back to their homes after the IDF dropped leaflets warning them to leave during Operation Protective Edge in the Summer of 2014. March 25, 2015 at the UN Human Rights Council.
Hamas Loves Rockets More Than Gazans (Part 2)
JCPA: Egypt’s Projection of Military Power in the Middle East
Egypt has abstained for more than 45 years from projecting its military forces as a component of its foreign policy.Egypt Proposes 'International Law to Criminalize Contempt of Religion'
The Egyptian army lacked experience in fighting against paramilitary armed groups, or fighting inside cities and residential communities.
Intelligence cooperation between Egypt and Israel was ongoing and enabled a strong challenge to the jihadists in the Sinai Peninsula. For the first time there was a convergence of interests between Israel and Egypt over the situation in the Sinai and in the Gaza Strip.
After events in Sinai and Libya President Sisi has demonstrated that he advocates the use of force and the projection of force in order to secure vital Egyptian national interests.
Sisi considers Egypt and its moderate allies to be the victims of a colluded effort from jihadi Islam and as such he advocates a united Arab effort to counter this danger.
On Sunday, Egypt’s minister for Religious Endowments, Mohamed Mokhtar Gomaa, called for an “international law to criminalize contempt of religion,” which would make it a crime to publish articles or cartoons showing disdain or ridicule of religions.Egypt Blasts HRW Over Report on Human Rights Abuses
Contempt of religion is already illegal in Egypt, with a punishment of between six months and five years in prison and a fine of 500 to 1,000 Egyptian pounds. In recent years, many people have been arrested on this charge and faced trial. As recently as last week, an Islamic show host was sentenced to prison in absentia for accusations of being in contempt of religion.
A Ministry official announced the proposal in Gomaa’s name during a conference for world religious leaders in Kazakhstan this weekend.
Though Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has not publicly weighed in on the proposal, he has been calling upon Egypt’s Islamic institutions, including Al-Azhar, the Ministry of Religious Endowments, and Dar Al-Iftaa to “renew religious discourse” since early this year.
The president has emphasized the importance of “correcting religious speech so that it is in accordance with the tolerant Islamic teachings,” as well as insisting that it “eliminate sectarian disputes and confront extremism and militancy.”
Egypt on Tuesday lashed out at a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report condemning "flagrant human rights abuses" during the first year of President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's rule, AFP reports.Security Guard at U.S. Embassy in Egypt Arrested as a Terrorist
The watchdog released its report on the first anniversary of the inauguration of Sisi, who was sworn in on June 8, 2014, after having ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi in July 2013.
"The report is politicized and lacks the basic rules of precision and objectivity," the foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing HRW of “victimizing” Egypt.
The report reflected HRW's "endorsement of terrorist operations and supports those who carry out acts of violence", charged the ministry.
It also accused the New York-based group of "leading a systematic campaign against Egypt".
HRW charged Monday that "over the past year, Sisi and his cabinet have provided near total impunity for security force abuses and issued a raft of laws that severely curtailed civil and political rights".
To the shock of U.S. officials, authorities in Egypt have arrested the local employee and charged him as the purported commander of a radical Islamist organization.ISIS sells priceless ancient artifacts on FACEBOOK: Gold statues, scrolls written in Aramaic and coins up to 10,000 years old being peddled online by terror group
Egyptian authorities have arrested an Egyptian security guard at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, claiming he is a senior figure in an Islamist terrorist organization. U.S. officials are scrambling to get information from Egyptian authorities, who did not alert them beforehand.
An embassy official confirmed to The Daily Beast that 42-year-old Ahmed Ali, accused by the Egyptians of helping to plan or taking part in more than a dozen attacks on security forces, was an employee in the security service at the mission in downtown Cairo. Egyptian authorities are claiming he is a commander in the militant Helwan Brigades.
Both the lack of any forewarning by the Egyptian authorities and the apparent security failure by the U.S. State Department, which failed to unearth Ali’s membership in the brigades, is likely to prompt outrage on Capitol Hill.
Facebook has taken down pages that may have been selling priceless archaeological finds plundered by ISIS.Report: Al-Qaeda Losing Recruits, 'Ripped Apart by ISIS'
The terrorist organization has reportedly been using the social media network as they try to sell off the rare and unique artifacts they have seized and stolen as they carve a path of destruction through the Middle East.
Among the goods being offered on the pages recently taken down were golden statues, scrolls written in both Hebrew and Aramaic, clay tablets, and ancient coins, all believed to be taken from Syria.
Fox News reported that these pages belonged to ISIS, and that Facebook was tipped off by Zaid Benjamin, a Washington-based journalist who flagged the pages and reached out to the company.
Facebook privacy spokesman Matt Steinfeld later told the network; 'We may not always be able to identify artifacts as stolen, but insofar as we can when someone reports content to us, we will remove this content.'
