Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Egyptians find huge cache of explosives bound for Gaza

Palestine Press Agency reports that Egyptian authorities yesterday uncovered a major cacheof explosives in the Sinai desert.

3.5 tons of explosives were found near the Gaza border, already divided up into 79 bags for easy transport through tunnels to Hamas.

The Egyptians opened up an investigation to find who is responsible on the Egyptian side.

UNRWA trying to create a "Palestine"-in-exile

AFP reports:

Finding a solution to the plight of millions of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East is key to peace in the region, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said in an interview on Thursday.
"UNRWA has no political role, but it does have the moral role of reminding all parties involved and all governments with a say in the peace process that there will be no peace without a fair solution for refugees in line with UN resolutions," the agency's Commissionner General Filippo Grandi told AFP.
"It is tragic that the international community has not yet found a solution to this problem," Grandi, who was appointed to the post in January, said on a visit to Beirut.

Yet, an Arabic report on his speech adds an interesting point. He said that the resettlement of refugees "is not on the table not a topic of debate. The refugees could stay refugees, but with more rights including the right to work legally" in Lebanon.

In other words, the UNRWA is committed to solving the refugee problem - as long as the Arab states that they have lived in for generations have no responsibility for that permanent solution.

As far as UNRWA not having any political role, Grandi is already on the record as saying

One of my key priorities will be to continue to advocate strongly on behalf of the 1.5 million Gazans, and to do so not only until the end of the blockade and the occupation, but also until a just and lasting solution to the plight of the refugees is achieved.

“Despite some recent economic improvements for some, the lives of most Palestinians in the West Bank continue to be made almost impossible by obstacles, walls, movement limitations and other restrictions, and by the expanding threat of settler violence. For those residing in East Jerusalem, as I do, it is cause for daily anguish to watch the situation deteriorate rapidly under our very eyes, especially the ruthless evictions of Palestinians from their homes. UNRWA will continue to stand with the affected families and all of those in need of our protection and will tirelessly lend our voice to their calls for justice.”

This goes way beyond a purely humanitarian mission - this is an almost purely political statement.

UNRWA's more assertive moves away from humanitarian purposes and more into politics can be seen from a recent conference. During an otherwise predictable speech by UNRWA director Michael Kingsley-Nyinah (at an international meeting on "Israel-Palestinian peace" in the island of Malta - a great excuse for many vacations at taxpayer expense) he said something that might signal UNRWA's new direction:

We call for a process that is inclusive in its representation and comprehensive in its coverage of priority issues, including the question of Palestine refugees. We call attention to the fact that under universal refugee protection principles, informed individual choice is the foundation on which durable solutions for refugees are implemented and redress provided, and we maintain that this principle should equally benefit Palestine refugees. Given the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian context, informed choice must be the essence of any effort to sift through and clarify the range of varying Palestinian expectations and rights. With these precepts in view, we support the initiation of arrangements to ascertain and record refugee interests and concerns.

Such arrangements should include mechanisms that will project the refugee perspective into the negotiation arena in a manner that protects and promotes their ability to exercise informed choices. We acknowledge that a process inclusive of the refugee constituency would pose significant challenges. Yet we believe that those challenges are surmountable, provided we remain guided by relevant principles and by the benefits of enhanced legitimacy which an inclusive approach will bring to the negotiation process and to its outcomes.

Those benefits should not be underestimated. The refugees of whom we speak constitute a substantial reservoir of human capital across the Middle East, and they stand poised to contribute significantly to the socio-economic viability of the region and of a Palestinian State. Those registered with UNRWA are currently around 4.7 million strong, with an additional four to six million estimated to reside in the Palestinian Diaspora. Given their numbers and human development potential, Palestine refugees are a formidable constituency for peace with a substantial stake in the Israeli-Palestinian future. Excluding the refugee voice disenfranchises the refugee constituency, which means we forego a wealth of insights and risk the credibility and sustainability of the peace process.

Palestine refugees – their human rights, their aspirations and their concerns – are bound to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in complex and profound ways that place them in a position to influence the realization of durable solutions. The Palestine refugee presence is a stark reality, a reality whose significance and power genuine peacemaking efforts can no longer afford to ignore. Recognizing and harnessing the refugee constituency is a necessity that is consistent with principle, and which could also pay handsome dividends to the credibility and efficacy of the search for peace.

For over sixty-years, Palestine refugees have endured the indignities and insecurities of exile in an environment often steeped in instability and conflict. As an international community, we often proclaim our commitment to address their anguish and to resolve their plight, and we profess allegiance to the UN Charter objective of settling disputes by peaceful means “…in conformity with the principles of justice and international law”.

Distinguished colleagues:

If we are serious about these solemn commitments, and truly devoted to the cause of peace, then the least we can do is to give refugee issues prominence in the peace process, and afford Palestine refugees the dignity of being heard.

This means that UNRWA wants to create a quasi-Palestinian Arab political entity that would represent the PalArab "diaspora" during any negotiations with Israel. It is clear that the PA has no interest in helping out the "refugees" in Lebanon or Syria, and no one is advocating for them. UNRWA seems to be saying that a new PalArab "refugee" organization should be created and treated as an entire country in exile for the purposes of pressuring Israel further.

UNRWA seems to have already pre-judged what Palestinian Arabs in the camps want:

The refugees and host communities share an implicit understanding that the sojourn of Palestine refugees is temporary – and that this transient state is unchanged by the lengthy duration of their exile. As a corollary, “refugee consciousness” is strong among Palestinians, including the younger generation. The passing years have left intact a sense of injustice, a demand for acknowledgement and a desire for their travail to be justly resolved. Across the Middle East, Palestine refugees define themselves (and are defined by others) by reference to the historical experience of exile.

The irony is that the same system that Kingsley-Nyinah is advocating - of actually asking Arabs with Palestinian ancestry what they want - could be used to help resettle millions of them in Gulf states or other Arab nations, which could actually use their formidable human capital that he speaks of.

Unfortunately, this solution is not likely what UNRWA is planning to do. UNRWA's decision not to seek and push for permanent resettlement in Arab countries proves that UNRWA has no interest in actually advocating for the human rights of these stateless pawns. Instead, UNRWA is trying to do exactly what Arab states have done since 1948 - use the artificially-created third generation of fake "refugees" for purely political purposes and not try to find a real solution for them as individuals.

Hamas infighting?

The anti-Hamas Palestine Press Agency is claiming that a Hamas leader was poisoned by other Hamas leaders, and is close to death.

The agency reports that Assif Kahil is in Shifa Hospital in a state of clinical death from poisoning. According to the report, senior Al Qassam Brigades leaders - including Ahmed Al-Jabari and Ahmed Al-Ghandour - visited Kahil's house on Sunday night and then Kahil was rushed to the Shifa Hospital on Monday. Apparently, he was involved in a financial dispute and disagreements over weapons transactions.

Did Egypt flip a Hamas terrorist?

Back in 2007, there was outrage that Egypt had released a Hamas terrorist wanted by both the PA and Israel. The Jerusalem Post reported then (no longer online, recovered here):

The Egyptian authorities have released a top Hamas operative wanted by the Palestinian Authority and Israel for his involvement in terror attacks over the past few years, PA officials told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.

The officials expressed outrage over the release of Nahro Massoud - one of the commanders of Hamas's armed wing, Izzadin Kassam - who fled to Egypt more than a year ago. At the request of the PA, Massoud and several other Hamas fugitives were arrested by the Egyptian security forces and held without trial.

At this time, Nahro Massoud is under arrest in Syria for suspicion of helping finger Mahmoud Mabhouh for assassination.

A key security operative of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas was under arrest in Syria tonight on suspicion of having helped an alleged Israeli hit squad identify Mahmoud al-Mabhouh before he was assassinated in Dubai, the Guardian has learned.

Palestinian sources in the Gulf confirmed Nahro Massoud, a Hamas security official, was in detention and under interrogation in Damascus in connection with the 19 January killing, which is now widely assumed to have been mounted by Israel's Mossad secret intelligence service.

Massoud's name first surfaced in the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Siyasah which quoted "a well-informed source" in Dubai as saying he had been with Mabhouh until he was killed, raising questions about his involvement.
"Hamas suspects that he [Massoud] passed on the information that led to Mabhouh's killing," a senior Palestinian source told Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper.

So did Egypt - or Israel - work on getting Massoud to be a collaborator, and then release him to help with plots like this one?

The story gets better every day.

Iran training Hamas in Sudan?

A Sudanese news website is saying that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are training Hamas members in the Sudan.

A new report prepared by [the security device west?] claims that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is training members of the Hamas movement to fire ground-to-ground rockets in the Sudan.

The report adds that the first session focused on the preparation of 14 members of Hamas, who had arrived in Sudan from the Gaza Strip early last December. Some of the graduates returned to the Gaza Strip through tunnels to form the spearhead as leaders and trainers in the cells of the rocket fire. These training sessions are confidential, as a very limited number of employees of the Sudanese armed forces areaware of their existence. And the [Iranian] Quds Force has allocated a budget amounted to $170,000 to cover the costs of the courses in the Sudan, has also allocated a monthly stipend of $300 payable to trainees Hamas while they are in the Sudan.

It will be recalled that last year, a large weapons convoy was bombed in the Sudan near the Egyptian border, with weapons that are presumed to have been meant for Gaza.

What a surprise: Hamas vows revenge for Mabhouh

Hamas' Al Qassam Martyrs Brigades website has a statement where Hamas is swearing revenge for the presumed Israeli assassination of Mahmoud Mabhouh in Dubai.

The Brigades of the Martyr Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, military wing of Islamic Resistance Movement of Hamas, confirmed the decision to respond with revenge for the martyrs and the great leader Mahmoud Mabhouh has been made, God willing. We are guardians of the blood, our retribution is coming, and your mission is to live in panic and terror and we will keep you obsessed with fear.

The Qassam Brigades will determine the appropriate mechanism for implementation of our vengeance. We will not tell you how and where and when you will receive our fire of anger, and our masterly performance will be in the time and place of our choosing.

We are very aware of what we say, we do not speak empty words or gestures, but the words are a reflection of what will come. today you hear our words, and tomorrow you will see a fire and bullets and acts of reality, so long as you you take the path of treachery, murder and criminality.

I do not understand why you return throughout history to respond with the assassinations of al-Qassam Brigades leaders and the leaders of our people and Mujahideen. ...[the statement goes through the history of Israeli directed killings of major Hamas leaders, saying that Hamas always came back more powerful and with more innovative methods of killing than before.]

This is less than half the statement, which you have to admire for its almost poetic language of death and terror. In Arabic, they are not shy at all about making threats. You won't find this in the English-language Qassam website, meant more for Western eyes.

My Mamilla discovery gets some traction

The Palestine Post article I found on Sunday that showed that the Supreme Moslem Council in Jerusalem planned to build a business center - and its own new headquarters - on top of the Mamilla Cemetery in 1945 has been getting some play.

The Jerusalem Post wrote an article about it, linking back to my find.

JTA quotes the Wiesenthal Center's reaction to the find, as well as Jerusalem Dispatch.

Missing so far is any reaction from the crowd of shrill people who were writing op-eds worldwide about how holy the site is. I imagine that they will soon claim that the Palestine Post lied in 1945 - even though it was against the proposed building complex.

Saudi Vice Squad employee gets busted

From Al Arabiya:

A Saudi court has sentenced an employee of the kingdom's religious police to 120 lashes for marrying six women.
The man said he was not educated enough to know that Islam does not allow men to marry more than four women at any one time, said an official at Ahad al-Massarha court in the southern province of Jazan.

"The judge did not believe him. Nobody believed him. I honestly did not," the official told Reuters.
The court banned the man from standing as a preacher and leading prayers, ordered him not to travel abroad for a five-year period and to memorize two chapters from the Koran.

The accused, in his fifties, is not a member of the Saudi Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice's morals squad but holds an administrative position there, the official said.

Who knew the Muttawa had an Internal Affairs unit?

Egyptian professor in trouble for putting Israel on a map

A geography professor at Helwan University in Egypt recently lectured about agriculture and crops in the Middle East, and referred to Israel as a country. Her map mentioned Israel and not "Palestine."

Naturally, the students were aghast. They complained to her about it - after all, as a geography professor, she should be committed to propaganda rather than facts. She answered them that when she said Israel, she meant Israel, which is a nation that is recognized by the whole world, and to rename it Palestine is a delusion.

So, the students went up the chain of command, to the university president. They also started a Facebook campaign against the professor, and have held meetings stressing that such maps should never say "Israel" as this is a form of normalization with a state that they have officially been at peace with for over thirty years.

(corrected "him" to "her", h/t Suzanne, and more information here.)

Gordon Brown accidentally insults Muslims

In an interview on ITV1 last Sunday, Gordon Brown was asked about the perks of the job:

Gordon Brown: “There are perks, actually the greatest perk for me is that you’re living in, in a building where you can both work and see your family.”
Piers Morgan: “There must be, I mean, private jets, I mean …”
Gordon Brown: “No you’ve got to, everything’s got to be declared. If you get anything. If someone gives me a present I just hand it back and it’s declared as a gift and I don’t have anything more to do with it.“
Piers Morgan: “You don’t keep any of them?”
Gordon Brown: “No, we don’t keep them, I don’t keep them.”
Piers Morgan: “What’s been the best present you weren’t allowed to keep?”
Gordon Brown: “Er, I think the different governments in the Middle East send huge presents. One actually after a dinner was a full pig that they actually sent, that had been roasted.”
Piers Morgan: “Really?”
Gordon Brown: “And I couldn’t accept it.”

The comments sparked outrage in Arab countries, and the UAE embassy in London clarified that "We did not send a pig; instead we offered something decent that represents our culture and our heritage."

The gift had been a roasted goat.

Ma'an calls Jews in Jaffa "settlers"

Ma'an published an article by Jonathan Cook about the yeshiva that was built in Jaffa, referring to Jews who live well within the Green Line as "settlers" because Jews have the audacity to legally buy and build in a mixed Jewish-Arab city.

Jonathan Cook is an extremist writer who has praised Hamas and has a history of writing lies and fantasies (the latter his prediction in 2007 that Israeli teams will start killing Iranian Jews to get them to leave Iran.)

In this article, originally published in The National (UAE,) Cook is trying to make the yeshiva look as extremist as possible. Apparently, people wearing kippot on their heads are automatically considered "settlers" to bigots like Cook, and he tries mightily to make it look like the yeshiva is causing severe problems in Jaffa. The head of the yeshiva disagrees, but of course Cook isn't interested in writing about both sides of the story.

While Cook talks about the Jaffa Arabs who left in 1948, it is interesting to note that in August, 1947, some 18 Jewish families were forced out of Jaffa by Arab violence - arguably the first refugees of the war. (My original posting lost the newspaper images, sorry.) Muslims went on a killing spree, both against the Jews of Jaffa as well as shooting at Tel Aviv. Later in the year some 5000 more Jews, mostly Yemenites, were forced out of Jaffa as well.

But lying journalists like Jonathan Cook can never be expected to mention such facts in his biased articles that are meant more to incite than inform.

Shahar Peer makes quarter-finals in Dubai

From Sky Sports:

Shahar Peer scored a sensational 6-2 7-5 victory over top seed Caroline Wozniacki at the Dubai Championships, sparked a security problem in the process.

The Israeli athlete was controversially denied entry into the United Arab Emirate nation 12 months ago due to her nationality, sparking a human rights debate.
The former soldier has been heavily guarded throughout this week and has played her matches on the outside courts that are easier to protect.
But after defeating 13th seed Yanina Wickmayer, Virginie Razzano and now Wozniacki, Peer is now into the quarter-finals where she is likely to play in the main arena.

Peer has been under strict security since arriving in Dubai, with her hotel floor sealed off and her movements in Dubai restricted.

Video of the Mabhouh assassination teams

From Gulf News TV, pretty interesting stuff:

Meanwhile, Palestine Press Agency quotes Ma'ariv that Syria may have arrested a senior Hamas official in connection with Mabhouh's assassination - the person who might have been one of the Hamas insiders who collaborated with the hit team.

Hamas arrests Valentine's Day celebrants

I didn't want to do any more Valentine's Day posts, but Al Arabiya (Arabic) is reporting that a scheduled festival in Gaza to celebrate the occasion - already approved by the authorities - was canceled at the last minute by Hamas, and the organizers arrested.

The organizers were also warned not to speak to the press about their ordeals.

The organizers felt degraded and shamed as their guests were already arriving at the festival.

Other Valentine's concerts that were going to be held were also canceled on Sunday.

Sermons given the previous Friday railed against celebrating the "Festival of Love," as it is translated, and this might have pressured Hamas into acting against the events.

Although shops publicly displayed items associated with the day, young people were in fear of celebrating publicly, according to the report.

Irony in Geneva: Israel defends Arab rights

The UNHRC has an interesting mechanism where, once every four years, every nation in the UN gets reviewed as to its human rights record.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years. The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations. As one of the main features of the Council, the UPR is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed.

The current UPR meetings are in Geneva.

On Monday, Iran's human rights record was reviewed.

Here is a short version of what was discussed:

Interactive discussion

Number of States taking part in the interactive discussion

Member States: 25
Observer States: 28

Positive achievements

Access to health care and education.
Efforts to eradicate poverty.
Plans to reduce illiteracy.
Efforts to provide adequate housing for all citizens.
Investment in welfare programmes.
Women’s high level of education.

Issues and questions raised

Repression of peaceful protests, in particular in the aftermath of the 2009 presidential election.
Extrajudicial and arbitrary arrests and detention.
Torture and ill-treatments, inter alia by the police force and in detention facilities.
Harassment and detention of political dissents, human rights defenders and journalists.
Execution of juvenile offenders.
Independence of the judiciary
Trafficking of women and girls.
Discrimination against women and children.
Freedom of expression, association and assembly.
Discrimination against Baha’i and other religious minorities.

Recommendations

Take measures to eradicate torture and other cruel and degrading treatments.
Prohibit executions of persons who where under 18 at the time of the offence.
Consider a moratorium on the death penalty with the view of abolishing it.
Respect the right to a fair and impartial trial for all persons under arrest.
Prosecute all persons involved in human rights abuses.
Take measures to prevent excessive use of force by the security forces.
Eliminate in law and in practice all forms of discrimination.
Ensure equal rights for men and women, in particular in the field of access to employment.
Guarantee freedom of expression, of the media and of assembly.
Uphold constitutional provisions guaranteeing freedom of worship.
Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention Against Torture.

Response of the concerned country

Arbitrary detention and punishment – Judiciary independent from the government; safeguards the rights to a fair trial. Constitution prescribes open court hearings, innocence until proven guilty, independence of judges, etc.
Rights of prisoners – Rights to consult a lawyer, meet family members, access to information and to education. Efforts to eradicate solitary detention.
Freedom of expression – Cannot be used to spread hatred and violence.
Religious freedom – Discrimination on the basis of religious belief prohibited by the Constitution. Baha’i enjoy citizenship rights, although their religion is not officially recognized.
Women's rights – Large number of NGOs dedicated to women's rights. Women represented in politics and in the judiciary. Efforts to prevent forced marriages.
Executions – Permissible under strict standards. Large number of executions related to cases of drug trafficking.

I find it interesting that no one mentioned Iran's sponsorship of known terror groups like Islamic Jihad, Hamas and Hezbollah as being a "human rights" issue, although it appears that the scope is specifically towards human rights within each country's borders.

One interesting occurrence (that I did not find documented by the UNHRC) was Israel's contribution to the debate. From Israel's MFA:

Mr. President,

Iran's wide-scale and escalating attacks on its own citizens is the type of matter that this body was designed to address. As documented most recently by UN General Assembly Resolution 64/176, of 18 December 2009, Iranians are prevented from realizing their most basic human rights and freedoms. Women, minorities - Arabs, Azeris, Baha'ais, Christians, Sunni Muslims, Jews and their defenders - are all discriminated against. There is no freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion. This is not a matter of regional politics or looking for another opportunity to remind all of us of the dangers that Iran's leaders seek to bring upon its neighbors. Instead, today's meeting in Geneva is about the threats that Iran's rulers make, day after day, upon their own people.

The work of this Council on the human rights situations in Iran needs to go far beyond today's periodic review.

The State of Israel recommends to the Islamic Republic of Iran:

1. End incitement to hatred, including statements that show contempt for General Assembly Resolution 60/7 (2005) and 61/255 (2007), on Holocaust remembrance and Holocaust denial, respectively;

2. Cease all actions as a third state proxy and refrain from financing, organizing, training, supplying, and equipping non-state actors committing acts in violation of international law;

3. Commute all death sentences, in particular all executions of political prisoners, and abolish, in practice, public executions by hanging and stoning;

4. Comply with its obligations under article 37 of the CRC and article 6 of the ICCPR and prohibit executions of persons who at the time of their offence were under the age of 18;

5. Eradicate in national legislation, and in practice, torture or other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment;

6. Repeal or amend all discriminatory provisions against women and girls in national legislation; and,

7. Eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination against persons belonging to religious, ethnic, linguistic or other minorities, and also LGBT.

Thank you.

The irony, noted by Al Arabiya, is that Israel stood in front of the UN Human Rights Council and defended the human rights of Arabs - while at the same time, Arab nations like Syria and Libya praised Iran's human rights record, and no Arab nation spoke up against Iran's treatment of Arabs or Sunni Muslims.