Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, February 17, 2013

"Suicide bombing the most lofty form of Jihad"

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Ja’far Abd Al-Salam, secretary-general of the Islamic Universities Association, which aired on Al-Aqsa TV on January 21, 2013.

Ja’far Abd Al-Salam: The spirit of resistance is nurtured by the ideology of Islam. “Allah purchased from the believers their lives and their property, in return for Paradise.” For a Muslim, life is worthless unless it is given away and spent for the sake of Allah. This culture is nurtured by Islam and by patriotism.

[…]

Only great pain makes a great man. The great pain of martyrdom leads to the great reward of Paradise. Brother, this culture does not exist in the West, because Westerners value human life very much.

Interviewer: They focus on the material at the expense of the spiritual.

Ja’far Abd Al-Salam: Maybe you have noticed that the thing that frightens the Jews, or Zionists, most of all is being killed. We do not have this kind of fear.

[…]

It is certain that Islam views [suicide operations] as sacrifice and as the most lofty form of Jihad.

Sunday Links Part 2

From Ian:

Syrian refugees receive ongoing treatment in Israeli hospital for first time
They asked for our help and we gave it, says top Defense Ministry official of seven wounded Syrian nationals evacuated by IDF troops to Ziv Hospital in Safed

It was still not clear Sunday whether the wounded Syrian nationals were rebels fighting Assad’s forces or civilians desperate to escape a civil war which has cost the lives of tens of thousands of insurgents and troops. It was clear, however, that they had been injured in the fighting.
Hospital director Oscar Embon said one of the Syrians arrived at the hospital in critical condition, but was now in serious condition. The other six were said to be in moderate condition after undergoing surgery.

GOP Sen. Rubio Visits Israel, Eyes 2016 Presidential Run
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is visiting Israel and Jordan, in a trip that could bolster a possible 2016 presidential run.

Rubio plans to visit Israel and Jordan and will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Jordan's King Abdullah II.
“America's friendship with Israel is a truly special one, and we must continue to do all we can to support this beacon of democracy, religious freedom and free enterprise in the heart of an unstable region,” Rubio said in a statement announcing his trip.

Jewish groups call for further review of Hagel statements
AJC, ADL ask defense secretary nominee to clarify reports on 2007 quote saying ‘State Department has become adjunct to the Israeli foreign minister’s office’

Two centrist Jewish groups called for further review of Chuck Hagel’s record in light of an account of a 2007 speech in which he allegedly said the State Department acted as an “adjunct” of Israel’s foreign ministry.
Hagel, President Obama’s nominee for defense secretary, has the support of a majority of senators, but confirmation of his nomination was blocked on Feb. 14 by several Republican senators exercising their power to hold any vote.

The Washington Free Beacon reported, in a posting just hours before the failed bid in the Senate to advance Hagel’s nomination, a contemporaneous account of a Hagel speech delivered in 2007 at Rutgers University.
George Ajjan, a blogger sympathetic to Hagel’s foreign policy views, quoted him as saying “The State Department has become adjunct to the Israeli foreign minister’s office.”

David Ward’s Bulldozer
With this new article, Ward has swapped his spade for a bulldozer.

Old friends and (new) foes have advised David Ward MP that he is in a hole and really should stop digging. (For background, see here and here.) Unfortunately, whoever runs his website disagrees, and has posted an article that renders Ward unfit to serve as a Member of Parliament for so long as it remains there.
With this new article, Ward has swapped his spade for a bulldozer.
The article is entitled, “Guardian continues the hounding of David Ward”. It exemplifies the type of loose – and therefore dangerous and highly offensive – language about Jews, Israel and the Holocaust that got Ward exactly where he is today.

Stakelbeck Hosts Itamar's Mayor VIDEO

I recently hosted an event in Nashville for Mayor Moshe Goldsmith and his wife, Leah. The couple are longtime residents of Itamar, a town in Israel's Biblical heartland of Samaria where Moshe serves as mayor. They share the truth about Israel's so-called "settlements" and why it is so important for Jews to settle this sacred land.

Israeli water tech draws new European investment
Atlantium Technologies is the first cleantech firm in Israel to receive funding from Europe’s Aster Capital group

It’s a new era in water disinfection, declares Atlantium Technologies, which claims to have “re-invented ultraviolet-based water disinfection with unique Hydro-Optic Disinfection.” The experts will decide if that’s so or not – but Atlantium’s latest funding round represents a new era in cleantech funding in Israel. For the first time, Europe’s prestigious Aster Capital venture fund is investing in an Israeli company, giving $3 million to Atlantium to continue its development of its new products. The investment is part of a $9 million financing round which includes Aeris Capital A.G. (Switzerland) along with the current investor Benjamin Kahn.

The nose that can smell cancer goes commercial
Israeli professor’s revolutionary disease-detection device is on the road to changing how early, and how easily, lung cancer is diagnosed.

An Israeli invention that can detect lung cancer from exhaled breath will be commercialized in a joint venture between the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and Alpha Szenszor, a Boston-based manufacturer of carbon nanotube sensing equipment.
As ISRAEL21c reported in 2011, Technion Prof. Hossam Haick has been working on what he calls “Na-Nose” (the “na” is for “nanotechnology”) since 2007, and the device has been proven in numerous international clinical trials to differentiate between different types and classifications of cancer with up to 95 percent accuracy.
Patients breathe into a tube; the Na-Nose analyzes the more than 1,000 different gases that are contained in the breath to identify those that may indicate that something’s wrong. It works by binding gases to specific nano-materials, a technique formally known as volatile organic compound (VOC) detection.