The pages flagged by Benjamin were almost immediately taken down.
The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) has decimated al-Qaeda by taking its recruits and ripping it apart, reports The Guardian.Syrian Druse massacred by al-Qaida, 20 killed
“Two of al-Qaida’s most important spiritual leaders have told the Guardian that the terror group is no longer a functioning organization after being ripped apart by Isis,” states the article.
“In a wide-ranging interview, Abu Qatada, a Jordanian preacher who was based in London before being deported in 2013, and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, regarded as the most influential jihadi scholar alive, say the al-Qaida leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, is cut off from his commanders and keeping the group afloat through little more than appeals to loyalty,” it continues.
According to insiders in Jordan, al-Qaeda has lost money and recruits to ISIS in the Middle East.
“He operates solely based on the allegiance. There is no organizational structure. There is only communication channels and loyalty,” Maqdisi said, referring to his close friend al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri.
The terrorist group’s leader is “isolated,” notes Qatada, adding that al-Qaeda is losing to ISIS.
Members of the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front have killed 20 Druse villagers in northwestern Syria, a group monitoring the war reported on Thursday.Yemeni Female Rapper Receives Threats for Not Wearing Hijab
The mass killing occurred on Wednesday in the village of Qalb Loze in Idlib province, where the Nusra Front is part of an insurgent alliance that has seized wide areas from government control in the last three months.
The Druse faith is an offshoot of Islam viewed as heretical by the puritanical school of Sunni Islam espoused by al-Qaida.
The incident spiraled out of a confrontation that began when a Nusra Front member tried to confiscate the house of a villager who was fighting with Syrian government forces, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported, citing local sources.
The dead included elderly people and at least one child, the Observatory said. A member of the Nusra Front was also killed when villagers managed to seize a weapon from a Nusra Front fighter. (h/t Phil)
A 22-year-old Yemeni rapper, who has become the first high-profile female artist of her kind in the troubled Arab nation, is receiving threats. Amani Yahya fled to Saudi Arabia due to the civil war engulfing Yemen and has dedicated her artistic career to shining a light on the suffering of Yemeni women and defying cultural norms for women in the devout Muslim nation.Death by Lashing: Saudi Arabia
Yahya, speaking to The Guardian this week, details the anonymous threats she has received for rapping on Yemeni streets sans hijab, opting instead for American-style puffy coats and baseball hats. “[People] panicked – they saw pictures of me without a hijab or abaya. I got anonymous phone calls and threats,” she says. “They said I should stop what I was doing, that it was haram and that I should be ashamed.”
Yahya, a dentistry student in Saudi Arabia, began rapping at the behest of her friends, who recognized her talent, and found the artform a vehicle for which to shine a light on the abuses of women in the Arab world. Her only recorded song so far, “Maryam,” tells the story of a woman Yahya met who was married off at age 11, not an uncommon practice, which Yahya has previously called “murder.”
Tomorrow, Friday, the virtual death sentence by 1000 lashes, delivered "very harshly" according to the flogging order, fifty at a time, might continue for Raif Badawi, a 31-year-old Saudi blogger and father of three, for allegedly "insulting Islam."#FreeRaif: To Liberty-Minded Muslims, Treatment of Saudi Blogger is Personal
The flogging sentence, plus ten years in prison, was upheld last week by Saudi Arabia's supreme court, and can now only be overturned by a pardon from King Salman.
Although Badawi, who is ill and frail, would most certainly perish, in Saudi justice there is little concern for sentences to be proportionate to the crimes for which the accused are found guilty, or for adequate legal representation. Badawi's lawyer, Walid Abu al-Khair, was also jailed, effectively for the crime of representing him.
Badawi was accused of insulting Islam in his blog posts. In a country where thinking is forbidden, Badawi had expressed forbidden thoughts by questioning the nature of his society and going public with them.
While American Muslims raise their voices in collective indignant outrage over Tahera Ahmad's accusation that she was denied a can of Diet Coke on an airplane, Raif Badawi languishes in prison, effectively sentenced to death by lashing. American Muslim organizations, such as CAIR, ISNA and others have not spoken out in support of a man who is being persecuted for questioning the Wahhabi religious establishment. If these organizations didn't regularly comment on the status of Muslims abroad, this would be perhaps less notable -- but they do, and thus their silence is deafening even as their hypocrisy is predictable.Obama's Best Day Ever (h/t K)
The American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) calls on President Obama and his administration to appeal to Saudi authorities on behalf of Raif Badawi.
One of the enormous barriers to justice for Raif Badawi is Saudi Arabia's refusal to allow him adequate legal representation. In fact, his lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair, has been sentenced to fifteen years in prison, charged with the "crimes" of "inflating public opinion" and "distorting the Kingdom's reputation." Badawi's and Abu al-Khair's names should be uttered from the mouth of President Barack Obama every day from the bully pulpit of the White House until they are freed.