Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News: Terrorism

Showing posts with label Terrorism. Show all posts

Friday, November 01, 2013

China says attack in Tiananmen Square was from Islamic terrorists

From AFP:

China's top security official has named an Islamic movement as "behind-the-scenes supporters" of this week's fatal attack in Tiananmen Square, in Beijing's first claim of an organised link to the incident.

"Its behind-the-scenes supporters were the terrorist group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) based in Central and West Asia," Meng Jianzhu said when asked about the Tiananmen incident on a visit to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, video posted online Thursday showed.

A high-profile car crash on Monday killed two tourists and injured dozens at the popular site and symbolic heart of the Chinese state. The three people in the car -- a man, his wife and his mother -- all died in the crash, police say.

They said the vehicle had a licence plate from Xinjiang, the far western region where China's mostly Muslim Uighur minority is concentrated, while the names released of the three people inside and five other detained suspects sounded Uighur.

ETIM is known as a militant Islamic separatist group that seeks an independent state in Xinjiang.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Friday called the group "the most immediate and realistic security threat in China".

Come on, China. If Muslims demand a state, and threaten terrorism when you don't give it to them, the rule is - give it to them! It might take a couple of decades for them to convince the world that they are the victims, but there are enough idiots in the West who will take their side. Might as well give it to them now. I mean, you know they won't demand more after they get their state, right? They are honorable terrorists and they would never lie.

And that goes for you, too, Philippines.

New fighting in Gaza plus live tweets

YNet reports:

An IDF force apparently came under mortar fire emanating from Gaza Thursday night while operating on both sides of the border fence as part of the efforts to uncover additional parts of an underground terror tunnel that was located in the area a month ago. The force returned fire.

Palestinian sources reported that an IDF tank opened fired at a terror cell belonging to Hamas' armed wing - the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which was situated east of the city of Khan Younis in south Gaza.

The Palestinians further reported that during exchanges of fire between terrorists and IDF forces near the city of Abasan in south Gaza, a Palestinian terrorist was killed and another was wounded, apparently from IDF tank fire. The Israeli forces were targeting a . The Palestinians identified the terrorist who was killed as Rabiya Barakeh, 21.

According to the Palestinians, the incident followed the limited entry of IDF forces into Gaza, near the border fence, but Israeli officials said the forces operated beyond the security fence but still within Israeli territory.

From IsraelNewsFeed (@IsraelHatzolah):

Tweets by @IsraelHatzolah

The tweets were coming fast and furious when I posted this, so it seemed like a good idea at the time....(this comment may be dated by the time you read it)

ICYMI: Thousands of weapons seized in Ashdod port

For some reason, most news outlets seem to have missed this story. From Your Jewish News, last week:

A large shipment of illegal weapons was apprehended at the port of Ashdod, Israel, according to officials.

Ashdod port workers and customs agents were stunned after discovering more than 14,000 illegal weapons on Wednesday night.

The tax authority had marked the container as suspicious, and after being placed under a scanner, customs agents decided to open it for further inspection.

When the container was opened, agents found a large number of dangerous weapons, which were hidden between clothes.

Specifically, agents found 4,000 flashlight shaped electric shockers, 1,000 iron batons, 3200 pepper sprays, 2000 slings, 4000 laser pointers prohibited for import into the Palestinian Authority and 3,500 fake Casio watches.

Police said that a 27-year-old Palestinian man of Hebron, was arrested in connection with the container. The man has a history of smuggling.

I'm not sure if I would characterize fake Casio watches as weapons....

It almost sounds like these are meant more for an "intrafada" than an intifada.

I saw this at the COGAT site. The only Israeli (English) media I could find mentioning it was Arutz-7.

Moderate peace-loving Abbas happily poses with murderers of Jews

The purported leader of a state that virtually the entire world agrees must exist greets people who have murdered Jews.

That's not news anymore.

What is amazing is that no western leader finds these images to be disgusting.

No academic notes the hypocrisy of a "peace partner" welcoming, in person, murderers and terrorists.

No mainstream journalist or editorialist says the obvious - that a people who lionize murderers are clearly not deserving of any Western support, let alone a state.

There is not one word of condemnation from the enlightened West that Mahmoud Abbas - personally and proudly - poses with and praises people with blood on their hands.

Photos that would instantly torpedo the career of any other politician on the planet are not newsworthy when the politician is "President of Palestine."

The world agrees: Palestinian Arab leaders are moderate, peace-loving victims and that the people that their people murder are evil colonialist oppressors who deserved to be shot, stabbed and bludgeoned to death.

There is no other interpretation.

At the end of this video showing the celebrations, one of the murderers says, to the cheers of the crowd, "All of Palestine from the river to the sea":

Poster: One man's terrorist...

One of the prisoners being released this week, along with one who was released in August 2013, murdered 67-year old Isaac Rotenberg with an axe.

Rotenberg wasn’t the oldest victim of the prisoners who made it onto the list Sunday. Fatah member Ra’ai Ibrahim Salam Ali was jailed in 1994 for the murder of 79-year-old Moris Eisenstatt. Eisenstatt was killed with ax blows to the head while he sat on a public Kfar Saba bench reading a book.

Another prisoner, Salah Ibrahim Ahmad Mugdad, also of Fatah, was imprisoned in 1993 for killing 72-year-old Sirens Hotel security guard Israel Tenenbaum by beating him in the head with a steel rod.

By the way, this very photo of Abbas partying with released murderers is featured on Mahmoud Abbas' Facebook page.

More rockets from Gaza

YNet reports:

Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired two rockets toward south Israel at dawn on Monday. A number of explosions were heard shortly after the "Color Red" siren warning of the incoming rockets sounded in communities located within the Ashkelon Beach Regional Council.

One of the rockets was apparently intercepted by the "Iron Dome" air defense system, while the other apparently landed in an open area. There were no reports of injury or damage.

In response to the rocket fire, Israeli aircraft attacked two rocket launchers in north Gaza and identified direct hits, the army's Spokesperson's Unit said.

The Gaza NSO recorded other incidents recently that did not make the news:

10/27/2013 13:30 27 OCT, 1315: Pal. ops. fired 3 mortar shells from Abasan, E of KY [Khan Younis], toward the Green Line.
10/26/2013 08:00 MU, 26 OCT: Pal. ops. attempted to fire 1 HMR from E of Jabaliya, NG. The rocket exploded prematurely. An IED exploded in the northern area.
10/24/2013 11:00 UPDATE: 24 OCT, 1100: Info received that explosion was a controlled detonation of a grad-type rocket by IF [IDF] c500m from Erez. Crossing operating normally.

Some of the victims of the murderers being released

From Times of Israel:

The Israel Prison Service published the names late Sunday night of 26 Palestinian prisoners set to be released over the next 48 hours as part of a deal to keep the US-brokered Israeli-Palestinian peace talks on course. All are convicted murderers.

Among the prisoners to go free is Damouni Saad Mohammed Ahmed, who was convicted in the 1990 lynch of IDF reservist Amnon Pomerantz in the Gaza Strip — Pomerantz’s car was set on fire while he was inside.

The killer behind the 1993 murder of South-African-born Ian Feinberg, a 30-year-old lawyer and activist working with Palestinians in Gaza, will also be set free. Masoud Issa Rajeb Amer, a member of the PFLP, was sentenced to three life sentences for the killing, which was perpetrated with a hatchet. On April 18, 1993, Feinberg participated in a meeting in the Gaza offices of a European-funded NGO involved in aid projects when terrorists burst in, ordered everyone, except Feinberg, to the floor, and proceeded to kill him.

Massalha Awwad Mohammed Yusuf and Amawi Hamed Alabad Halmi, both Hamas members who killed 22-year-old Yigal Vaknin in 1993, are also on the list. Vaknin was lured with a plea for help and stabbed to death. His body was found in a field near his home in Moshav Bazra in the Sharon region, two hours before the start on Yom Kippur that year. Yusuf was originally sentenced to two life terms for the killing.

Also included is Haga Salim Mahmud Mo’id who in May 1992 swam from Aqaba, Jordan to Eilat along with three other terrorists and shot 62-year-old Yosef Shirazi to death. Various weapons were found on Mo’id which led authorities to believe they planned a much larger attack.

JPost adds:

Samarin Mustafa Kalib Asrar and Kra'an Azat Musa Musa, the two Fatah terrorists who abducted and murdered Israeli soldier Tzvi Klein in the West Bank in 1992 are also scheduled to be released this week.

Abu-Dahila Hasan Atik Sharif, a Fatah operative who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Avi Osher, his Israeli employer at the Jordan Valley farm he owned, in 1991, is also among those to be freed this week.

Gnimat Amar Mahmad Mustafa and Gnimat Mahmoud Mahmad Ziad, two Palestinian men convicted in the murder of Meir Ben-Yair and Michal Cohen while they sat in a car in Judean foothills in 1985 are also set to be freed.

The two Palestinians convicted of killing Yoself Eliyahu and Leah Elmakayes are also among the 26 names announced by the IPS late Sunday. Yosef Mahmad Haza Haza and Beni-Hasan Abdalla Mahmud Otman were serving life sentences for the murder of Eliyahu and Elmakayes, two hikers trekking across a forest in the Gilboa Mountains.

Asor Masbach Khalil Mahmad, who was serving a 30-year jail term for the murder of Israeli taxi driver David Kaspi in 1985, will also go free this week, the IPS announced.

Abed al Raba Nimr Jabril Issa, the Palestinian man convicted of killing Revital Seri and Ron Levy while they were hiking in 1984, is also on the list of prisoners scheduled to be released this week.

Sabbag Ahmed Mahmud Mahmed was a young Fatah operative who was given a life term in prison for the torture and murder of three Palestinians suspected of collaborating with Israel in 1990. He, too, will be released this week.

YNet has the full list of murderers being released. Here are some additional victims I could identify from various lists of attacks:

Rafi Farhoud Karajeh, arrested in May 1985, had murdered Aharon Avidar, who was 28.

Hazem Kassem Shbair was one of the killers of Isaac Rotenberg, who was 67 when he was murdered with an axe. He was a Holocaust survivor. Shbair's partner in murder was released during the earlier release.

Najeh Mohamed Muqbel, together with his friend, murdered his employer. Ya'akov Shalom.

Abdel Rahman Yusef al- Haj murdered 42-year old Genia Friedman in 1992 on the street in Kfar Sava. He stabbed three others as well. Genia left behind am 11 year old daughter.

Osama Zakariya Abu Hanani and Mohamed Yusef Turkeman shot and killed Moshe Biton and injured his wife Mali near a convenience store. Ahmed Said Abdel Aziz, also being released, planned the attack.

Gaza terrorists start PR campaign for terror tunnels

A couple of days ago, Ma'an had an interesting headline: "Israeli army sends Gazans threatening voice messages."

Was the IDF warning them of an imminent bombing campaign? Did it threaten them with shutting down imports and exports?

No, not quite. The "threatening messages" were nothing of the sort:

Dozens of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip received voice messages on their telephones from the Israeli army telling them not to go near any Hamas sites.

Mohammad Yousef, a resident of Gaza, said that he received a voice message from someone who identified themselves as being a member of the Israeli armed forces, warning him not to go near any Hamas sites.

The voice message said, "Hamas is digging terrorist tunnels instead of working on development and building hospitals and schools to serve the needs of its citizens. You should avoid such acts and report them to ensure your safety."

How do the terror organizations respond? Why, by trying to get Gazans to support tunnels to kidnap Israelis!

Palestine Today has a long feature interview with the mother of one of the terrorists who were killed during the Gilad Shalit kidnapping, and she says how much she longs for more such kidnappings so that terrorists in Israeli prison will be sent home.

Hamas itself admitted that it built the tunnels for kidnapping and Ismail Haniyeh said in his speech Saturday that such operations to free prisoners were a top priority for Hamas.

These competing messages provide an interesting contrast. Israel is assuming that Gazans are normal people who want to live their lives in dignity. Hamas and Islamic Jihad assume that Gazans are bloodthirsty terror supporters. Each is acting accordingly.

Which group is racist in their opinions of Gazans?

Of course, you don't have to be Gazan to automatically support Hamas building tunnels....

Fatah poster shows diplomacy is a tactic, just like terror. When will the West wake up?

Palestinian Media Watch has been monitoring Fatah's official Facebook page, and it seems that every day Mahmoud Abbas' party shows its support for terrorism.

This graphic they posted is pretty clear:

Under the headline "Fatah - All means of struggle until statehood" the administrator of the Fatah Facebook page posted three pictures showing different "means of struggle." One picture represents diplomacy as a "means of struggle," exemplified by a picture of PA Chairman Abbas speaking at the UN. The other two pictures represent the use of different kinds of violence as a "means of struggle." One shows a man wearing an Arab headscarf throwing a stone, while the other shows a man holding a rifle.

(no link, I received this via email and it does not seem to be posted yet.)

There is no abhorrence for violence - it is a necessary tool. The Western world can be duped by seeing the Fatah-dominated PLO talk to them only about peace and diplomacy while in Arabic there has been no change of heart regarding terror.

It isn't like we didn't know that they regard diplomacy is a tactic, not a strategy. Fatah has said it many times, and it is part of its official platform - a document that has been utterly ignored by the Western world. (I'm not aware of anyone who translated it into English besides my excepts.)

In that same platform, Fatah calls for relationships with Israel's "peace camp" but emphasizes that this is in no way "normalization" with the enemy. It's just another tactic - weaken Israel with words that fools gullible US, UN and EU officials all the while celebrating terror.

Hell, even Arafat swore that he gave up terror in 1993, and then he directed the suicide bombing spree of the 2000s.

These are basic facts that can be checked by anyone. It is the willful blindness of diplomats, pundits and the media, combined with the willful lies spouted by the Israel-haters, that tells the world a story that is much different from the truth.

Stunning photos of the Hamas terror tunnel, plus video

From Buzzfeed:

Hamas military spokesman in Gaza, Abu Obeida, said on his official Twitter account that “thousands” more tunnels would be dug out.

Ventilation shaft

The IDF estimated over 500 tons of concrete were used to build this.

Israel has now suspended shipping construction materials to Gaza.

You can be sure that "human rights" organizations will be condemning that ban on concrete far more than the Hamas attempt to kidnap Israelis.

Here's video:

(h/t Yoel)

Gaza terror tunnel discovered near Israeli communities

From JPost:

The IDF recently uncovered a Palestinian terrorist tunnel leading from the Gaza Strip to Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, they announced on Sunday.

The tunnel was dug in order to either kidnap civilians and soldiers, or to infiltrate the community and carry out an atrocity in it, the army believes.

The tunnel was over 120 meters in length and represents a grave attempt by Palestinian terrorists to perpetrate an attack, army sources added.

The entrance of the tunnel on the Israeli side was reportedly dug near a kindergarten.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu praised the IDF for unearthing the tunnel, his spokesman said.

YNet adds:

According to defense establishment estimates, the tunnel was set up in order to execute a large-scale attack on one of the nearby villages. The starting point is located in a village between Gaza Strip's Khan Younis and the border fence. Several spaces were located within the tunnel, which were designed to store and detonate explosives in large quantities. The tunnel also contained tracks with carts and lighting tools. In addition, the tunnel contained advanced technical means to allow its functioning and prevent its collapse.

Here is a satellite map of the area.

Israel recently started allowing iron and concrete to be imported into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossings, after years of NGOs and governments complaining that it is a human rights violation to not allow these sorts of dual-use materials into the Hamas-controlled sector. Up until a few weeks ago, Israel only allowed such materials if they were earmarked for specific projects for known organizations like UN agencies.

From September 29 to October 5, Israel allowed 153 trucks of cement and 77 trucks of iron to enter Gaza.

Reportedly, the tunnel was built with Israeli cement.

You can be certain that none of these organizations or governments will now agree that Israel should be concerned that the material it is allowing is being used for construction of terror tunnels.

These groups and governments who claim to be acting on the basis of the human rights of Gazans rarely extend their concern to the human rights of Israeli kindergartners not to be kidnapped and held hostage.

Apparent terror attack in Jordan Valley; Israeli man killed (update)

Ha'aretz has the story:

An Israeli civilian was killed in an apparent terror attack outside his place of residence in the Jordan Valley on Thursday night. A woman who was with him was moderately wounded, but managed to escape and contact police.

The woman said she was asleep with her husband when they heard strange noises originating from outside their house. When they went out to investigate, they were attacked by Palestinians wielding iron rods and axes.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene. IDF forces are sweeping the area.

The woman was evacuated to Haemek Medical Center in Afula.

Horrific.

UPDATE: Details came out:

Retired IDF Colonel Seraya Ofer, 61, was murdered in a suspected terror attack outside his home in the northern Jordan Valley early Friday. The man's wife, Monique Omer, told security forces her husband was bludgeoned to death by two Palestinians wielding iron bars and axes.

IDF forces detained five Palestinian suspects while combing the area.

Omer said that at around 1 am she and her husband heard suspicious noises outside their home in the northern Jordan Valley community of Brosh Habika. The man was attacked by the Palestinians as he stepped outside to investigate, she said.

The wife, who witnessed the scene from the widow and fled the house, apparently phoned an acquaintance, who contacted the police while the woman was crawling through the bushes. During her escape the woman tripped and sustained cuts from a barbed wire fence.

Monique made it to a nearby road and stopped a passing car for help. She was evacuated to the Emek Medical Center in light to moderate condition at around 3 am.

She reportedly told paramedics, "Don't worry about me; go to him (her husband), save him."

In the hospital Monique said her husband "was a military man for a long time; an amazing man, amazing father, amazing grandfather and amazing husband. There is no one who did not love him or connect with him. How they managed to do this to him, I do not know. They surprised him. I don't know."

It's also the 40th anniversary of Austria capitulating to Arab terrorists over Schoenau

It isn't only the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.

The Schönau Castle, in Austria, used by the Austrian government as a transit camp for Russian Jews who had been permitted to leave Russia prior to emigrating to the West or to Israel.

In the words of Yehuda Avner:

[On September 28, 1973,] a train carrying Jews from communist Russia en route to Israel via Vienna was hijacked by two Arab terrorists at a railway crossing on the Austrian frontier. Seven Jews were taken hostage, among them a 73-year-old man, an ailing woman and a three-year-old child. The terrorists issued an ultimatum that unless the Austrian government instantly closed down Schoenau, the Jewish Agency's layover near Vienna where the emigres were processed before being flown on to Israel, not only would the hostages be killed, but Austria itself would become the target of violent retaliation. The Austrian cabinet hastily met and, led by chancellor Bruno Kreisky, capitulated. Kreisky announced that Schoenau would be closed forthwith, and the terrorists were hustled to the airport for safe passage to Libya. The entire Arab world could hardly contain its glee...

Some analysts believe that Israel's leaders were so preoccupied with the events in Austria that they were not focused on what was happening in Egypt and Syria.

Meir went to Europe in late September:

[Speaking to the Council of Europe] she said, "Since the Arab terrorists have failed in their ghastly efforts to wreak havoc in Israel, they have of late taken their atrocities against Israeli and Jewish targets into Europe, aided and abetted by Arab governments." This remark caused a fidgety buzz to drone around the packed chamber, and it seemed to deepen when she spoke bitterly about the 11 Israeli athletes kidnapped and murdered at the Munich Olympics the summer before, an outrage compounded by the German government's subsequent release of the surviving killers in return for the freeing of a hijacked Lufthansa plane and its passengers.

"Oh yes, I fully understand your feelings," said Golda cynically, arms folded as tight as a drawbridge. "I fully understand the feelings of a European prime minister saying, 'For God's sake, leave us out of this! Fight your own wars on your own turf. What do your enmities have to do with us? Leave us be!' And I can even understand" - this in a voice that had gone grimmer than ever - "why some governments might even decide that the only way to rid themselves of this insidious threat is to declare their countries out of bounds, if not to Jews generally then certainly to Israeli Jews, or Jews en route to Israel. It seems to me this is the moral choice which every European government has to make these days."

And then, chopping the air with balled fists, her face as granite as her eyes, she thundered, "European governments have no alternative but to decide what they are going to do. To every one which upholds the rule of law I suggest there is but only one answer - no deals with terrorists, no truck with terrorism. Any government which strikes a deal with these killers does so at its own peril. What happened in Vienna is that a democratic government, a European government, came to an agreement with terrorists. In so doing it has brought shame upon itself. In so doing it has breached a basic principle of the rule of law, the basic principle of the freedom of the movement of peoples - or should I just say the basic freedom of the movement of Jews fleeing Russia? Oh, what a victory for terrorism this is!"

THE ENSUING applause told Golda Meir that she had gotten her message across to a goodly portion of the European Council, so off she flew to Vienna. Ushered into the presence of the impeccably dressed, bespectacled, heavy-set man in his mid-60s whom she knew to be the son of a Viennese Jewish clothing manufacturer, she extended her hand, which he shook while rising with the merest sketch of a bow, but not budging from behind the solid protection of his desk.

"Please take a seat, Prime Minister Meir," he said formally. "Thank you Chancellor Kreisky," said Golda, settling into the chair opposite him, and placing her copious black leather handbag on the floor.

"I presume you know why I am here."

"I believe I do," answered Kreisky, whose body language bore all the signs of one who was not relishing this appointment.

"You and I have known each other for a long time," said Golda softly.

"We have," said the chancellor.

"And I know that, as a Jew, you have never displayed any interest in the Jewish state. Is that not correct?"

"That is correct. I have never made any secret of my belief that Zionism is not the solution to whatever problems the Jewish people might face."

"Which is all the more reason why we are grateful to your government for all that it has done to enable thousands of Jews to transit through Austria from the Soviet Union via Schoenau to Israel," said Golda diplomatically.

"But the Schoenau transit camp has been a problem to us for some time," said Kreisky stonily.

"What sort of a problem?"

"For a start, it has always been an obvious terrorist target..."

Golda cut him off, and with a strong suggestion of reproach, said, "Mr. Kreisky, if you close down Schoenau, it will never end. Wherever Jews assemble in Europe for transit to Israel, they will be held to ransom by the terrorists."

"But why should Austria have to carry this burden alone?" countered Kreisky with bite. ....

THE CHANCELLOR settled his elbows on the desk, steepled his fingers, looked the woman directly in the eye, and said sanctimoniously, "Mrs. Meir, it is Austria's humanitarian duty to aid refugees from whatever country they come, but not when it puts Austria at risk. I shall never be responsible for any bloodshed on the soil of Austria."

"And is it also not a humanitarian duty not to succumb to terrorist blackmail, Herr Chancellor?"

Her words, sudden and raw and angry, were a declaration of war. What had begun as conflicting views between opponents was now a nasty cut-and-thrust duel between antagonists.

Kreisky shot back: "Austria is a small country, and unlike major powers, small countries have few options in dealing with the blackmail of terrorists."

"I disagree," seethed Golda. "There can be no deals with terrorism whatever the circumstances. What you have done is certain to encourage more hostage taking. You have betrayed the Jewish emigres."

The man's brows drew together in an affronted frown. "I cannot accept such language, Mrs. Meir. I cannot..."

"You have opened the door to terrorism, Herr Chancellor," the prime minister spat undeterred. "You have brought renewed shame on Austria. I've just come from the Council of Europe. They condemn your act almost to a man. Only the Arab world proclaims you their hero."

"Well, there is nothing I can do about that," said the Austrian in an expressionless voice, looking uncomfortably still. And then, with a hint of a shrug, "You and I belong to two different worlds."

"Indeed we do, Herr Kreisky," said Golda Meir in a voice cracked with sardonic Jewish weariness. "You and I belong to two very, very different worlds." And she rose, picked up her handbag, and made for the door.

As she did so an aide to the chancellor entered to say the press was gathered in an adjacent room awaiting a joint press conference. Golda shook her head. She asked herself, what was the point? Nothing she could say to the media could make any difference. Kreisky wanted to keep in the good books of the Arabs - it was as simple as that. So, she turned and hissed in Hebrew to her aides, "I have no intention of sharing a platform with that man. He can tell them what he wants. I'm going to the airport."

To him she said contemptuously, "I shall forgo the pleasure of a press conference. I have nothing to say to them. I'm going home," and she exited through a back stairway.

FIVE HOURS later she told the waiting Israeli press at Ben-Gurion Airport, "I think the best way of summing up in a nutshell the nature of my meeting with Chancellor Kreisky is to say this: He didn't even offer me a glass of water."

Golda Meir's visit with Kreisky was on October 2, only four days before the Yom Kippur War.

In December 1973, the Schönau Castle Jewish center was closed but the international outcry forced Austria to replace it with the Wöllersdorf National Association of the Red Cross of Lower Austria for refugees.

French diplomats call terrorist Leila Khaled "an extraordinary woman"

Last summer, the French Consulate in Jerusalem held an event to mark the publication of a book.

On the occasion of the recent publication of the book Leila Khaled, an icon of Palestinian liberation, the author Sarah Irving and researcher Diana Butto, we will draw a portrait of this extraordinary woman.

Khaled is of course a notorious PFLP terrorist, involved in two airplane hijackings and hijack attempts. Now, apparently, the French consider her a heroine.

More details at JSSNews (French).

75 years ago: 19 Jews, including 10 children, murdered in Tiberias

There was a terror attack yesterday in Psagot, where a nine year old girl was stabbed by an infiltator - and it looks like her scream might have saved her entire family.

But slaughtering entire families is not that unusual for Arabs.

From AP, October 3, 1938:

Here are details on the victims from the Palestine Post:

This is what an Arab-majority single state solution would look like. (Except in the case the Arab police would probably join in.)

Another victim of the "playground of death"

I had missed this over the holiday, from the Hamas Al Qassam Brigades website:

Military Communiqué

Al Qassam Brigades mourns the death of Abed Al Kareem Fayyad

As Al Aqsa Intifada against the occupation assault on the Gaza Strip continues, Ezzeddeen Al-Qassam Brigades has its best men to be in the playground of death to defend their people from any attack by the enemy ... Today, Al-Qassam Brigades mourn the death of the mujahed:

Abed Al Kareem Asaad Fayyad (21 years old)

Khanyounis city– Gaza Strip

The mujahid passed away after he was shot accidentally. He was martyred after a long bright path of jihad, hard work, struggle and sacrifice.

Al Qassam Brigades mourn the death of the mujahed, reaffirms the commitment and determination to continue the resistance against the belligerent occupation forces.

May Allah (SWT) accept the mujahed & his blessed efforts for the path of Jihad and may Allah grant his family patience and solace for his lose.

"To God we belong and to him we shall return."

Too bad. Hamas had just changed the sign on their Playground of Death to counting the days since the last work accident:

(h/t PTWatch)

Five rockets shot towards Israel last weekend

Gaza's NGO Safety Office writes:

09/28/2013 08:00 28 SEP: Over the past 2 days, Pal. operatives fired 5 HMRs ["homemeade rockets"] from Beit Hanoun, NG, toward the Green Line. 3 rockets exploded prematurely.

The terror groups are still trying to strike at Israel. Just because you don't hear about it doesn't mean it isn't.

This is besides the three projectiles the week before.

Al Shaabab planned attack on London's Jewish community

From The Toronto Star last week:

A cache of intelligence detailing the training of Al Qaeda’s East Africa group that was obtained exclusively by the Toronto Star may help explain how a small group of terrorists carried out the deadly siege that took Kenyan authorities four days to stop.

“Each martyrdom seeker will be trained in Somalia preferably for two months and he will only know his mission,” says one document discovered on a flash drive beside the slain body of the former African leader, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed.

“The brothers will be pushed through many battles to see how they react under pressure and they will be analyzed to see if they can keep their composure. They will be tested mentally to see if they are smart enough to carry out these operations.”

The documents may be dated — “Fazul,” as he was most commonly known among intelligence officials, was shot dead by Somali forces in 2011 — but looking at the former Al Qaeda leader’s meticulous planning in the wake of the Westgate mall attack in Nairobi reveals chilling clues.

The Star obtained the Fazul documents last year. Described by some counterterrorism officials as a “treasure trove of intelligence,” the material was recovered on flash drives and inside the bullet-ridden Toyota Hilux that Fazul’s driver tried to ram through a government checkpoint near Mogadishu.

While there were dozens of documents, Internet frame grabs and media reports in English, Arabic, Somali and Swahili, along with more than 50 video clips, which appear to be shot from the back of a car, two documents provide the most insight.

Training instructions are part of a planning paper titled “International Operations,” where the targets identified are in the U.K. “Our objectives are to strike London with low-cost operations that would cause a heavy blow amongst the hierarchy and Jewish communities using attacks similar to the tactics used by our brothers in Mumbai,” it says, referring to the 2008 Indian attack that lasted for three days.

Some of the targets in the Fazul document include London’s prestigious hotels and Britain’s Stamford Hill and Golders Green neighbourhoods, populated “with tens of thousands of Jews crammed in a small area.” The prestigious Eton School, attended by many members of Britain’s royal elite, is also listed.

“These attacks must be backed with carefully planned media campaign to show why we chose our targets to refute the hypocrites, clear doubts amongst Muslims and also inspire Muslim youth to copy.”

But don't call them antisemitic. They hate that.

(h/t Geoffrey)

2 rockets, one mortar fired towards Israel yesterday

TOI notes:

A mortar shell from the Gaza Strip landed in an open area near Israel’s border with Gaza on Sunday evening. No injuries or damage were reported.

Aside for a Kassam rocket that landed near Ashkelon last Wednesday, the border with Hamas-controlled Gaza has been relatively quiet in recent months.

However, what the Israeli media didn't notice was that there were also two Qassam rocket launches yesterday - both of those rockets fell short in Gaza.

Gaza-NSO reports:

09/23/2013 08:30 23 SEP, 0800: Pal. ops. fired 1 HMR from N-E of Al Moghraqa area, MA, toward the Green Line; the rocket dropped short. No injuries were reported.

09/23/2013 08:10 MU, 23 SEP: Overnight, 1 Mortar fired from Beit Hanoun, NG, toward the Green Line. 1 HMR fired from E of Rafah toward the Green Line; the rocket dropped short. No injuries were reported.

[HMR="Home-made rocket." MA=Middle Area. NG=North Gaza. Ops="Operatives."]

It looks like Palestinian Arab terrorists are getting restless. The number of articles complaining about Jews visiting the Temple Mount is still increasing (Islamic Jihad is calling another rally tomorrow to protest it) but it seems more likely that these attacks, including the two fatal attacks on Israeli soldiers, are linked more to the "peace talks" and to Islamist groups, losing popularity because of Egypt, and trying to redirect anger into the usual, reliable Zionist enemy. (Avi Issacharoff predicted Hamas stirring things up in Gaza to help get out from under the Egyptian shadow.)

A bullet that landed a little too close to home

The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Judaism's second holiest site, is divided into two sections. The much
larger section is generally accessible to Muslims, while a smaller part is accessible to Jews.

The Jewish section includes the cenotaphs of Abraham, Sarah, Jacob and Leah, while the Muslim side has those of Isaac and Rebecca.

On ten days a year, Jews have exclusive access to the entire building. On ten other days of the year, Muslims have full access, and Jews are barred. The Muslims, on their exclusive days, have routinely desecrated Jewish religious objects and books.

Today was one of the rare days that Jews could visit the room dedicated to Isaac and Rebecca. Thousands of Jews came to visit the holy site.

My son, Junior Elder, was one of them.

Shortly after my son left Hebron, an Arab sniper killed an Israeli soldier - who was there to defend the visitors at the holy site.

A Palestinian sniper shot dead a soldier stationed the Tut Atarek Junction, across from the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Sunday.

The soldier was named as Gavriel Kobi, 20, from Tirat Carmel. He was promoted to St.-Sgt. Maj. upon his death.

The gunman fired at Kobi and another Givati Brigade infantryman positioned to defend the Jewish community, as part of the army’s holiday preparations. The soldiers were positioned near the pharmacy intersection and Beit Hamachpela, defending the road used by Jewish residents of the quarter in Hebron.

“From what we see, the shooting occurred over a long distance,” a senior IDF source said. “At this stage, we have no clear direction as to the identity of the shooter.”

The murderer was upset that Jews have access to their own holy site. His gunshot was meant to deny Jews that right. No doubt, he would not have cared if he shot a child, a woman, or my son.

Freedom of religion is a human right. The murderer, and indeed most Muslims in the Middle East, insist daily that Jews do not have the right to worship in their holiest places - the Temple Mount, the Cave of the Patriarchs, Rachel's Tomb, Joseph's Tomb. Each of these holy sites, all of which predate Islam, have been usurped by Islam and converted into mosques, an effective desecration of sacred Jewish sites.

Even so, the Jewish state bends over backwards to allow Muslims to gather and worship at these places that they have effectively stolen from Jews.

But in the Arabic media, there is daily incitement to riot and violently oppose the Jewish right to worship in these sites.

This is an issue of human rights. Freedom of religion is accepted by the UN, the EU and indeed the entire Western world. But the same people who pretend to energetically defend human rights, like Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, are mute about the daily incitement to deny Jews those very rights. In fact, they effectively support the Muslim desecration and usurpation of Jewish holy sites by saying that the land underneath every single site is "illegally occupied" and should be, effectively, Judenrein.

HRW and Amnesty want to deny my son, and thousands of other Jews, the right to worship at and respectfully visit their holy sites.

They effectively support the same goal as the murderer of Gavriel Kovi.

In the end, they don't care about human rights. They care about politically correct human rights.

Their silence in the face of daily incitement against Jewish religious rights speaks volumes.