Sunday Links Part 1

From Ian:

MEMRI: Egyptian Anti-Porn Activist: When Muslims in Islamic Countries Watch Porn, Disasters Occur in Gaza VIDEO

Islamic Universities Association Secretary-General: Martyrdom the "Most Lofty Form of Jihad" VIDEO

Analysis: Making sense of Hamas’s visit to Bulgaria
The hello-goodbye Hamas affair coincides with swirl of debate over Bulgaria report attributing Burgas bus explosion to Hezbollah.

According to Slateva, Mr. Vigenin said he would be ready to meet the delegation, but “when it was clarified what the background of those MPs was, and that they represent Hamas, the organizers of the event were informed that neither Mr. Vigenin nor any other representative of BSP [the Bulgarian Socialist Party] is ready to meet them.”
She said that ”BSP has no intention to challenge or to disregard the current status of Hamas as a terrorist organization. Our partner in Palestine is Fatah, full member of the Socialist International and observer member of the Party of European Socialists.”
Given the tendency among some left-wing parties in Europe to court radical Islamists, the BSP’s clear statement against Hamas is encouraging from a counterterrorism perspective.

Expelled Hamas leader claims Israel behind Burgas bombing

Salah Bardawil, booted out of Bulgaria along with three other Gaza lawmakers, claims Jerusalem told Sofia to send his group home

Khamenei: Even if We Wanted Nukes, U.S. Couldn't Stop Us
Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons but if it wanted to, the U.S. could not thwart it, says its supreme leader.

Iran has no intention of developing nuclear weapons but if it wanted to, the United States could not thwart it, its supreme leader said on Saturday.
"We believe nuclear weapons must be abolished and we have no intention of building" such weaponry, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in remarks posted on his website leader.ir and which were quoted by AFP.
But, Khamenei said, "if Iran had such intentions, the U.S. could in no way prevent it" from building an atomic bomb.

‘Iranian nuke chief was in N. Korea for atomic test’
Apparently successful detonation indicates both countries on the cusp of ability to assemble atomic warhead, Sunday Times reports

The man whom Western intelligence agencies say may very well be the head of Iran’s clandestine nuclear weapons program was present as an observer last week when North Korea carried out a critical nuclear test, The British Sunday Times reported.
According to the report Sunday, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh-Mahabadi very rarely leaves Iranian soil due to fear that Israel’s Mossad will make an attempt on his life, following an alleged pattern of previous assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Bahrain arrests 8 members of Iranian terror cell
Move follows widespread clashes in the Gulf nation during protests marking the second anniversary of an Arab Spring-inspired uprising

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Bahrain’s interior minister says police have arrested eight members of an alleged terrorist cell linked to Iran and other countries following widespread clashes in the Gulf nation during protests marking the second anniversary of an Arab Spring-inspired uprising.
A statement Sunday on the ministry’s website said the suspected terror network received training and financial support from Iran, Iraq and Lebanon — references to Iranian-backed Shiite groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and others.

Hezbollah chief warns Israel against attack
"They know their power plants, airports are under threat," Nasrallah states; says Hezbollah doesn't need weapons from Syria.

60 Arrested in Egypt Anti-Morsi Clashes

Egyptian police arrested 60 demonstrators across the country during violent protests targeting government and police buildings.

Opposition activists have organized nearly weekly protests every Friday that often dissolve into brutal clashes outside the presidential palace.
Last Friday, Islamist supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsi staged their own rally in Cairo in support of the president.

Egypt: Christian Priests Threatened to Convert to Islam or Die

A few days ago in Safaga, an Egyptian town near the Red Sea, Christian priests from the local Coptic church reported to the local prosecutor that they were personally being threatened with death. According to the February 10, 2013 report from the Arabic news site El Balad, yet another new jihadi group in Egypt calling itself jihad al-kufr or “Jihad Against Infidelity—that is, jihad against all non-Muslims—has been sending the priests “invitations” to enter Islam, or otherwise be killed.

Egypt court orders belly dancing station off air
Judge says ads for sexual enhancement products aired on ElTet 'offensive' and can 'arouse' viewers

A court in Egypt has ordered a TV channel that airs belly dancing clips off the air for showing "sexually explicit" content and operating without a broadcast license.
The judge Saturday said that ElTet airs ads that are "offensive" and can "arouse" viewers. The station carries advertisements for sexual enhancement products and matchmaking services.

Libya arrests suspected Christian missionaries
Four foreigners were arrested in Libya on suspicion of distributing books about Christianity and proselytizing, a Libyan police spokesman said on Saturday.

Police spokesman Hussein bin Hamid said the suspects were from South Africa, Egypt and South Korea, and one held both Swedish and U.S. nationality. The Swedish Foreign Ministry confirmed that a dual national Swedish-American citizen was arrested while traveling on a U.S. passport. The U.S. Embassy in Libya declined comment.
Spreading Christianity is a crime in the predominantly Muslim North African county.

Bomb rips through Pakistan market, killing 65
Attacks against Shiite Muslims on the rise in Sunni-dominated country

Senior police officer Wazir Khan Nasir said the bomb, set off in a residential suburb, was detonated by remote control.
Another officer, Samiullah Khan, said the bomb was detonated while dozens of women and children were buying produce for their evening meal. Local residents rushed the victims to three different area hospitals, often in private vehicles because there weren’t enough ambulances to transport the victims.

The only meat that will steal your credit card information

Seen in an Israeli supermarket:

Or, L337 M347 (if you don't get it, see here.)

Former Egyptian minister accuses "the Jews" of assassinating Sadat

Former Egyptian Housing Minister, Hasaballah Al-Kafrawi, has accused "the Jews" of assassinating Anwar Sadat on Egyptian TV.

If I follow his bizarre reasoning, it is because Menachem Begin suffered depression late in his life so Israel decided to make him feel better by killing Sadat.

The video can be seen here (not translated yet.)

I love how the host nods.

Egypt doesn't seem to trust Hamas (Via Meadia)

From Walter Russell Mead:

Not even the Muslim Brotherhood trusts Hamas. In a surprise move yesterday, Egyptian forces blocked a network of tunnels that run between Egypt and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by flooding them with water. The tunnels, used to smuggle everything from fuel to cement to weapons, are now inoperative. Imagine the global outcry if Israel did anything like this:

“We are using water to close the tunnels by raising water from one of the wells,” [an Egyptian security official] said, declining to be named. […]

The tunnellers fear the water being pumped underground might collapse the passage ways, with possible disastrous consequences.

“Water can cause cracks in the wall and may cause the collapse of the tunnel. It may kill people,” said Ahmed Al-Shaer, a tunnel worker whose cousin died a year ago when a tunnel caved in on him.

But what this really shows is that not even Egyptian President and Muslim Brother Mohamed Morsi trusts Hamas in Gaza. And yet much of the world continues to think the “blockade” of Gaza is an evil Israeli plot. Israel is no more able to blockade Gaza, which shares a border with Egypt, than Russia is able to blockade China. But none of this stops the myth of a cruel and wicked Israeli blockade of the suffering Gaza Strip from being an article of faith for people all over the world.

Egypt has enough on its plate without having to worry about policing the Sinai for militants from Gaza. This latest action looks to be a way of putting a leash on Hamas.

More evidence that this thesis is correct:

Egyptian security forces rejected a Muslim Brotherhood request to establish a Hamas office in Cairo after it had left its Damascus headquarters, according to Egyptian security sources quoted by Iraqi paper Azzaman on Tuesday.

The security sources were quoted as saying that they put national security considerations first, especially now when Egypt is facing unrest and the new office could lead to further disturbances.

(h/t Silke, Ian)

Egypt accuses Israel of stealing nearly half a trillion dollars of oil

The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum, Osama Kamal, is accusing Israel of stealing Egyptian oil from the Sinai between 1967 and 1977.

How much was this oil worth? The minister claims it was worth $480 billion.

Crude oil prices are roughly $100/barrel today. This means that this well-informed minister is claiming that Israel "stole" some 4.8 billion barrels of oil in that period.

However, Egypt's total proven oil reserves is about 2.9 billion barrels of oil. The entire Sinai contains at best only 20% of Egypt's total oil reserves, which means that the total amount of oil in the Sinai is one tenth of the amount the minister is claiming Israel stole.

Israel, of course, did not pump anything close to the half billion barrels in that short time. Just as obviously, the topic of the Sinai's oil was one of the agreements made in the context of Camp David.

For all we know, Kamal is including the oil Egypt sold Israel since Camp David. Even so, the numbers are absurd.

But who cares about being truthful when the target is Israel?

Danny Ayalon also ridiculed the claim.

Saturday Links Part 2

From Ian:

Lone voices against Terror

The institutions of liberalism, which ought to be their friends and donors, have been taken over by anti-liberal men and women. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch look with horror on those who speak out about murder, mutilation and oppression if the murderers, mutilators and oppressors do not fit into their script. The Guardian, New Statesman and BBC turn away with embarrassed coughs. The police want to keep the natives of the East End quiet by cooperating with Islamic Forum Europe. Although Labour ministers, particularly Labour women ministers, tried to speak out against the double standards during the last government, the policy of the Labour establishment has been to do nothing to upset the ethnic block vote. The Liberal Democrats meanwhile are as reliably anti-liberal on this issue as on so many others. It tells you all you need to know about the debased state of liberal-left politics that Sahgal and Tax are more likely to get a fair hearing from Cameron than Miliband or Clegg.(h/t Silke)

Barry Rubin: True Belief, Cynical Manipulation, Peer Pressure: How Arab Governments Manage the Israel Issue

"Peace Process": The Palestinian movement followed a different course and in doing so had some influence on the states. It advocated the creation of a Palestinian state that would not be bound or limited by any commitments to institute a second stage, using the territory and assets it possessed, to wipe out Israel. Until 1993 it was unable to make even the minimum steps necessary to bring this about. Yet while a handful of moderates and a larger group of cynics and those seeking economic benefit were ready for a deal with Israel, the overwhelming majority of the political leadership wasn’t.
Briefly, they wanted to follow a two-stage solution through a temporary two-state “solution” but were unwilling ultimately—as seen in the 2000 Camp David meeting—to take the compromises and commitments necessary to get a state. The creation of Hamas put Peer Pressure on them.

Diplomacy: Unlinking the linkage... again
Netanyahu wants to see more US action on Iran; Obama wants to see more Israeli action with the Palestinians. Don’t be surprised if linkage between the two issues is raised again during the US president’s upcoming visit.

Lerman said linkage between the Iranian and Palestinian issues implies that a nuclear Iran is an Israeli problem, not a global one, which is patently not the case. The reason why the discussion of how to solve the problem centers around Israel and the US – and why the US and Israel spend so much time and energy discussing the matter – is “because these are the only two countries capable of taking action, not because it is an Israeli problem.”
The only linkage between the two issues, Lerman said, was the ability of Israel to look out at the region with a greater degree of confidence after the Iranian threat was removed and, in that situation, believe that in a safer world it might be able to take certain risks.
Lerman’s words reflect what is clearly the thinking inside the Prime Minister’s Office on the eve of Obama’s visit: the Iranian cloud severely limits Israel’s capacity to take any significant risks with the Palestinians.

Into the Fray: Intellectual warriors, not slicker diplomats
Israel’s greatest strategic challenge, its gravest strategic failure, its grimmest strategic danger is the (mis)conduct of its public diplomacy.

For international understanding of Israeli policy and IDF actions, Israel must portray its adversaries – particularly the Palestinians – as they really are.
Unless this is done, such policy and action may well appear excessive.
To employ a rather stark metaphor – and without wishing to impute canine qualities to humans of any kind, if one insists that one’s antagonists are “cuddly poodles” rather than “vicious rottweilers,” one cannot expect others to understand why “rottweiler” action is appropriate.
Clearly, however, Israeli diplomats cannot portray Palestinian society in its true light: as a cruel, brutal society where women are suppressed, gays are oppressed and political dissidents are repressed; a society where journalists are harassed, press freedom is trampled, political opponents are lynched, honor killings of women by their male relatives are endorsed or at least condoned, and homosexuals are hounded.
That must be left to civil society intellectual warriors.

Widespread Palestinian rioting erupts in West Bank
Hundreds of Palestinians throw rocks, Molotov cocktails at IDF soldiers near Ofer security prison in support of hunger strikers.

Widespread rioting erupted in the West Bank on Friday in support of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners, with groups of Palestinians hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails at IDF soldiers, who responded with various riot dispersal means.
In Betunia, west of Ramallah, near the Ofer security prison, some 300 Palestinians rioted and threw rocks at the IDF. Two soldiers were lightly injured by rocks thrown, an army spokeswoman said. Four Palestinians were lightly injured by rubber bullets in the clash.

IDF arrests suspected Palestinian shooters
Soldiers detain two men shortly after they fired shots in the Gush Etzion settlement bloc

Soldiers in the IDF’s Kfir Brigade arrested two Palestinians overnight Friday for attempting to perpetrate a shooting attack in the Gush Etzion region of the West Bank.
The suspects were caught with an improvised weapon near the Migdal Oz settlement, southwest of Jerusalem, according to Israel Radio. The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that soldiers detained the two men in the village of Bayt Fajar shortly after they had allegedly fired shots in an unknown direction.

Arab Israeli Woman: Jews Do Not Rape Arabs, Arab Men Do

Posting on a Facebook event page devoted to protesting the rape and torture of female activists in Egypt, Anet Haskia rejected comparisons between Israel and Egypt that others on the page had made. On her own page, Haskia had this to say:
“We are talking about the rape of Arab women in Egypt and other Arab states, and you still try to make a connection to Israel? Jewish men do not rape Arab women and girls! It is Arab Muslim men who are raping you, so focus this campaign on them and leave Israel alone.”

The ‘Epidemic’ of Sexual Harassment—and Rape—in Morsi’s Egypt

Since the “Arab Spring” came to Egypt and the Muslim Brotherhood assumed power, sexual harassment, abuse, and rape of women has skyrocketed. This graph, which shows an enormous jump in sexual harassment beginning around January 2011, when the Tahrir revolts began, certainly demonstrates as much. Its findings are supported by any number of reports appearing in both Arabic and Western media, and from both Egyptian and foreign women.

Nick Xenophon detained in Malaysia

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon has been detained in Malaysia as a ‘‘security threat’’ and is to be deported back to Australia within hours.
Senator Xenophon, who has raised serious concerns about the probity of the upcoming Malaysian elections, was stopped by immigration officials this morning on his arrival at Kuala Lumpur airport and told he was on a "watchlist".
Senator Xenophon was in Malaysia leading a bipartisan visit of Australian politicians for talks with the country’s opposition party about electoral systems. He has been highly critical of preparations for the election to be held later this year.

'Israel offered to lay pipeline through Turkey'
Ankara reluctant to accept Israeli offer for natural gas pipeline because of political tension, Turkish minister says.

Israel has offered to lay a natural gas pipeline through Turkey, but Ankara is reluctant to accept due to ongoing bilateral tension, Hurriyet quoted a Turkish energy ministry official as saying Friday.
“Israel has made a bid to build a pipeline to Turkey within the last two weeks,” Hurriyet quoted the official as saying. “But we have a policy regarding Israel and the claim that Turkey leans towards this idea is not true.”
The pipeline would allow Israel to sell gas to Europe, but the Turkish government has not given a response because of the tensions between the countries.

UK’s Chief Rabbi Praises Rupert Murdoch, Warns of Spreading Antisemitism in Europe

Making his last official visit to Israel this week, the UK’s Chief Rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, praised media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, declaring that Israel did not have “a better or more significant friend in the world.”
Sacks was speaking at the Tel Hai academic college in Kiryat Shmona. During his talk he said that the “number one problem” facing the Jewish world is the return of antisemitism to Europe.

Saturday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Missing Peace: Haniyeh: Palestinian reconciliation dependent on non recognition of Israel

On Thursday Gaza’s Prime Minister Ishmael Haniyeh made clear that for Hamas Palestinian reconciliation is dependent on non recognition of Israel. Haniyeh said that Hamas wants reconciliation that ‘does not concede national constants and will not serve policies that have proven failed’. A clear reference to the Oslo peace accords.
Meanwhile Fatah Central Committee Azzam Al Ahmad called upon the international community to support the Palestinian reconciliation which he called a ‘stabilizing factor’.
It is hard to phantom how this reconciles with Haniyeh’s demand for non recognition of Israel.

Israel and Hamas said to hold indirect talks in Cairo
Senior Israeli officials negotiate easing of Gaza blockade with Islamist group’s officials, working through Egyptian intermediaries

Israel and Hamas have been engaged in indirect negotiations in Egypt, most recently on Thursday, to resolve the remaining details of the ceasefire agreement that ended November’s Operation Pillar of Defense.
Senior Israeli defense officials have met in Cairo over the past several weeks to negotiate, indirectly with Hamas, the reopening of the Rafah Border Crossing with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to construction materials and basic commodities such as gasoline, Channel 10 reported Friday night. Egyptian defense officials have served as the intermediaries in the contacts.

Hamas Slams Bulgaria for Expelling its Delegation
"Zionist pressure" led to a Hamas delegation being expelled from Bulgaria, claims the terror group.

The Hamas government in Gaza on Friday condemned Bulgaria's expulsion of a delegation on its behalf that was visiting the country, the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency reported.
The terror group reportedly blamed Israeli pressure for Bulgaria’s move.
Bulgarian security forces on Friday raided the hotel rooms of a visiting Hamas delegation, ordering them to leave the country, a party statement quoted by Ma’an said.
"We condemn this act, which reflects the scale of compliance with Zionist pressures," Hamas spokesman Taher al-Nunu said, according to Ma’an.
Hamas leader and MP Yahya al-Abadseh said the Bulgarian government's actions were contrary to all diplomatic norms.

Hundreds protest joint Iran-Argentina bombing probe
Legislators in Buenos Aires scheduled to ratify establishment of ‘truth commission’ in late February

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (JTA) — Some 300 people attended a protest rally against Argentine-Iranian cooperation in investigating the deadly 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center.
Among the protestors on Feb. 14 in the Argentine capital were relatives of the survivors of the bombing of the AMIA center. Israeli and Argentinean justice authorities blame Iran for the attack.
“We ask Argentine society’s forgiveness for wasting a great privilege that democracy gave us,” Sergio Bergman, a lawmaker and Reform rabbi, said in a speech at the rally. “We had the first Jewish foreign minister and that is why we say sorry.”

Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Certain Hizbullah was Behind Attack
Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov: We know the real name of the Burgas terrorists.

Bulgaria’s Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov reiterated on Friday his belief that two of the attackers in the July 2012 bombing in Burgas are part of the Hizbullah terror group, the Sofia News Agency reports.
"The Burgas bombers were maintaining part of Hizbullah’s structures in Canada and Australia and had contacts with other representatives of this organization," Tsvetanov said in an interview with the local TV7 network.
The Bulgarian Interior Minister first announced he had "grounded reasons to believe" that "Hizbullah’s military wing" is involved in the Burgas bus bombing on February 5, stirring international controversy.

Not even the Nazis did what Assad’s doing, says ex-Syrian PM
Defected leader claims Iran is ‘actively running’ Syria days after reports surfaced that Islamic Republic, Hezbollah are building networks of militias there

The former prime minister of Syria delivered a harsh critique of the country’s president during an interview with al-Arabiya Friday, claiming that “not even the Nazis did what Bashar Assad’s doing in Syria.”
Riad Hijab, who defected from his post in Damascus six months ago, also told the Arabic-language news outlet that Iran is “actively running” Syria.
“Syria is occupied by the Iranian regime,” he said. “Who runs the country isn’t Bashar Assad but Kassem Suleimani, the head of Iran’s al-Quds Brigades [within the Revolutionary Guards].”

Iran calls allegations it transferred weapons to Somali militants an 'absurd fabrication'

Iran's U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Khazaee said in a letter to the U.N. Security Council obtained Thursday by The Associated Press that the allegations in a report by experts monitoring sanctions against Somalia and Eritrea were part of a "malicious campaign."
According to a U.N. diplomat, the report links Iran and Yemen to the supply of weapons to al-Shabab militants. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the report has not been publicly released.

Iran temporarily bans exports of pistachios to control prices on home market

Iran has ordered a six-month ban on pistachio exports to try to control the price of the nut, which doubled in the past month.
Pistachios are among Iran's top non-oil exports and widely consumed at home, bringing in an average of $1.5 billion a year and providing work for hundreds of thousands of people. Iran was long the world's largest pistachio exporter, with over 200,000 tons a year, but was surpassed last year by the United States.

Egypt foils smuggling attempt of 2 tons of explosives, weapons
In separate incident, undercover Israeli border guards seize 250 kg of hashish heading from Sinai to Israel

Egyptian forces foiled a smuggling attempt that included two tons of explosives and weapons in the Sinai Peninsula Friday.
Police forces intercepted a truck that was carrying the objects, Ynet reported. An unnamed Egyptian senior security official told local media that the police were tipped off about the attempt and that the weapons were to be used by terror groups in Sinai or smuggled into the Gaza Strip.

Turkey arrests 8 ex-officers over ouster of Islamic government in 1990s; more questioned

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s state-run news agency says authorities have arrested eight more retired officers over their alleged involvement in the ousting of an Islamic-led government in the late 1990s.
Anadolu Agency reports say the eight, including seven retired generals, were detained on Wednesday and late Thursday pending a trial over a military campaign that forced former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to resign. No trial date has been set.

Friday Links Part 2

From Ian:

LATMA: The Tribal Update discusses Obama's travel plans and the EU's Hezbollah problem

The dishonesty of ‘The Gatekeepers'
The film sends a 'simplistic political message,' implying that Israel's occupation of the West Bank stands between terrorism and peace.

Dror Moreh’s documentary, The Gatekeepers, could have been a profound film.
Instead, Moreh uses his interviews with six former directors of Israel’s top security services to send a simplistic and deeply partisan political message: If Israel withdraws from the West Bank, terrorism will subside and peace will break out.
To promote this message, the documentary engages in intellectual dishonesty and omits critical context. While most Israelis know the wider context, the average viewer probably does not, and therefore is vulnerable to the filmmaker’s biased version of the facts.
Though the film tries to portray Israel’s antiterrorism policies as counterproductive and cruel, the interviews inadvertently tell a different story. The six directors are well-spoken, deeply thoughtful, and genuinely self-critical.”

The Palestinians Never Wanted Fayyadism

The Palestinians are choosing, as they have always chosen, to refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn. Having come into existence solely in order to oppose the return of the Jews to the country, Palestinian nationalism appears incapable of redefining itself in such a way as to give Fayyad a chance. The example of the independent Palestinian state in all but name in Gaza — which has become a platform for terrorism — makes it impossible for Israel to consider further withdrawals that would duplicate that situation in the West Bank.
Were it in the power of either the United States or Israel to make Fayyad the leader of the Palestinians they would do so. But his constituency has always been in Washington, Jerusalem and the international media not among Palestinians. Someday they may be ready for a Fayyad, but that day is not in the foreseeable future.

PMW:Is the PA lying to European governments in order to receive European funding?
European and US money donated to the PA's general budget is paying salaries not only to all Palestinian terrorists in Israeli prisons but also to 4,000 former security and terrorist prisoners

Palestinian Media Watch has seen statements by both the British and Norwegian governments defending their payments to the Palestinian Authority's general budget for salaries. These statements came in response to two PMW reports documenting that thousands of imprisoned terrorists are among the recipients of PA salaries. In their statements, both the British and Norwegian governments say that the PA has informed them that the PA does not pay "salaries" to terrorists in Israeli prisons, but social "assistance" payments to the prisoners' families. Minister of State Alan Duncan on behalf of Britain's Department for International Development (DfID) said: "The second [PA] payment scheme [to prisoners] is intended to assist families in need of assistance." Both governments have written that this information was received from the PA.

4,000 former prisoners receive full monthly salaries - PA Minister of Prisoners Affairs VIDEO

How US Military Aid to Fatah Actually Bolsters Hamas

Now there is evidence of Fatah-Hamas coordination in parts of the West Bank. The PA has lifted the ban against Hamas rallies, and Hamas has gained control of many West Bank mosques. Israel’s intelligence community has determined that Hamas politburo Chief Khaled Masha’al has ordered the establishment of military cells to take over the West Bank.
What Israel now faces is a worst-case scenario: PA security forces have a history of turning on Israelis. With the increased cooperation between the PA and Hamas, the likelihood of this happening again grows more likely. Statements of late by PA officials suggest such cooperation. Former PA Foreign Minister Nabil Shaath, for example, has called for unity with Hamas that would “win further victories for us.” With Hamas cooperation, he said the PA would escalate “the struggle against Israel” in 2013.
However, should there be a repeat of prior attacks by PA forces, bolstered by cooperation with Hamas, dealing with the situation will be far more difficult than it has been previously. Now those PA forces are far better equipped and trained, thanks to a US policy that may have been ill-advised from the outset.

Watchdog says Iran upgraded centrifuges for nuke program
Installation represents a dramatic upgrade in the country’s controversial uranium enrichment program

VIENNA (AP) — Adding weight to its announcement of a nuclear upgrade, Tehran has shown high-level UN officials high-tech equipment positioned at its main uranium enrichment site meant to vastly accelerate output of material that can be used for both reactor fuel and atomic arms, a senior diplomat said Thursday.
The diplomat spoke to The Associated Press shortly after the officials returned from Tehran, acknowledging that their latest in a series of trips to the Iranian capital that began over a year ago again failed to reach a deal to restart an investigation into suspicions that Iran is pursuing nuclear arms.
Herman Naeckerts, who headed the International Atomic Energy Agency team that visited Iran, said “remaining differences” scuttled attempts to finalize an agreement on how such an investigation should be conducted. He declined to say whether there was progress.

Zygier was granted all his rights, and was no ‘Prisoner X,’ says legal official
Justice Ministry source says negligence charges may be filed against those who failed to prevent Mossad spy’s suicide in jail

Ben Zygier, the Melbourne-born Mossad agent who committed suicide in his cell at Ramle’s Ayalon Prison in 2010, had been granted all the rights and protections due to him under Israeli law, a top Justice Ministry official told reporters on Thursday.
Even the unusual fact that his identity was kept secret was a security measure to which Zygier himself consented, the official said, recognizing that this was beneficial to national security and to his own and his family’s protection.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide details of why Zygier was arrested, and what charges had been leveled against him. Avigdor Feldman, a defense lawyer who met with Zygier a day or two before he died, said the 34-year-old father of two had been charged with “serious criminal” offenses and faced long years in prison.

Israel Daily Picture: The Jews of Tiberias Revealed in 100-Year Old "Medical" Photos

David Torrance arrived in a very poor, economic backwater town in the 1880s. Under Ottoman rule, Tiberias had little in the way of employment opportunities or basic hygienic infrastructure.
Tiberias was nonetheless a center of Jewish life over the centuries, particularly after the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Romans. It emerged as one of Judaism's holy cities after Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed. Rabbis of the Talmud and Maimonides are buried in Tiberias. And over the last few centuries pious Jewish families and scholars made it their home.

Airport debris detector tops Israeli innovation list
XSight bids bye-bye to junk on runways

Israel’s XSight Systems, which detects runway debris that can endanger planes and passengers, has been called one of Israel’s most innovative companies by US tech magazine Fast Company. “Foreign Object Debris (FOD) costs the aviation industry around $13 billion per year,” and is a major safety risk, Fast Company wrote about XSight, naming it one of the top 10 Israeli innovators for 2013. The XSight system “has emerged as one of the leading solutions, using hybrid radar and electro-optical technology to detect junk on runways,” the magazine wrote.

Friday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Bulgaria security forces raid, expel Hamas delegation

Raid on residences of visiting Hamas delegation allegedly prompted by Israeli, US, British pressure; Bulgarian government denies meeting with Hamas, says Palestinians were in Sofia on "private visitation."
Bulgarian security forces on Friday raided the temporary residences of a visiting Hamas delegation in Sofia, and then expelled the officials from the country, Palestinian news agency Ma'an reported.
The Hamas delegation arrived in Bulgaria on Wednesday to present the “Palestinian narrative and expose the false Israeli narrative on the Palestinians and Hamas.” The visit was the first of its kind by Hamas officials to a member of the EU.

MEP to Ashton: Make Efforts to Name Hizbullah a Terror Group

Polish MEP Michal Tomasz Kaminski on Thursday called on EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to step up Europe’s efforts to designate Hizbullah a terrorist organization after last week’s Bulgarian’s report that the Lebanese group was behind the terror attack on Israeli tourists in Burgas in July 2012.
The European Jewish Press (EJP) reported that in a written question to Ashton, ahead of Monday’s meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers where the issue is likely to come under discussion, Kaminski asked why the EU remains “reluctant to call Hizbulllah by its proper name”, after Ashton’s official response to the Burgas findings expressed “the need for a reflection over the outcome of the investigation.

Cruel joke: an Iranian on UNICEF’s board

Khazayee’s election to the governing body of UNICEF is a moral scandal. Iran, as reported frequently by international organizations, executes more people than any other country in the world, per capita. In 2011, 676 people were executed in Iran. During the first half of January that year, 47 prisoners were hanged; that is, an average of a prisoner every eight hours. In 2012, 480 people were executed, 12 women included. Fifty-five executions were held in public.

UK Charity Commission Whitewashes Questionable Charities

The UK's Charity Commission works on a premise that undermines any investigation before it starts. If members of a charity openly associate with extremists or terrorists, for example, instead of challenging the charity's status, the Commission defends the trustees, thereby legitimizing the charity's misconduct. As a consequence, government bodies empower extremist groups by presenting them as honest actors.

Well, that worked out well: 92% of Pakistanis now dislike America

After four years of Barack Obama's diplomatic 'leadership' and billions of dollars in attempted friendship aid, a new public opinion poll reveals that 92% of Pakistanis now disapprove of the United States.
The results could have been worse. Not much. But a little. Fully four Pakistanis out of 100 do approve of the United States, President Obama and his policies. They, however, seem to keep kind of quiet about their views in that rowdy land. That's the lowest favorable rating Pakistan's citizens have ever given their ostensible North American ally.
The new Gallup Poll, out this morning, reports that the recent high point of Pakistani approval of the United States came in the spring of 2011 when 27% approved. But then public opinion went south on North America.

CIF Watch: Peter Beaumont’s absurd political analogy regarding Israel and ‘Prisoner X’

Though Prisoner X likely represented a serious security risk for Israel, he was afforded due process in a manner which certainly seems consistent with democratic norms.
To evoke a comparison with the USSR – where, for instance, several million Soviet “enemies of the state” died (due to overwork, starvation, torture or summary executions) after being sent, without trial, to Gulag camps spread out across the entire country – is beyond parody.
Indeed, it’s likely that the true identity of Beaumont’s unnamed commentators comparing Israel’s handling of the spy case to that of the most repressive totalitarian regimes of the 20th century will prove to be far more elusive and mysterious than the identity of Prisoner X himself.

What Harriet Sherwood missed while in Gaza: Hamas to demolish 75 ‘illegal’ Palestinian homes

I guess it’s safe to say that some Palestinian victims of home demolitions are more deserving of sympathy than others, at least according to the Guardian correspondent covering Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

Russia fights Islamists at home, backs them abroad
Analysis: Moscow’s influence abroad continues to erode, despite its attempts to ally itself with forces opposed to the West.

Moscow’s influence abroad continues to erode, despite its attempts to ally itself with forces opposed to the West and it is this game that could become costly in the long-run. The Sunni insurgents on Russian soil hold an ideological affinity with Sunni Islamists, such as those fighting the Russian-backed Syrian regime as well as al-Qaida-linked groups active throughout the region and beyond. Thus, Russia has set itself up to be opposed by the rising Sunni Islamists in the region, led by the increasingly influential Muslim Brotherhood movement and its offshoots.

Israeli delegation visits Cairo for security talks
Defense officials reportedly hold brief meeting with Egyptian counterparts while their aircraft waits on the runway

An Israeli delegation of defense officials reportedly visited Cairo on Thursday to meet with Egyptian counterparts and discuss regional security issues, including terrorist activities in the Sinai Peninsula and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
According to a report in Egypt’s Al-Masry al-Youm, the delegation arrived in Cairo in a military aircraft that waited for them on the runway. The delegation reportedly numbered four Israeli officials.

Health Crisis Building in Jordan Due to Syrian Refugees
Jordan’s health system is beginning to crack under the strain of caring for 340,000 Syrian refugees. Amman is seeking help with the effort.

The pressure is beyond the health sector’s strength to continue providing services for the refugees,” Jordanian Health Minister Abdul Latif Wreikat said bluntly on Thursday, according to Bernama, the Malaysian national news agency.
Chronic diseases have been discovered among a large number of the Syrians who fled across the border to safety in Jordan as well, Wreikat said. This has led to a drop in supplies of medicines in some of the hospitals and health care centers, he warned. “We welcome any assistance to help enhance our capability to provide services to the Syrian refugees,” Wreikat said.

Israeli Officials Concerned Over Fate of Tunisian Jews
Israeli officials have expressed serious concerns over the safety of the Jewish community in Tunisia, in the wake of unrest in the country

Israeli officials have expressed serious concerns over the safety of the Jewish community in Tunisia. Some 2,000 Jews still live in the country, and the Foreign Ministry's office for fighting anti-Semitism said that instability in the country could have serious negative effects on the country's Jews.

Saudis arrest 53 Christians at private worship service
Saudi authorities have continued to persecute christians in the country, in a stark example of the lack of freedom of worship in the Kingdom

Saudi Arabian authorities have arrested 53 Christians, mostly women, who were attending a worship service in the private home of an Ethiopian in Dammam, the capital of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia.
The Christians, 46 women and six men, including three church leaders, were arrested at ten in the morning last Friday, a close relative of one of those arrested told the WEA. The three church leaders were produced in an Islamic court in Dammam the same day when authorities alleged they were converting Muslims to Christianity.

France to Return Stolen Art to Jewish Owners

France will return seven paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries to the heirs of two Jewish families whose artworks were stolen during World War II, the French culture ministry told AFP on Thursday.
Six paintings by Italian and German artists will be returned to Thomas Selldorff, the octogenarian grandson of Austrian textile magnate Richard Neumann, who was forced to flee his country in 1938.

Morocco Restores Ancient Synagogue in Nod to Jewish Heritage
Morocco held a ceremony on Wednesday to inaugurate the completion of renovations to an ancient Jewish synagogue in the historic city of Fez.

The two-year restoration of the Slat al-Fassiyine (Prayer of the Fesians) synagogue was part-financed by Germany. The ceremony included Morocco’s Islamist prime minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, as well as German parliament speaker Norbert Lammert, according to Global Post.
The restoration of the ancient synagogue in Fez, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is part of a larger effort by Morocco to come to terms with its Jewish community. The new constitution that was adopted in 2011 amid the Arab Spring recognized Morocco’s Jewish heritage.

IDF Blog: Did You Know? Last week, 42,898 Tons of Goods Entered Gaza

The IDF coordinates the delivery of a variety of humanitarian aid and development assistance to the population of the Gaza Strip.
During the last week alone, 42,898 tons of goods and gas entered Gaza from Israel in 1,445 truckloads.
Think Gaza is under siege? Think again.

How I spent Thursday (plus a little request)

While part of my visit to Israel is personal, a great percentage of it is dedicated to doing stuff for the blog. Thursday was a whirlwind of activity, which should generate at least three separate video posts when I get a chance to edit them.

My first appointment was with Yisrael Medad, blogger at My Right Word, for a visit to the Har HaBayit (Temple Mount.) This requires some preparation ahead of time. The Israeli guards did not let me bring in all my video equipment, and since the line to enter the area is ridiculously long, it looked like I wouldn't make it up at all. Yisrael nicely convinced the guard to watch my stuff while I took my camera with me.

I haven't seen all the footage yet, and the Israeli police officer who accompanied us was rushing us a bit so the video is not as smooth as I had hoped, but with luck you will get to see a video tour of the (perimeter of the) holiest spot in the world. That will take time to edit well so it might not be until I return to the US.

Then I met with NGO Monitor. Mrs. Elder and I did a video interview with its president, Gerald Steinberg, and then we got to meet the whole staff for a lunchtime Q&A.

After that, we went to visit the Ministry of Strategic Affairs in the Prime Minister's Office where (after going through a grueling security check) I met with Brigadier-General Yossi Kuperwasser, its Director General. I interviewed him as well. He was familiar with my work, which is pretty cool, and we discussed his ministry and how Israel is trying to, belatedly, fight against the delegitimization attempts by her enemies.

So eventually I'll get the videos out. My Friday is very busy with personal stuff and if I was sane I would be sleeping instead of writing this. Sunday, I'm back to doing meetings as Elder.

Since I have no desire to navigate Israeli traffic, I am taking taxis everywhere. This is very expensive. I know that my normal request for donations isn't due for another month, but I would appreciate if you guys can pitch in and contribute.

If all goes well, the material I gather during these two weeks should provide first-hand insights into Israel that you simply cannot get anywhere else. If you believe that this is valuable, please click on the Donate or Subscribe buttons on the upper right corner of this blog and be a partner in getting the truth about Israel published and disseminated.

Here's a preview video to whet your appetite: