Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Humanitarian crisis

Showing posts with label Humanitarian crisis. Show all posts

Monday, February 06, 2023

Syria insists it would NEVER accept earthquake aid from Israel. No one thinks this is strange.

The pro-Assad regime Al Watan newspaper on Monday quoted a Syrian official denying reports it relayed a request for Israeli aid in the wake of the massive earthquake that shook the region.
Earlier, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a request from Syria did arrive and that Israel was prepared to send tents and medical supplies and provide treatment for the injured.

Arabic media reports one of the denials:

The source said, "If Netanyahu had received such a request, it was certainly from his allies and friends in ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other terrorist organizations."

The source added to the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan: "The Israeli occupation entity is the cause of woes, wars and tensions in the region, and it is the last one who has the right to talk about providing aid and assistance. It is disgraceful that Netanyahu exploits the catastrophe of the earthquake that struck Syria to mislead public opinion and cover up the expansionist and aggressive policies of the occupation."

Aid-washing!

The highest priority of any government is to protect its citizens. If Syria is telling the truth now, it is saying quite clearly that hating Israel is a more fundamental tenet than saving people's lives.

That's about as good a definition of antisemitism as there is.

It is exactly the philosophy of BDS, who claim to want to boycott Israel at any cost (for anyone but themselves.)

And just like BDS, the insistence that human lives are less important than having nothing to do with the Jewish state is couched in terms of - morality!

Isn't it strange that the rest of the world doesn't think this is strange? Syria and other Muslim nations having an obsessive hate of Israel is accepted as a law of nature.

And, in some ways, that's also a good definition of antisemitism.

Buy the EoZ book, PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism today at Amazon!

Or order from your favorite bookseller, using ISBN 9798985708424.

Read all about it here!

Islamic State declares control of Yarmouk camp, "pro-Palestinians" silent

Yesterday, the Islamic State declared that it had seized control of the Palestinian Arab "refugee" camp in Yarmouk, Syria.

While you will sometimes see the "pro-Palestinian" crowd say how terrible things are in Yarmouk, the amount of attention given to it by them - and as a result, by the media - is tiny compared to how they report anything Israel does.

The Action Group for Palestinians in Syria reports that five people of Palestinian origin have been killed in Yarmouk this month, and 1,247 have been killed in the camp alone so far during Syria's civil war.

Yarmouk is yet more proof that most groups that claim to be "pro-Palestinian" are simply anti-Israel - and don't give a damn about Palestinians who are truly suffering anywhere else.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

48 Palestinians in Syria have starved to death so far

From Al Arabiya:

Starvation victim in Syria

Severe hunger in a besieged refugee camp for Palestinians in southern Damascus has claimed two lives, raising the death toll to 48 people killed, an opposition Syrian group said Saturday in a statement.

The Syrian Revolution General Commission (SRGC), a coalition of 40 opposition groups, said Yarmouk camp has depleted its food supplies and medical materials after 180 days of it being encircled by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

SRGC accused the Syrian regime for not allowing humanitarian aid to enter the besieged camp, which is home to an estimated 20,000 Palestinians.

Palestinian activists and journalists in reaction launched a nationwide campaign to pressure their government to help the starving refugees.

Hear that sound?

It is the sound of "pro-Palestinian" activists, pundits, politicians and NGOs not caring.

It is the sound of flotillas not being organized, petitions not being written, and demonstrations not being organized by Westerners who pretend to care so much about Palestinian Arab human rights.

It is the sound of articles not being written in the Guardian, the BBC or the New York Times.

Lebanon treating Palestinian Syrians like dirt, no one cares

From IPS:

Over the past year more than 50,000 Palestinian refugees have fled violence, chaos and destitution in Syria to seek sanctuary in Lebanon. The vast majority have found themselves living in dire poverty, and trapped in chronically insecure existence.

Denied assurances of legal residence many are unsure if and how they can continue to live in the country into the New Year.

"Who, I mean really who from the Palestinian families can pay 200 dollars for the papers for every family member? If the average family is five people, then that is 1,000 dollars. This is impossible as we know most Palestinian refugees are't even sure how they are going to feed their children one day to the next," Mahmoud Assir Saawi, president of the Council for Palestinian Refugees Fleeing from Syria told IPS.

Such sentiments are reiterated time and time again within the squalid camps and overcrowded ghettoes throughout Lebanon. Palestinians arriving from Syria find themselves in an administrative and bureaucratic morass hobbled by decades of troubled history and war that offers them scant security.

The presence of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Lebanon has always been a highly divisive issue, with many Lebanese blaming Palestinians for the role they played in the nation's rancorous civil war from 1975 to 1990. The arrival of large communities of their compatriots this past year has further exacerbated existing fears and prejudices.

It is perhaps for this reason that the arriving Palestinians have been classified as "guests", "migrants" or "displaced people". To afford them the more apt title of "refugee" would bring with it legal obligations, most notably under the Geneva convention, which Lebanon would struggle to realise.

Fears of Palestinian, and even Syrian refugees settling in Lebanon permanently, and thus shifting the precarious sectarian balance within the country, are common and are regularly aired in the media and by politicians. As such the refugees' status remains vulnerable and their sanctuary insecure.

Securing residency papers remains one of the biggest problems for Palestinian refugees from Syria. Upon arrival Palestinians fleeing war and hunger are only granted a one-week visa in Lebanon, which then must then extend.

Palestinian journalist Maher Ayoub from Yarmouk Camp in Damascus knows first hand about the vulnerability of life in Lebanon. On a recent trip to renew his papers he was ordered to leave the country within the week, despite assurances from the Lebanese government that it would not throw out any refugees.

Faced with incarceration in Lebanon or a perilous return to Syria, he has taken refuge in one of the Palestinian camps Lebanese security services are not allowed to enter under an agreement reached at the end of the civil war.

"Where can I go? What can I do? I have no options now," Ayoub told IPS.

Many other Palestinian refugees distrustful of the security services or fearful of being unable to pay their annual visa renewal fees are seeking cover within the camps. The reality is a life of incarceration in chronically overcrowded hovels of destitution where unemployment is rife.

"We know they are our brethren and we must help them but this is becoming untenable," said Abu Ahmad, a Lebanese-Palestinian resident from Chatilla camp. "I used to get at least a week's work every month but now there is nothing. Every day we are seeing problems in the camp because of the desperation and the lack of work. People are even starting to pull weapons on each other. We need more support."

Has anyone condemned Lebanon for its policy of treating Palestinians from Syria worse than other Syrian refugees?

Has anyone condemned Lebanon for forcing the Palestinians to return to a war zone?

Has anyone condemned Lebanon for effectively imprisoning them in overcrowded camps that they cannot leave without fear of expulsion?

Nope, this story - like the story of Palestinians in Syria literally starving to death - is all but ignored by the people who love to condemn Israel for the smallest perceived offenses.

When you hear someone say they are "pro-Palestinian," ask them exactly what they are doing for the Palestinian Arabs being oppressed in Lebanon, Syria, Egypt and Jordan. Where are their flotillas, their convoys, their art exhibits, their press releases, their letters to the editor, their church stunts?

Their silence explains exactly how "pro-Palestinian" they really are.

The siege on Palestinian Arabs that the world ignores

The Lebanon Daily Star reported last month:

BEIRUT: Residents and fighters fear they may be starved out of the Damascus suburb of Yarmouk as the siege of the Palestinian area approaches its fifth month, mirroring the increasingly desperate humanitarian situation in many of the capital’s suburbs. The relatively new practice of blockading neighborhoods reflects a shifting strategy among rebel and government forces, analysts say, as both sides hunker down for what is expected to be a long war of attrition.

Yarmouk was originally a camp for Syria’s Palestinian refugees but has since expanded into a sprawling neighborhood in Damascus’ rebel-held southern belt. It has been encircled by troops loyal to President Bashar Assad since February.

On the second day of Ramadan, July 10, government forces tightened their grip on the area and sealed off a checkpoint that was the area’s only gateway to the capital, which was previously only sporadically open to allow through aid and fleeing residents.

The movement of food, medicine and people came to a complete halt.

“Civilians are totally forbidden from going out of the camp. At the same time, no food is coming in. They [the soldiers] have refused to let in vaccines for polio, measles, chickenpox and flu,” said Abdullah, an activist who has been stuck inside the neighborhood for over a year.

That siege is now 139 days old.

While the world constantly hears about a "siege" on Gaza where there are no restrictions by Israel on fuel, medicine,food or hundreds of other items,and where hundreds of people enter and leave every week, no one is talking about the real siege of tens of thousands of people in Yarmouk which is now on day 139.

Similarly, the death toll of Palestinians in Syria has now reached 1781, the vast majority of whom are civilians. But there is no Goldstone Report about this. No UN resolutions about Palestinians in Syria. No special sessions of the Security Council, nothing at the UN Human Rights Council, and very little in the media. No political Christmas carols being sung outside Syrian embassies.

I'm sure there is a rational explanation for why the "pro-Palestinian" crowd is exerting so much little effort on helping Palestinians literally starving to death.

And it probably has to do with the fact that they aren't "pro-Palestinian" at all.

(h/t Yerushalimey on caroling)

Abbas refusing to send leukemia medicine to Gaza

This story last month from PCHR seems to have slipped under the radar:

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is gravely concerned over the lives of 36 patients, who suffer from Leukemia in the Gaza Strip, due to not receiving the necessary treatment they need for 8 months. PCHR is concerned these patients may have serious complications leading to death if they do not receive their treatment immediately. PCHR calls upon President Mahmoud Abbass to promptly intervene to save the lives of these patients and to instruct the Ministry of Health in Ramallah to supply the medicine needed for these patients as soon as possible.

According to PCHR's follow-up, the suffering of the patients of Leukemia, which is a serious cancerous disease that affects blood cells, started in December 2012 when the medicine (Glivec 400 mg tab) fully ran out in the blood section pharmacy at Shifa Hospital. As a result, the patients have not received their medical treatment since then. Doctors in charge stated that this medicine is the sole treatment for Leukemia patients and not receiving this treatment would cause complications and put the patients’ lives at risk. It should be noted that the medicine is only available through the Ministry of Health in Ramallah and cannot be found in medical warehouses or private pharmacies in the Gaza Strip to save the patients' lives.

As part of PCHR's follow-up of the patients' conditions, PCHR's Legal Aid Unit addressed the Ministry of Health in Ramallah on 16 April 2013 and explained the conditions of Leukemia patients in the Gaza Strip. In addition, the unit called upon the Minister of Health to urge the competent bodies to immediately send the medicine to the Gaza Strip patients. On 30 April 2013, the Pharmacy Department at the Ministry of Health in Ramallah responded that the medicine is available at the central wheelhouses in Ramallah and that coordination was being done to send it to the patients. However, the quantity of (Glivec 400 mg tab) that reached the pharmacy in June and for once was very limited. The quantity amounted to 210 tablets that can help treating 7 patients only for one month. However, patients in the Gaza Strip need approximately 1,600 tablets a month. Consequently, the Leukemia patients have been deprived of that medicine, which is the sole treatment for them, and not receiving it would cause serious health complications.

Israel has never withheld medicine from Gaza. But apparently Mahmoud Abbas does.

PCHR doesn't bother to mention that while both Abbas' PLO seems to have no problem getting money to pay terrorists in jail, and while Hamas manages to buy rockets and anti-tank missiles, neither of them can find the money needed to save Palestinian Arab lives.

Which pretty much tells you everything right there.

If an appeal for leukemia medicine for Gazans would be made in synagogues this coming Saturday, the meds would be there next week. Yet this was posted on PCHR in late July and there were almost no stories about it in the Arab media.

Somehow the Arab world doesn't seem to care about dying Palestinian Arabs if their deaths cannot be blamed on Jews.

Thirsty in the West Bank? Must be all those chlorinated swimming pools

A couple of years ago I noticed that some organization called Avaaz claimed over a million signatures on a petition for Palestinian Arab statehood - but in reality they inflated those numbers by orders of magnitude.

Not surprisingly, Avaaz is addicted to lies:

It was the hottest week of the year. All Fadel Jaber wanted was some water for his family. But Fadel lives in the occupied West Bank, where the Israeli government has redirected water pipes to provide swimming pools for Jewish settlers and empty faucets for Palestinians like Fadel.

Those poor thirsty Palestinian Arabs!

It must be because all the swimming pools in the Arab areas are taking all of their water!

Here's a partial list of those pools, filled with the scarce water that is causing so many Palestinian Arabs to go thirsty. I am mostly listing clubs with the word "swimming" in their names; many sports clubs and hotels have pools as well.

Haddad Tourism Village, Jenin:

Ein Almarj Tourist Resort in Ramallah:

Palestine Park

Al-Karmel Swimming Pool & Park, Beit Kahil, Hebron
Al-Antoori Swimming Pool & Park, Sofin, Qalqilia
Al-Batroun Swimming Pool & Park, Al-libban Al-gharbi, Ramallah
Al-Dhahiriya Swimming Pool & Park, Jorat Al-dammeh, Al-dhahiriya
Al-Nakheel Swimming Pool & Park, Main St., Downtown, Jericho
Al-Qarawan Swimming Center, Al-Mal'ab St.,Near the Zoo, Ghayyadha, Qalqilia
Al-Qemmah Swimming Pool & Park, Jericho, Jericho
Al-Shaghour Swimming Pool, Main St., Beit Iba, Nablus
Al-Snowbar Diving Pool, Restaurant & Resort Near Y-College, Al-masayef, Ramallah
Al-Waha Swimming Pool & Park, Al-Quds St. Downtown, Jericho
Al-Waha Swimming Pools & Park, Qalqilia St.,Far'un Crossroad, Far'un, Tulkarm
Aroos Al-Shamal Park, Swimming Pool & Hall, Nablus St.,Near Al-Quds Open University Al-sweitat, Jenin
Beit Ummar Swimming Pool & Park, Municipality St.,Near Beit Ummar Municipality Beit Ummar, Hebron
Besan Swimming Pool & Park, Ein Al-Sultan St. Ein Al-sultan, Jericho
Dream Land Tourist Resort & Swimming Pool Nuba, Hebron
Dream Restaurant & Swimming Pool Main St. Jifna , Ramallah
Howara Country Swimming Pool, Howara, Nablus

Jericho Investment & Tourism ( Banana Land, pictured to the left ) Al-Mo'arajat Road Ein Al-dyouk, Jericho
Ni'lin Tourist Park & Swimming Pool, Main St. Ni'lin , Ramallah
Stars Swimming Pool & Park, Main St.,Town Entrance Arraba, Jenin
Tal Al-Marah Swimming Pool & Restaurant, Qoseen Crossroad, Beit Iba, Nablus
Tal Al-Rabee' Swimming Pools, Ezbit Naser, Tulkarm
The Swimming Pool , Park & Restaurant of " Ean El-Hammam ", Behind Birzeit Municipality, Birzeit, Ramallah
Wahat Al-Bathan Swimming Pool & Park, Al-bathan, Nablus

Perhaps Avaaz should send the poor Jabers to their neighbors in "Palestine" where there seems to be no shortage of water.

Hamas, complaining about "humanitarian disaster," asks Israel for more fuel

Here's an unusual article on Hamas' Qassam Brigades (English) website.

Instead of its usual Israel-bashing, Hamas is trying to arouse world opinion against Egypt's crackdown on smuggling tunnels, specifically fuel smuggling. (This article is not on their Arabic site, so this is only meant for English-speaking readers.)

The Gaza Strip is living a nightmare about a life-sapping blockade looming, with Egypt’s army having or destroyed or shut hundreds of underground border tunnels with Gaza, the lifeline for the Gazans after Hamas won 2006 elections, and the following Israeli border blockade.

The unraveling question haunting Gazans’ minds is whether Egypt’s political unrest would continue to affect their access to life basics, particularly fuel, which no longer could reach the Gaza tunnels.

Fuel shortages have seen Gaza environment, health, and transport sectors remarkably crippled, worsening the humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave.

The vast majority of Gaza’s 1.7 million used to opt for the cheaper Egyptian fuel. However, head of the government’s petroleum directorate Abdul Nasser Muahnna said last week “Gaza’s gas station syndicate which had reduced its dependency on Israeli supplies of fuel in the past, has now asked Israel for fuel provisions to head off the shortage,”

Remember, Egypt's fuel that was smuggled to Gaza was subsidized by Egypt for her own citizens, which then sold them to Gaza at a discount. Hamas is pretending that they have a right to subsidized fuel from Egypt that Egyptians themselves cannot spare.

For years, Israel has had capacity to pump more fuel into Gaza. Hamas had refused.

Now comes the sob story:

Gaza municipal councils announced a few days ago that the continued fuel crisis would affect vital sectors and subsequently cause an imminent humanitarian disaster.

Spokesman of the councils said that “since the power generators running the Gaza’s 57 sewage pumps highly depend on diesel fuel, it would not be working as far as the fuel crisis didn’t defuse,”

Moreover, water wells which amount to 190 and constitute Gazans’ main source of water for drinking, agricultural and domestic use basically depend on diesel-powered generators.

While solid waste collection services have also disrupted due to the flaring fuel problem. Head of Gaza Municipality’s Health and Environment Department Abdel Rahim Abu Qumbuz said that “50% of solid waste collection vehicles that transport more than 1,500 tons of waste daily from the neighborhoods and streets of the Gaza Strip to landfills have suspended work.

“The accumulated thousands of tons of harmful waste shall ensure spread of many infectious diseases provoked by rodents and flies,” he followed.

Minister of Local Government Mohammed al-Farra warned Thursday that an environmental disaster may surface in the near future as United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has recently stopped to sponsor Gaza municipal councils with diesel for waste collection vehicles.

Alongside the diesel fuel crisis that faced by the ministry, what is aggravating the problem, Al-Farra added, is that the International donors reneged on its commitment to supporting the hygiene sector, and halted its support for the drivers and street cleaners,.

“As an alternative to the diesel-powered vehicles, we’re seeking to recruit 1,000 cleaners provided that 50% of them have four-wheeled carts, in order that municipalities continue to work in raising the level of cleanliness in the Gaza Strip.

The health sector has been squarely affected by the fuel crisis. Ministry of Health warned against the acute shortage in the quantities of fuel to run the power generators supplying hospitals, blood banks, medical centers, public health laboratories in the Gaza Strip.

Spokesman of the ministry Ashraf al-Qidra said that “the overall health services are directly harmed by the current crisis; the public hospitals, medical clinics, laboratories and blood banks need a monthly amount of nearly 10,000 liters of diesel to run, a monthly of 150,000 liters of gasoline to run transport vehicles, ambulances,”

“We have rescheduled the movement of ambulances and transport services in general to be at the minimum and work only during emergencies; we are afraid of the consequences on the Palestinian patients if the crisis continued to exist, as there is 579 patients, including 15 children, with renal failure who undergo 1,800 dialysis sessions per week, 110 infants lying in incubators,” the official said.

Ministry of Transport and Communications said Tuesday “in light of the inaccessibility of petroleum products to the Gaza Strip through the border tunnels, more than 70,000 taxi drivers have been jobless,”

Spokesman of the ministry Khalil Zayan said at a press conference held Thursday in Gaza that “about 20,000 public service vehicles, and 30,000 private vehicles have been disrupted,”

The only fuel that Hamas has been getting regularly from Israel is cooking gas.

But as I have shown, Israel had provided diesel for their fuel plants in the past. Hamas regularly manipulates the amount of fuel arriving from Israel to create these regular "humanitarian crises".

Hamas can find the money for importing rockets, anti-aircraft missiles and anti-tank weapons they can aim at schoolbuses. But to pay market rates for fuel is simply not acceptable for this terrorist organization that is holding 1.5 million people hostage.

7/18 Links Part 2: Is Islamist Era Over?, IDF Protects Civilians in Gaza, Dr. Oz Comes to Israel

From Ian:

Ben Cohen: Is the Islamist Era Over?

The notion that the era of Islamism has come to an end is not as outlandish as it seems. While the faith of Islam crystallized in Arabia 15 centuries ago, the ideology of Islamism—which aims to place the imperatives of sharia law at the heart of a coercive and all-powerful state—is a product of the last century.
Like its totalitarian cousins—fascism, communism and national socialism—Islamism’s point of departure is a visceral loathing of the political liberties that are integral to liberal democracies. All these monstrous political systems were convinced that, once empowered, they would stay empowered.

IDF Blog: Seminar Teaches IDF Officers How to Protect Gaza’s Civilian Population in Combat Situation

These officers are tasked with an enormous responsibility: to protect Palestinian civilians on the ground, no matter how difficult that may be.
“During an operation, these officers are in charge of evacuating the wounded, finding shelter for refugees, coordinating representatives of international organizations who want to visit a specific area, and assisting and treating innocent bystanders,” Maj. Dror said. He explained that the officers work with the understanding that taking care of the civilian population also contributes to the IDF’s operational effort, and gives IDF forces the legitimacy to continue their operations.

Anti-Semitic Group Uses Celebrities to Promote 'Youth March'

[Nick] Cannon, an American actor and rapper, appears in an online video being promoted by the New Black Panther Party (NBPP) through its web site and social media. In the video, Cannon invites people to attend the September 7 march in Harlem, New York, which it recently renamed “Millions for Trayvon” in the aftermath of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of an unarmed black youth, Trayvon Martin, in Sanford, Florida.
“While it is unclear if these celebrity and business leaders realize exactly who and what they are promoting, their endorsements of the Million Youth March only help to legitimize the virulently anti-Semitic and racist message of the New Black Panther Party,” said National Director of the ADL, Abraham Foxman.

Anti-Semitism at Anti Zimmerman Protest; ‘You Ashkenazi Crafted Devil’ Proclaims T-Shirt

A man leading a demonstration against the recent acquittal of George Zimmerman in a murder trial that mesmerized the United States, was caught on camera wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with anti-Semitic language

Berlin Hotel Bars Infamous British Holocaust Denier

Berlin’s hotel and restaurant association has announced that it will not host infamous British Holocaust denier David Irving, who is planning to visit the German capital in September.
Irving, who was banned from entering Germany until last March, is set to address guests at a Sept. 10 dinner event with a $120 cover charge, according to reports.

Iranian activists back ‘brave filmmaker’ who made Israel visit

A group of 80 Iranian academics and activists sent an open letter to The Times of Israel Wednesday supporting an Iranian director who came under fire for appearing at the Jerusalem Film Festival last week.
The signatories, describing themselves as “members of opposition groups, scholars and human rights activists,” lauded exiled filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s “bravery for breaking the taboo of visiting the state of Israel and conveying the message of friendship between Iranian people and people of Israel.”

The Guardian's coverage: Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf defends Israel visit after outcry

Archaeologists say one of King David’s palaces found

Professor Yossi Garfinkel of the Hebrew University and Saar Ganor of the Israel Antiquities Authority have announced that they found a palace and royal storehouse that belonged to King David. The two buildings are the largest structures standing during the tenth century BCE that have been found in the territory of the Kingdom of Judah.
The discovery was made at Khirbet Qeiyafa near Beit Shemesh. For the past year, the researchers uncovered the two buildings at the site, which is believed by some to be the fortified Judean city of Shaarayim. According to the biblical record, after David smote Goliath, the Philistines were slaughtered on the road to Shaarayim as they fled. Shaarayim means “two gates,” and Khirbet Qeiyafa has two gates in its walls.

Singapore vs. Israel: Who’s the better role model?

But is Singapore the right role model for Israel? According to Singaporean entrepreneur Lee, “the government has been spending a lot of money setting up incubators and accelerators for entrepreneurs, but the program has been less successful than they hoped it would be.” While Singapore has the “form” of a start-up nation, Singaporeans “don’t have the chutzpah you need to buck trends and come up with something truly innovative. We are taught to listen to our elders,” he said, “and of course to teachers.” Whereas stories about Israeli or American tech heroes who were dropouts are not uncommon, said Lee, no Singaporean in his or her right mind would drop out of college, much less high school, for fear they would be frozen out of jobs at large corporations.

Ron Prosor: Boycotting A Better Future

Ironically, few regions could benefit more from entrepreneurship than the Arab world. According to the World Bank, roughly 20 percent of the population of the Middle East and North Africa lives on less than $2 per day, and income inequality is widening. The Middle East is dripping in oil wealth, but millions of people are starved of basic sustenance -- to say nothing of basic rights and freedoms.(h/t Norman F)

Prosor: It's Easier for Journalists in Israel

Speaking during a discussion at the UN Security Council about protecting civilians in war zones, Prosor noted that many journalists from around the world prefer to come to Israel to cover the conflict in neighboring Syria from there, knowing full well they would be much safer in the Jewish State.
"It's easier to cover Israel from Tel Aviv than to face live fire in the suburbs of Damascus," he said, adding, "The Middle East is undoubtedly the most dangerous place for journalists. In the first half of 2013 alone, 26 journalists lost their lives. Instead of being the ones to tell the story, the journalists have become the story itself. Torture, rape, and executions have become the lot of journalists in war zones.”

BreathID Hp device can detect H. pylori in a breath

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some two thirds of the world’s population is infected with H. pylori — bacteria found in the stomach. Most of those infected are completely unaware and thus develop peptic ulcers and increase the risk of stomach cancer. A new diagnostic system called BreathID Hp has hit the market and the Israeli makers of the device say it can detect gastrointestinal and liver conditions through a patient’s breath.
Exalenz Bioscience, the Modi’in-based company behind the device, says the BreathID Hp test is the “fastest, easiest and most accurate Urea Breath Test (UBT) for diagnosing H. pylori infection in the office or clinic.”

Israel eager to update air accord, expand trade with PH

Encouraged by Europe’s lifting of its ban on Philippine Airlines, Israel hopes to establish direct flights to Manila and back to boost exchanges between the two countries, particularly in the areas of trade and tourism.
Israeli diplomats disclosed this week that Israeli and Philippine aviation officials were in an advanced stage of discussions to update a 60-year-old air services agreement, with the goal of launching direct flights to link the two nations. (h/t Zvi)

America's most famous doctor to visit Israel

Dr. Oz is expected to meet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit.
The renowned doctor is convinced that the warm and deep bond between Israel and Turkey will persevere. In the interview that will be published in full this weekend, Oz speaks of his father, also a doctor, who still lives in Turkey, about his father's mentor who was Jewish, and about his friend, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and how his appearance on TV helps his viewers improve their health no less than the heart surgeries he still performs.

Hizballah under pressure from its own people to quit Syria

From Asharq Al Awsat:

Mounting casualties among Hezbollah fighters in the fighting in Syria has led some Lebanese supporters of the organization to petition its leaders to scale back its involvement in the Syrian conflict.

A source with knowledge of the petions, speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat on condition of anonymity, said that the increasing numbers of Hezbollah soldiers killed in Syria, including some senior commanders, has raised concerns among the Lebanese Shi’ites, prompting some of them, especially residents of Ba’albak, to visit Hezbollah Shura member, Mohamed Yazbek, demanding a halt on deployments of their men to Syria.

The source added that the residents stressed during the meeting that their children had fought the Israelis in 2006 and other wars between the party and Israel, in response to the call for resistance against Israel.

However, they said their men’s participation in the fight against the Syrian people, in defense of the Syrian government, was shameful and that it was unacceptable to embroil their men in a war in which they had no interest at all.

The source further added that Hezbollah was going through difficulties because it could not withdraw from fighting alongside the Syrian government, especially at this time.

This has prompted leading figures within Hezbollah to hold high-level meetings, to discuss the issue and agree on a delegation to be sent to Iran, in order to explain the difficulties faced by the party in the fighting in Syria, and explain to the Iranian leadership that the party was no longer able to bear the burden of supporting the Syrian government alone by sending fighters from Lebanon, and that Iran had to send more Iranian fighters than it did before.

The source said the numbers of Hezbollah fighters participating in the fight alongside the Syrian government had increased noticeably. Following Hezbollah leader’s visit to Tehran and Damascus three months ago, more than 20 units were sent to Syria from the Bekaa by Hezbollah, each battalion consisting of approximately 100 men.

Its always tempting to joke that things never change in the Middle East, but the sea change in attitudes against both the Islamists in Egypt and those in Lebanon - even for different reasons - is quite remarkable.

(h/t Yoel)

While Europe dawdles, Gulf states discuss sanctions against Hizballah

The Daily Star (Lebanon) Monday reported on Monday:

The European Union is unlikely to make a decision on blacklisting Hezbollah for “a least five [or] six months,” Italy’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for Development Cooperation Lapo Pistelli said Wednesday. Pistelli spoke to The Daily Star as he rounded out a three-day visit to the country with a brief tour of the National Museum, which included sneak peeks at a selection of exhibits not yet on public display.

The deputy minister listed the debate between member states over evidence of Hezbollah’s involvement in a terror attack in Bulgaria in July 2012 as one of the main reasons he believed the organization, or part of it, would not be added to the bloc’s terror list in the immediate future.

“At the preliminary discussion in Brussels [earlier this month] there were some arguments raised by the Bulgarian government and the Cypriots about the proofs and evidences [pertaining to] blacklisting the organization ... so it seems to me this decision will require time,” Pistelli said.

The EU has come under increasing pressure from the U.S. and some of its members to add Hezbollah, or at least its military wing, to its terror list.

Pistelli described this debate as “very sensitive,” and was clear that, regardless of discussions in Europe, Hezbollah is a very “relevant player” in Lebanon and could not be excluded from a “real national unity government.”

More details on the opposition within Europe to declaring Hizballah a terrorist organization can be seen here.

While Europe effectively legalizes the terrorist organization, the Gulf Arabs in the region are moving forward with sanctioning it:

Senior Gulf Cooperation Council officials met in Riyadh on Thursday to coordinate sanctions in the six member states against Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah movement over its support for the Syria regime.

The meeting was “to develop mechanisms to monitor movements, financial transactions and business operations of Hezbollah,” said Bahraini deputy interior minister Khaled al-Absi.

The GCC monarchies decided on June 10 to impose sanctions on Hezbollah, targeting residency permits and its financial and business activities in reprisal for the group’s armed intervention in Syria.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Of course, it isn't that the Gulf countries are suddenly more sensitive to terror than Europe. They would never sanction Hamas or any other Palestinian terror group. It is that they are Sunni and they hate Shiites, represented by Hizballah, and the organization's adventurism in Syria is giving them the excuse they want to sanction it.

Even so, it is jarring to see Muslims in the forefront of taking actions against other Muslims while Europeans can't figure out what to do.

By the way, a low level war has erupted in Lebanon (video)

Clashes broke out in in Abra, east of the southern Lebanon city of Sidon on Sunday, claiming the lives of at least five army soldiers and stoking fears that violence triggered by the war in Syria will increasingly engulf its smaller neighbor.

Two gunmen loyal to an anti-Hezbollah sheikh were also killed in the clashes , security sources said, in an act the Army deemed as a cold-blooded attack on the military which called for an “iron fist” approach to deter further aggression.
The army said the fighting began when supporters of Shiekh Ahmed Assir, an outspoken Sidon cleric, launched a surprise attack on one of its checkpoints in the Abra neighborhood of the city, 25 miles south of the capital. Lebanese television said that the army had earlier arrested several of his supporters.

“What happened today in Sidon went beyond all expectations,” the army said in a statement. “The army was targeted in a cold blooded and deliberate attack.”

Assir, known for his tirades against Iran-backed Hezbollah’s influence over the Lebanese state and army, posted a video online Sunday calling for Sunni soldiers to defect from the army, which he lambasted as “Iranian and Shiite”.

“To all our partisans, we are being attacked by the Lebanese Army, which is Iranian and Shiite,” Assir said in the video. He claimed the Army belonged to the “shabiha [thugs]” of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and his ally, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who heads the Amal Movement.

Here is some of Sunday afternoon's fighting in Sidon:

Also in Lebanon:

Initial investigations have determined that the only forces that possess 122mm Grad rockets that were discovered in Ballouneh in Lebanon’s Kesrouan region on Friday are Hezbullah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command PFLP-GC informed sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) according to a report by An Nahar newspaper.
Both Hezbollah and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) are staunch allies of the Syrian regime of president Bashar Al Assad

An Nahar reported that the investigations are currently focusing on how the rockets and their launch pads were placed in the region and what their target was.

Sources told the daily that the incident was aimed at intimidation and creating confusion in Lebanon.

This is in addition to the fighting that has been going on for months in Tripoli between Shiites and Sunnis, and the rockets that have been fired from Syria towards Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, or Syrian Army forays into Sunni areas of Lebanon.

You just know the Zionists are behind it. After all, if you ask the Shiites, they would tell you the Sunnis are Zionist, and if you ask the Sunnis, they would insist the Shiites are Zionist (or, sometimes, even Jews.)

They can't both be wrong!

EU chickens out, won't label Hizballah as terrorist

From Naharnet:

Chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Avigdor Lieberman slammed the European Union on Monday for failing to label Hizbullah as a terrorist organization.

He labeled the move as “ultimate hypocrisy."

Israeli media quoted Lieberman as saying that Israel must convey to the EU that failure to blacklist Hizbullah in an upcoming discussion on the topic in two weeks "will make the EU irrelevant to us."

Last week, several EU governments expressed concern that a British request to add Hizbullah on the list of terrorist organizations would increase instability in the Middle East.

At a meeting in Brussels, the governments also questioned whether there was sufficient evidence to link Hizbullah to an attack that targeted Israeli tourists in Bulgaria last year.
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Britain has argued that Hizbullah should face EU sanctions over its alleged role in the bus bombing in the resort of Burgas that killed five Israelis and their Bulgarian driver.

Maariv adds that although Bulgaria's investigation in the Burgas bombing concluded that Hizballah was behind it, the new socialist Bulgarian government does not want to stand behind the report. Furthermore, it says that Bulgaria was actually the force behind the move, as it fears that accurately labeling Hizballah as terrorist would hurt Lebanese/EU relations.

This means that Gulf Arabs are more willing to label Hizballah to be a terror group than Europeans. While this is more a function of the extreme hatred that Sunnis have for Shiites, it is still astonishing that the EU is coddling a group whose ties to terror are impossible to ignore - and that Muslims who cheered 9/11 are more hawkish on Hezbollah terror than Europeans are.

Saudi paper blasts Hezbollah as "ruthless terrorist organization"

It is truly scary when Gulf Arabs have a better sense of how to characterize Hezbollah than Europeans do.

This op-ed from the Saudi Gazette last week is perhaps a tad overly optimistic, but at least it gets one thing right:

THERE will be those who wonder why the GCC did not declare Hezbollah a terrorist organization long ago. Hezbollah rode high in the opinion of some after it threw back the 2006 Israeli assault on southern Lebanon. However, the reality has always been that this is a group that is entirely preoccupied with its own agenda and has no interest in promoting the unity and reconstruction of Lebanon.

Indeed, in order to protect its mini-state within the country, the Hezbollah leadership has been prepared to act as an agent for Iran and its Syrian ally Bashar Al-Assad. In return for dancing to Tehran’s tune and seeking to carry out the disruptive interventions desired by the Iranian leadership, its militiamen have been armed and trained and the movement as a whole has seen many millions of Iranian dollars poured into its coffers.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah may, however, have now overreached himself. Some wonder if he has not become a victim of his own propaganda about a militant and victorious organization and really believes that his forces are actually capable of turning the tide of defeat that is engulfing the Assad regime. Not only this, but he clearly had little idea of how, by throwing in its lot with the hated Assad, Hezbollah would unmask itself in the Arab world as an Iranian cipher. Even the leadership of Hamas, with which Hezbollah once had close relations, recoiled in disgust when it threw in its lot with the Assad dictatorship.

In recognizing that Hezbollah, for all its attempts to portray itself as a responsible political movement, is in fact simply a terror group, the GCC member states have taken a bold and decisive step. No longer will Hezbollah be able to present itself convincingly as a champion of any Arab cause. No longer will it be able to pretend that its men are dying for the rest of the Arab world.

Indeed, by rushing to fight alongside Assad’s faltering army and Shabiha militiamen, this terror group has allied itself with a government that has sought and failed to terrorize its own people into obedience.

It must be wondered if some Hezbollah leaders do not already appreciate the considerable risks of rushing to the aid of a doomed regime. Once Assad is gone, there will be no easy supply line to Hezbollah-occupied areas of Lebanon. Nasrallah might have argued that it was for this very reason, plus the need to keep Iranian support, that its commanders simply had to send young Lebanese to Syria to fight and die alongside Assad’s forces. But it will prove to be a desperate move.

When Syria is free, Hezbollah will be alone and isolated in its south Lebanon territory. Its murderous and malign influence in the country will be challenged by moderate Lebanese, who are fed up with its strutting thugs and the obstruction of its leaders in the country’s delicate political process. The time is past when the Hezbollah leadership can pose as a champion of the Arab cause. Thanks to its slavish support for Iran and Syria, it has actually defined itself as an enemy of the Arab world in general and the Palestinian cause in particular.

Hezbollah needs to be seen for the ruthless terrorist organization that it really is and the GCC’s decision to call it such is surely a crucial nail in the terror group’s coffin.

(h/t Arsen)

Report :Saudi businessman offers $10 million to kill Nasrallah

Assabeel and other Arabic media are reporting that a wealthy Saudi businessman has offered $10 million to anyone who killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Abdullah Mohammed Al Anzi, who is a supporter and financier of the Syrian rebels, has already reportedly donated some 30 million Saudi rials to the rebels. The reports say that Anzi offered the bounty for Nasrallah's head, and will even pay up if the killer is a Shiite.

I don't know if he would pay the IDF for assassinating Nasrallah. Some things are beyond the pale, after all.

Nasrallah 1988 video: "Lebanon should not be an Islamic republic on its own, but rather, part of the Greater Islamic Republic"

In light of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's speech on Saturday where he said he group will do whatever it takes to save Basahr Assad's regime, his opponents have released a MEMRI video showing Nasrallah's real goals:

A video in which Hassan Nasrallah spoke about his dream goal in Lebanon before he became Hezbollah leader is being circulated again on social media following a speech on Saturday in which he officially admitted engagement in the Syrian civil war.

The video being circulated online reportedly dates back to 1988 and shows a younger Nasrallah saying: “Our plan, to which we, as faithful believers, have no alternative, is to establish an Islamic state under the rule of Islam.”

“Lebanon should not be an Islamic republic on its own, but rather, part of the Greater Islamic Republic, governed by the Master of Time [the Mahdi], and his rightful deputy, the Jurisprudent Ruler, Imam Khomeini,” he said.

MEMRI's full text:

Hassan Nasrallah: What is the nature of the regime that Hizbullah wants for Lebanon at present, in light of the state of the country and the numerous sects? The preceding lectures have answered this question. Right now, we do not have a plan for a regime in Lebanon. We believe that we should remove the colonialism and the Israeli [occupation], and only then can a plan be implemented.

Our plan, to which we, as faithful believers, have no alternative, is to establish an Islamic state under the rule of Islam. Lebanon should not be an Islamic republic on its own, but rather, part of the Greater Islamic Republic, governed by the Master of Time [the Mahdi], and his rightful deputy, the Jurisprudent Ruler, Imam Khomeini.
[...]
[I was asked] about Hizbullah's relations with Iran and with the leadership of the Islamic Revolution in Iran. As far as we are concerned, these relations... I am one of the people working for Hizbullah and its active apparatuses. I would not have remained for a single moment in any apparatus of Hizbullah if I were not absolutely convinced that these apparatuses are connected, through a certain hierarchy, to the Jurisprudent Ruler and Leader, whose decisions are binding.

As far as we are concerned, this is axiomatic. Diplomatic and political statements are not what is important in this case. Ayatollah Karroubi cannot simply admit: Yes, Hizbullah are our people in Lebanon. This is inconceivable, both politically and media-wise. Our essential and organic relation with the leadership of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Rule of the Jurisprudent is axiomatic, as far as we are concerned.

We belong to this path, we make sacrifices for its sake, and we expose ourselves to dangers, because we are convinced that the blood we shed flows for the sake of the Rule of the Jurisprudent.
[...]
Should the Jurisprudent Ruler be the one to appoint the leaders, and bestow legitimacy upon them, in all Muslim countries? Yes, because his jurisprudence is not limited by geographical boundaries. It extends to wherever Muslims may be.

Of course, Hamas shares that exact same goal of "Palestine" being part of an Islamic 'ummah and not an independent state except as a stage. The only difference is whether this pan-Muslim state would be Shi'ite or Sunni.

No one seems too bothered by Hamas' identical hypocrisy, though. From their charter:

As for the objectives: They are the fighting against the false, defeating it and vanquishing it so that justice could prevail, homelands be retrieved and from its mosques would the voice of the mu'azen emerge declaring the establishment of the state of Islam, so that people and things would return each to their right places and Allah is our helper.

(Note to MEMRI: Please don't flag me on YouTube for uploading your video that is already pirated by Al Arabiya. We're on the same side, and I will happily encourage my readers to donate to you. )

Hezbollah lashing out in Syria but feeling squeezed at home and in Europe

Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a speech on Saturday where he, for the first time, admitted that Hezbollah is all-in to keep Bashar assad in power:

Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday vowed "victory" in Syria, where militants of his powerful Lebanese Shiite movement are fighting alongside regular troops against rebels trying to topple the regime.

"I say to all the honorable people, to the mujahedin, to the heroes: I have always promised you a victory and now I pledge to you a new one" in Syria, he said at a ceremony marking the 13th anniversary of Israel's military withdrawal from Lebanon.

Nasrallah said Hezbollah would always stand by its allies in the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad, stressing that its own interests were at stake.

"We will continue along the road... bear the responsibilities and the sacrifices," he said in a video-link of a speech delivered live on a huge screen.

"This battle is ours... and I promise you victory," he said.

"Syria is the rear guard of the resistance (Hezbollah's fight with Israel), its backbone, and the resistance cannot stay with its arms folded when its rear guard is exposed.

"We are idiots if we do not act," said Nasrallah who avoids appearing in public for security reasons.

He is bizarrely trying to justify this by playing the Israel card, one that the Arab public is increasingly sick of:

In a televised speech marking the 13th anniversary of the Israeli pullout from southern Lebanon, Nasrallah also said that "if Syria falls, so will Palestine, the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem. We will enter a very dark phase."

He also spoke about Israeli preparations for a possible conflict with Hezbollah and said that Israel formed a new government portfolio dedicated to protecting the home front. "In Israel everything is geared up for a conflict year round and all year they hold maneuvers. Israel fears rockets, because we have no air force. The Israelis built towns along its borders. They are bringing in Jews from Ethiopia, Romania, and Argentina, and placing them by our borders and providing them with money and arms. On our side of the border, our towns are nearly empty."

Nasrallah did not present the fighting as a conflict between Sunni and Shiite Muslims, but rather as one waged between heathens serving a Western Zionist agenda and the Syrian resistance that refuses to accept the dictates of the West.
Nasrallah unequivocally stressed that the fall of the Syrian regime would be a blow to the "resistance." "Syria is the backbone of the 'resistance,' that cannot sit still and wait while its backbone is being broken," he said. "If Syria falls in the hands of the Americans and the Israelis and the American representatives in the region, the 'resistance' will be isolated and Israel will enter Lebanon and force its laws upon it. Lebanon will return to the Israeli era."

In his speech, Nasrallah tied the U.S. and Israel to Jihadist organizations working under the aegis of al-Qaida in Syria: "These combatants coming from many countries received many allowances to leave their countries and arrive at Syria, this is the American method of destabilizing Syria from the inside, using these organizations that brand everyone is heathens, those organizations that had killed more Sunni Muslims than anyone else. An example of this is what is happening in Iraq, Pakistan, and Somalia. We think that the armed forces taking over Syria are a great danger to Lebanon and all the Lebanese, not only Hezbollah or the Lebanese Shiites."

Lebanon's majority non-Shi'ite population is not happy at being dragged into a war they have nothing to do with:

Al-Mustaqbal Party leader Saad Hariri stated on Saturday that Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah is demanding the recognition of the “State of Hizbullah," considering that the resistance has announced its “suicide" in the Syrian border town of al-Qusayr.

“You have announced yourself the end of the resistance on Liberation's Day,” Hariri addressed Nasrallah in a released statement in which he responded to Hizbullah leader's speech in the commemoration of the liberation of the South earlier on Saturday.

“You have announced the resistance's political and military suicide in al-Qusayr.”

Hariri accused Nasrallah of releasing a Fatwa that calls on the Lebanese to get involved in a war on Syrian territories.

“Your speech has no value to us, to most Lebanese and definitely to the Syrian people in all political, national, ethical, legal, religious and human measures.”

The opposition to Hezbollah's Syrian adventure was apparent this morning, as a group fired rockets at Hezbollah positions in Lebanon itself:

Rockets slammed into a Hezbollah stronghold outside Beirut, injuring at least four people, hours after the Lebanese militant group’s leader declared he could mobilize thousands of fighters to help Syria’s rulers beat an insurgency.

As many as three rockets hit a southern suburb of Beirut this morning, damaging homes, Al Jazeera satellite TV said, showing shrapnel-damaged walls and cars. Lebanese President Michel Suleiman called the spillover from Syria’s civil war an act of “terrorist saboteurs” who do not want peace and stability for Lebanon, Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah's willingness to bet Lebanon on Assad has pushed some European states to declare it a terror group:
At the beginning of this week, the United Kingdom submitted an official request to the European Union to list Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization. The move was shortly followed by supportive statements from both France and Germany.

"Given the decisions that Hezbollah has taken and the fact that it has fought extremely hard against the Syrian population, I confirm that France will propose to place Hezbollah's military wing on the list of terrorist organizations," French Prime Minister Laurent Fabius said on Wednesday after the Friends of Syria meeting in Amman.

The move from the EU Troika also comes almost a year after a suicide attack attributed to Hezbollah left 6 dead in the Bulgarian sea side resort town of Burgas in July 2012. At the same time that the Bulgarian investigation into the Burgas attack was underway, Cyprus was dealing with the case of Taleb Hussam Yacoub, a Swedish-Lebanese national who admitted in court that he had been recruited by Hezbollah. The young man described his role as a courier in several European capitals, as well as his surveillance missions on Israeli tourists in Cyprus and Turkey. However, it was Hezbollah's involvement in Syria and its increasing evidence of support to Bashar al-Assad's regime that made France and Germany abandon their hesitation, analysts say.

Now Lebanon has a scorecard of Hezbollah's diminishing clout as a legitimate player in Europe: