Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Saturday, February 05, 2011

Gas pipeline attacked in Egypt (updated)

An Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline targeted by an explosion early Saturday in the Sinai supplied Jordan with gas, according to Egyptian officials who said the line was connected to others used by Israel.

The Israeli-Egyptian gas company, East Mediterranean Gas, said attackers blew up a measuring station at the Jordanian sub-line.

The attackers used explosives against the pipeline in the town of Lihfen in northern Sinai, near the Gaza Strip, a security official said. Some media initially said the pipeline to Israel was attacked.

The pipeline which exploded originates in Port Said before it splits off in two directions, one toward Israel and the other to Jordan through the Sinai, Ma'an's El-Arish correspondent reported from the scene.

"The pipeline to Jordan has been attacked and the supply to Israel has been cut off," an official said.

Security sources said foreign saboteurs were suspected and Bedouin forces were on heightened alert.

Egyptian forces shut down the gas supply from the main source immediately after the explosion. The army has taken precautionary measures to stop the fire from spreading, an official said.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible, or whether the attack was linked to the deadly protests against President Hosni Mubarak's rule, which entered their 12th day Saturday.

Egyptians have been vocally opposed Egypt's selling natural gas to Israel, and it seems likely that the saboteurs were trying to blow up the Israel pipeline and made a mistake.

UPDATE: Jordan says that the bombing is going to cost the kingdom some 3 million dinars a day.

Huge sale at The Elder store February 5th

This coming Saturday, February 5th, you can get an amazing 45% discount on all the items in the Elder of Ziyon Printfection store.

T-shirts, sweatshirts, mouse pads, mugs, cutting boards and more are on sale.

Use coupon code FEBLUV11.

Incredible find: Byzantine church that may cover Zechariah's tomb

From AFP:

Israeli archaeologists unveiled on Wednesday the remnants of a newly discovered Byzantine-era church they suspect is concealing the tomb of the biblical prophet Zechariah.

The church, with intricate and well-preserved mosaic floors, was discovered on the slopes of the Judaean hills at Horbat Midras, the site of a Jewish community in Roman times, southwest of Jerusalem.

Underneath is a second layer of mosaics dating from the Roman period, with a cave complex still further below which archaeologists think could be Zechariah's tomb.

"Researchers believe that in light of an analysis of the Christian sources ... the church at Horbet Madras is a memorial church designed to mark the tomb of the prophet Zechariah," the Israel Antiquities Authority said.

A statement noted, however, that more work is needed to confirm the hypothesis.

Al Arabiya adds:

Beneath the church's altar is a burial chamber that the Antiquities Authority said may have been the tomb of the prophet Zechariah, known from the eponymous book in the Bible, written around 520 BC.

The claim, which a number of experts have based on Christian sources and an ancient diagram known as the Madaba Map, has not been proved and is still being studied, they said.

Like many ancient structures, it was built on even older foundations dating back to the Roman Empire and the period of the second Jewish Temple. It includes a subterranean complex of caves and tunnels used by Jewish rebels fighting the Romans in the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132 AD.

The AP photos are amazing (click to enlarge):

The Madaba Map is the earliest known map of the Holy Land. Its map of Jerusalem is famous:

Archeologists recently found the main road shown on that map going through the center of the city.

But the Jerusalem map at is actually a detail of the much larger map:

This larger map covers places as far as Ashkelon.

Qaddafi's plan for Egypt, 1973

What a prophet - he called for a democratic revolution in Egypt!

The word "democracy" is cheap. The implementation is hard.

Israeli bomb-sniffing mice?

From New Scientist:

ONE day, there may be more than X-ray machines and full-body scanners awaiting you at the airport. Listen out for the snuffling of sniffer mice as you pass through security.

The critters will not be angling for a snack, though. They are part of a bomb-detecting unit created by Israeli start-up company BioExplorers, based in Herzeliya, which claims that trained mice can be better than full-body scanners and intrusive pat-downs at telling a bona fide passenger from a terrorist carrying explosives.

Eran Lumbroso conceived the mouse-based explosives detector while serving as a major in the Israeli navy. Along with his brother, Alon, he founded the company and built a device that looks much like an average airport metal detector or full-body scanner.

Along one side of an archway, a detection unit contains three concealed cartridges, each of which houses eight mice. During their 4-hour shifts in the detector, the mice mill about in a common area in each cartridge as air is passed over people paused in the archway and through the cartridge. When the mice sniff traces of any of eight key explosives in the air, they are conditioned to avoid the scent and flee to a side chamber, triggering an alarm. To avoid false positives, more than one mouse must enter the room at the same time.

"It's as if they're smelling a cat and escaping," Eran says. "We detect the escape." Unlike dogs, which are often trained for explosives and drugs detection, mice don't require constant interaction with their trainers or treats to keep them motivated. As a result, they can live in comfortable cages with unlimited access to food and water. Each mouse would work two 4-hour shifts a day, and would have a working life of 18 months.

What's more, mice beat dogs for olfactory talent, and by much more than a nose: dogs have 756 olfactory receptor genes, while mice have 1120, resulting in a more acute sense of smell.

The company ran its first field test in December last year at Azrieli Center, a large shopping mall in Tel Aviv. More than 1000 people passed through the detector, 22 of whom were asked to hide mock explosives in pockets or under shirts. All 22 packages were detected, the Lumbrosos claim, adding that the false-alarm rate was less than 0.1 per cent.

Their web page is here...and it is awful.

I don't know how scalable this solution is, but it is interesting.

Palestine Papers: PA says "refugees" must be resettled in Arab states

I found where Al Jazeera put all of the "Palestine Papers" and, in response to the Guardian's absurd assertion that they have already published everything that is newsworthy, here is exhibit A showing otherwise:

On July 2, 2008, the PA produced a "talking points" memo about how the so-called "refugee" problem would ultimately be solved. Presumably this was meant to be used in negotiations with the US and Israel. But by its nature, it is not an off-the-cuff comment of negotiators floating trial balloons to the other side, but an official (if unpublished) position of the PA.

First of all, the PA makes it very clear that they do not want to be the place that some 7 million "refugees" will move to live:

The viability of the future Palestinian State is closely linked to the evolution of the Palestinian population that will live within the future State’s borders. In this regard, the terms of a settlement of the Palestinian refugee issue and the number of Palestinian refugees who will be offered to resettle or return to the future State of Palestine is a core parameter required to assess the viability of that State.

The resettlement/return of refugee communities touches numerous issues such as housing availabilities, access to water, education and social services, employment opportunities, infrastructure, environment etc. The ability of the Palestinian State to meet refugee needs and ensure an efficient functioning of these services will ultimately determine its viability.

Unlike Israel in 1948, which opened its doors to Jews all over the world even though it was severely restricted in resources and cash, the PA is not going to start an open-door policy. In other words, they don't seem to care nearly as much about their fellow "Palestinians" living in stateless misery as Israel does about Jews.

While the PA will still insist on the theoretical "right to return," it recognizes realistically that other Arab states are going to have to offer citizenship:

The Palestinian/Arab peace proposal regarding Palestinian refugees is to find a “just solution to the Palestinian refugee problem to be agreed upon in accordance with UNGA resolution 194”. The goal is to reach a multilateral solution that will be accepted by all parties. For the resolution to be a success, Israel, host States (Jordan, Syria, Lebanon) and third countries will have to offer attractive options to refugees. Therefore, the viability of the Palestinian State also greatly relies on the ability of these stakeholders and the international community to provide with concrete relocation options to Palestinian refugees.

All of this is obvious, but the PA is publicly silent on the issue. Instead of laying the framework to get these Arab countries to gear up for their ultimate naturalization of their Palestinian Arab population, the PA's public position has been the opposite of what this paper states.

In fact, only a few months earlier, Mahmoud Abbas told The Daily Star of Lebanon:

"We would not accept any settlements that would lead to a demographic change in Lebanon. This is totally unacceptable ... We won't accept a settlement that obliges Lebanon to naturalize even one Palestinian."

It is impossible to believe that Mahmoud Abbas was not aware of the contents of this talking points memo. Which means that either he was lying to the Lebanese, or he was lying to the Americans.

Either way, it shows that he is a liar.

Egyptian conspiracy theories involving Israel spread

From Al Masry al-Youm:

On Wednesday night, the Egyptian satellite TV station al-Mehwar broadcast a live interview with Shaimaa, a former journalist, who claimed to be trained by Jews in the US to destabilize the political regime in Egypt. Shaimaa said on air that many of the anti-Mubarak protesters at Tahrir Square have received similar training and have been applying it over the past week through organized demonstrations.

Rumors about Israel being the mastermind behind the Egyptian uprising spread on al-Qasr al-Aini Street. This morning, a pharmacist on the street claimed to have seen Egyptian troops arresting two Israelis at Tahrir demonstrations.

Close to al-Qasr al-Aini Hospital, a juice seller refused to sell water bottles to two Al-Masry Al-Youm reporters, who wanted to deliver them with medical supplies to the injured at Tahrir Square. “Israelis are killing our children and destroying our lives. I will take no part in supporting them,” he exclaimed.

Nevertheless, it remains unclear how many Egyptians truly believe that Israel constitutes the mastermind behind recent events.

Sherif Younis, a historian, attributes the dissemination of the rumors to a group of National Security Services members, secret police, NDP members, businessmen and media agencies—both government-owned and self-claimed independents--whose interests are tied to the existing political regime.

...

The media has been spreading a culture of fear among the Egyptian public, highlighting events of vandalism, looting and violence due to the absence of security forces. “Protect Egypt” has become a recurring slogan across various TV stations.

Last week, the Muslim Brotherhood was accused of organizing the protests. When this narrative failed to gain popular support, the recurring scenario of Israel emerged, said Younis.

For decades, Israel has been blamed as the root cause of all evil in Egypt. Despite the 1979 peace accords, the public continues to perceive it as a “symbol of evil or even Satan,” explained Younis. Egyptian media has been nurturing this narrative for years, with Egyptian cinema and TV showing Israelis as villains in various scenarios regardless of the genre of the movie.

Conspiracy theories are commonly accepted in Egypt, Younis said. Accusations of conspiring with Israel are common among opposition parties as well as the regime, he adds. The allegation was even used during sectarian strife earlier this year.

...

“Israeli-phobia” has become a characteristic of Egyptian national identity, which the state has been building over the past decades, said Younis.

Peaceful relations with Israel remain unacceptable to the majority of the Egyptian public, something acknowledged by the Israeli government in wikileaks documents released last year to the Jerusalem Post. Despite Israel’s unpopularity in Egypt, however, the Mubarak’s regime has remained one of its main supporters.

(h/t Clark)

A selection of today's analysis about Egypt

David Rieff at TNR on how US aid to Egypt, supposed to promote democracy, utterly failed.

Shmuel Rosner in Slate on Israel's fears. I don't agree with all of it ("Israel can be a spoiled brat") but he makes some thoughtful points.

Charles Krauthammer is great, as usual.

Reports are now surfacing of a massacre of two Coptic Christian families in Egypt last Sunday. No doubt by pro-democracy Muslim Brotherhood activists.

Benny Morris on why we should not be complacent about the Muslim Brotherhood.

Barry Rubin uncovers how the Muslim Brotherhood is likely to destroy the peace agreement with Israel.

So will Israel be able to take back the Sinai? Somehow, while other countries can always rip up their agreements, Israeli concessions are one-way.

"Apartheid" irony

From TheJC:

University security officers were called to protect the most senior Muslim in the Israeli Foreign Ministry when pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted his appearance at a British campus.

Diplomat Ismail Khaldi, a Galilee Bedouin, had just started to speak at Edinburgh University on Wednesday evening when demonstrators began chanting and surrounded him.

The university’s International Relations Society had earlier pulled out of the event, saying the invitation to Mr Khaldi was “unjust to the Palestinian people who live under an apartheid regime”.

A security team encircled Mr Khaldi as the gang chanted “shame on you” and accused Israel of ethnic cleansing.

The lecture was held up for around an hour before the speaker abandoned the event.

Yes - an Israeli Arab/Muslim who has a senior position in an Israeli government ministry - whose very existence is proof that there is no "apartheid" in Israel - is stopped from speaking by people who are screaming "apartheid!"

I forget - which side of this incident demonstrated liberal values? It is so confusing nowadays to keep it straight.

Hezbollah terrorists escape Egyptian jail

Last year:

An Egyptian court has convicted 26 men of planning terrorist attacks on ships and tourist sites.

The 22 men given prison sentences - some with hard labour - were accused of working for the Lebanese Islamist group Hezbollah.

Sami Shihab, a Lebanese citizen who Hezbollah had confirmed was a member, was given a life sentence.

The sentences were issued by the State Security Court in Cairo and cannot be appealed, reports say.

Another four men, who are still on the run, were convicted in absentia.

Now:

The Hezbollah militant group confirmed Thursday that members of its cell jailed in Egypt on terrorism charges escaped their jails during the ongoing civil unrest and are now safe at a hideout.

Mahmoud Komati, a senior member of the Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah, reported that Sami Shihab , the leader of the Hezbollah cell in Egypt, ‘was out of jail and safe.’

This follows the Wednesday report by by Al Rai newspaper that the 22 Hezbollah detainees that were convicted of plotting attacks against ships in the Suez Canal and Egyptian tourist sites, among other charges, were able to escape from their jail in Egypt.

Another dividend of Egyptian "freedom."

Egypt detains human rights activists; Wikileaks explains

From Amnesty USA (h/t Zach N via Facebook)

Two Amnesty International representatives have been detained by police in Cairo after the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre was taken over by military police this morning.

Amnesty International USA called on President Obama to immediately demand the release of the Amnesty International staff members. In addition, we have asked for a meeting in Washington with the Egyptian ambassador to the United States.

The Amnesty International representatives were taken, along with Ahmed Seif Al Islam Khaled Ali, a delegate from Human Rights Watch, and others, to an unknown location in Cairo. Amnesty International does not know their current whereabouts.

There happened to be a couple of Wikileaks cables released today that talks about how Egypt treats NGOs.

From December 2007, about a meeting of HRW's Joe Stork with Egypt's state security service SSIS:

Stork told us that Abdel Rahman opened the ninety minute meeting by asking that the discussion be "informal" and "off the record." Substantively, Stork characterized Abdel Rahman's position as "we (SSIS) don't do bad things." Abdel Rahman said that he commands over 40,000 police officers and told Stork he could count on one hand the number who had committed abuses. Abdel Rahman objected to Stork's use of the word torture, saying it implied something "systemic" and said Egypt's security services were "badly maligned." Stork asked about the monitoring and harassment of NGOs, which Abdel Rahman said was necessary because such organizations are run by "anarchists" and people with prior arrests who need "monitoring."

And from May 2009:

The quasi-governmental organization, the National Council for Human Rights (NCHR), released its 2008 human rights report on May 6, criticizing the GOE for specific violations and offering 25 recommendations.

The report criticizes the GOE for human rights violations such as restricting NGOs, continuing the emergency law and reacting violently to the April 2008 Mahalla strike. It also expresses concern over tensions between Christians and Muslims.

The most prominent of the 25 recommendations focus on ending the emergency law, combating torture, abolishing prison sentences as penalties for journalists, and easing restrictions on NGOs and political parties.

...Under the existing NGO law, the GOE is able to shut down NGOs, limit their activities and refuse to register them, and often utilizes these prerogatives.