Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, June 06, 2011

So where was UNDOF on Sunday?

UNDOF is the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria. This is its mandate:

Maintain the ceasefire between Israel and Syria;

Supervise the disengagement of Israeli and Syrian forces; and

Supervise the areas of separation and limitation, as provided in the May 1974 Agreement on Disengagement.

Here is a map showing its area of operations. I have highlighted Majdal Shams, where the riots were yesterday and on May 15th.

The map shows that the Arab rioters passed through miles of UNDOF areas patrolled by the Austrian contingent of UNDOF.

The entire UNDOF forces consist of around 1200 lightly armed peacekeepers.

So what did they do on Sunday to defuse tensions on the border?

A fascinating post in Tom Lehner's blog written after the Nakba Day protests describes how UNDOF, especially the Austrian unit, normally works during demonstrations:

EGG or “Ein-Greif-Gruppe” (Interference Unit) is a small unit on permanent 24/7 alert status.

In case of protests (Nakbah, Family shouting, Quneitra Protests, and others) this unit is called out. They drive in Trucks to the place of protest, armed with light arms (Ausbatt: Glock side arms for officers, and STG 77 assault rifles for enlisted) and barbwire rolls.

After unrolling the wire, that is supposed to keep protesters in line, soldiers take position and wait for the Syrian “Liaison Officer”, usually a young Lieutenant that speaks English and you can be sure he belongs to the Military intelligence (Never officially confirmed, but everybody knows it).

Peace without force through simple presence.

Since 1967 the Austrian Armed Forces have done a marvelous job with this. The men and women are highly professional when it comes to following the orders. They have even earned (early 90’s) the Nobel Peace Prize for their outstanding job.

So why didn't UNDOF do what it normally does to keep the protesters away from the border? Why did they disappear?

Lehner believes that the UN purposefully stayed away, hoping for casualties to pressure Israel to make more concessions.

I'm not sure I'd go that far, but the absence of UNDOF in the area during the protests is very important.

Given that UNDOF is there every other May 15th, it is more than noteworthy that they did not do the same this year, especially when the protests were planned in advance. And this goes double for the "Naksa Day" protests.

The UN's only statement that refers to UNDOF was "The UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is seeking to confirm facts and help calm a continuing volatile situation in the area." Shouldn't they be preventing the escalation of tension, rather than confirming facts afterwards?

The UN needs to answer these simple questions: where was UNDOF during the riots, and why did they not act to save human lives?

(h/t Vandoren)

EoZ interviewed at Pundit Press

Yesterday I was interviewed by Pundit Press. Check it out.

Hamas stopped "Naksa Day" protests in Gaza

Yesterday, things in Gaza remained quiet, even though it was "Naksa Day."

Now we know why.

Palestine Press Agency reported that Hamas banned a planned demonstration of people who planned to approach the security fence near Khan Younis. Hamas' reason was that it would hurt "national unity." One commenter said that Hamas prevented Islamic Jihad from reaching the fence at Beit Hanoun.

Just more proof that in Gaza there's pretty much no such thing as a "spontaneous protest."

Lebanese writer: "Would we want to be treated like we treat the Palestinians?"

From Ghassan Karam in Ya Libnan:

It is that time of the year when the Arab world rediscovers the Palestinian people and their just cause. Alas the discovery does not last for more than a few hours during which politicians make their speeches and compete with each other in an effort to establish their political concern and awareness. We have been going through this ritual for over 60 years and there isn’t anything that anyone can show for these efforts. One cannot help but feel sorry for the Palestinian people since with such friends who needs any enemies.

The Lebanese, in general,have been possibly the worst opportunists and exploiters on these occasions. I have no doubt that there are some very sincere Lebanese who truly believe that the Palestinian people have been unjustly treated and must be supported in their struggle for an honorable settlement. But I am so very disgusted when I hear the disingenuous sentiments expressed in support of the Palestinian struggle by those who have consistently exploited them and abused them. The crocodile tears shed on this occasion are a convenient cover to argue against the Palestinians through a shrewdly constructed rationale that argues that the Palestinians should be abused and discriminated against; they should be deprived of many of their human rights and educational opportunities in order to preserve their right of return. We discriminate against them because of our love, concern and support for them. ...

Does our duplicity know any bounds? Would we want to be treated like we treat the Palestinians? After all isn’t that the best guide for action: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”? Let us play a mind game if you will: Let us imagine that a group of people invaded Lebanon and that half the population decided to flee the war for a variety of reasons. They sought refuge in a number of neighbouring countries till the hostilities end. To their surprise when the war was over they were not permitted to go back. Would we then want these refugees to spend the next 63 years living in the hastily erected temporary refugee camps that were set upon their arrival or would we expect their host countries to treat them like they treat any other immigrant? Wouldn’t we expect and even insist that the hosts make every effort to alleviate their suffering and to integrate them into their respective societies and economies? Shouldn’t they be allowed to own property like all other inhabitants and enjoy the same privileges and protections of the law of the land? And wouldn’t we insist that if they choose then they should become citizens of their adopted countries of residence so that they will be able to exercise their right to vote and thus participate fully in shaping the society in which they are an integral member?

I am confident that our answers to each and every one of the above hypothetical question is in the affirmative. Not only that but we would expect all people anywhere in the world to be treated that way whether they are Iraqi refugees, Vietnamese refugees, Somali refugees or Armenian refugees, just to name a few groups. We will never sanction that we be treated differently than the population where we sought refuge and most importantly we will not accept the argument that we need to be discriminated against for our own good, as if love of country and adherence to moral values and principals are best promoted through mistreatments and opprobrium.

And finally let us repeat one more time what many studies have made abundantly clear: The right of return will not be diminished or watered down in any way form or fashion if the mistreatment and abuse of the Palestinians comes to an end either through acquiring the citizenship rights of where they live or the right to be permanent legal residents with all the rights enjoyed by all other residents.

Lebanon and the Lebanese must right what has been wrong for 63 years. The shameful treatment of the Palestinian refugees is a blot on our national character and history, a blot that we have the moral duty and the obligation to ameliorate by admitting our past errors and by offering the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon full equality under the law in each and every sphere. We also need to offer citizenship to those that want it. Nothing else will do.

The comments include lots of anti-Palestinian Arab hate.

Italy refusing to secure Israel exhibit in face of Arab threats

From YNet:

Italian police have refused to handle security for an Israeli exhibit at a central Milan square next week due to threats of violence by Palestinian activists, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Monday.

The exhibit, set to take place at Piazza Duomo, has been planned in honor of 'Israel Week' in the city. It includes 15 towers showcasing Israeli culture, technology, agriculture, economics, and art "to present the unfamiliar Israel".

But pro-Palestinian organizations are threatening to target the exhibit. Over the past few days the groups have been urging internet users to sign a petition to cancel the exhibit.

Web posters issued by the groups threaten to "ignite the city" and say, "No to Israeli occupation of Milano".

The exhibit has received all necessary permits from Milan's municipality, but political turmoil surrounding the election process in the city have apparently short-circuited communications between the municipality and police, who say officers stationed at the open-air plaza will have difficulty securing the area in the event violence breaks out.

On Monday the municipality was preparing to hold a conference that could end with orders to move the exhibit to a closed space.

The definition of terrorism is "the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims." This is a textbook example, and here is proof that it works.

It must be great for Arab terrorists to know that they only need to make a poster or two threatening to "ignite the city" to force municipal officials to bend to their will.

The subtext is that behind the threat is a real chance for violence. Which is why any similar threat by a Zionist or Jewish group would not result in the city of Milan bending over backwards to accommodate the people behind the threat - it would simply not be credible.

Decades of Arab and Islamic terror has conditioned the world to accept it as a given, and therefore to submit to it.

Terrorism works, because we allow it to.

Zahar: Fatah is stalling on "unity government" until September

From Palestine News Network:

Mahmoud Al Zahar the top Hamas leader in the Gaza strip admitted that there is internal dispute between him and the head of the polit-bureau in Damascus, Khalid Machan.

Al-Zahar hinted during his interview with the BBC of the possibility of pressure being implemented to delay forming the new Palestinian government.

Al-zahar added that Fatah officials have asked to postpone the formation of the new government, until after September to avoid obstacles in front of the negotiations and the French initiative.

Which is exactly what I have been saying since this "unity" deal was announced. This so called "agreement" was always a sham meant to put out a face of a united front for the PA's September diplomatic push, with no intent of following through and actually creating a true unity government - which is nearly impossible given the differing positions of Fatah and Hamas, and Hamas' desire to stay in power in Gaza.

(I couldn't find the interview on the BBC site.)

Report: Shalit family goes to Paris court for Shalit

The Hebrew press is reporting that Noam and Aviva Shalit are going to a Paris court to ask for an investigation as to who is responsible for their son Gilad Shalit's kidnapping, and for an international arrest warrant against them.

Gilad Shalit is a French citizen, and French law allows anyone be prosecuted anywhere in the world if they perform a serious felony against a French citizen.

Shalit's father said, "We appeal to the French legal system as a neutral and independent entity. We cannot do this in Israel. We asked the court to investigate crimes and to investigate the people who kidnapped my son, holding him hostage for five years in solitary confinement, without any basic human rights. "

"We had to go to court because my son's kidnappers ignored for years any international calls to release him on humanitarian grounds," said Shalit, "including the European Parliament's calls for a majority vote, Congress in Washington in two houses, the German Bundestag, the French president Nicolas Sarkozy, President of the United States Obama, and German Chancellor Merkel. " Shalit added that the kidnappers refuse to accept compromise proposals offered by the generous German mediator, the German government envoy, and that they refuse to allow any access to Gilad by the International Red Cross, or any other humanitarian body.

Hamas admits that they hold Shalit, so I'm not sure why it is important for the legal action to identify who is responsible for the kidnapping and why the Shalits cannot call for an arrest warrant against all Hamas leaders.

How to fight the Scottish boycott of Israeli books

From CiFWatch:

In 2009, the West Dumbartonshire Council passed a motion boycotting Israel. The motion reads in relevant part:

"Officers should immediately cease the purchase of any goods we currently source, which were made or grown in Israel. Officers should also ensure we procure no new goods or produce from Israel until this boycott is formally lifted by WDC."

Publicity of the boycott recently came to light after the Daily Express reported that Scottish National Party led West Dunbartonshire Council ordered that its libraries ban any new volumes by Israeli authors, printed or published in the Jewish state. In a failed attempt to deflect criticism, West Dunbartonshire Council claimed the ban didn't apply to all Israeli books just those printed in Israel and transported to the UK while maintaining that a boycott of Israeli products is in effect.

As media attention to this grew, activists began complaining to the council members over the boycott and a number of the council members responded exposing the bigotry underlying the boycott. In a series of emails, as reported by Ynet, CiF Watch exposed that Councillor Jim Bollan, the proposer of the motion, wrote that he viewedHamas as "freedom fighters". With pressure mounting, Councillor Jonathan McColl has been at the forefront of defending the boycott and even posted a rambling videoblog which was a display of rank ignorance and victim playing unbecoming of a political figure.

Since then, the Jewish Chronicle has reported that West Dunbartonshire Council library recently purchased a copy of the antisemitic forgery, Protocols of the Elder of Ziyon [sic - LOL], a decision that the council defended in the interest of freedom of speech.

With West Dunbartonshire having the dubious honor of being the top unemployment blackspot in the UK, the motivation behind singling out Israel, and only Israel, for boycott out of all nations of the world is clear. In Australia similar moves to boycott Israel by a local Sydney councilended up in failure after mass publicity of the planned boycott.

Together with your help, we can reverse the motion and send a message to other Scottish councils that are considering the same that such moves are immoral and racist.

CiFWatch gives all the details needed to email, tweet or otherwise get the message across to the council that their actions are not acceptable.

Lebanese protester admits Hezbollah paid him to get shot by the IDF

How did The Guardian allow this nugget of truth to pass through their eagle-eyed editors? Agreed, it is published four weeks too late, but still...

The village of Maroun al-Ras was the scene of widespread violence on 15 May when up to 10 demonstrators were shot dead as they rallied near the fence that separates Lebanon and Israel. Up to 1,000 demonstrators arrived at the area in buses to mark "Nakba day", the Palestinian name for the day Israel was formed in 1948.

One demonstrator who was wounded that day told the Guardian the Lebanese militia Hezbollah had given him $50 to turn up at the border and $900 to have his gunshot wounds treated by physicians. He said he had been planning to return to Maroun al-Ras yesterday until the rally was cancelled.

Why has the media been so reluctant to report on the theatre behind these demonstrations, and the incentive given by Arab leaders to injure or kill demonstrators that they hand-picked? Today's Syrian border demonstration was broadcast, live, on multiple Israeli TV channels, and the inflated and fake casualties were obvious to all - except, apparently, every single non-Israeli reporter in the area.

(h/t Yerushalimey)

Murderer "proud" of slaughtering the Fogel family

From YNet:

"I'm proud of what I did," so declared Amjad Mahmad Awad, 19, on Sunday just moments before an indictment against him and his partner Hakim Awad was filed before the Judea and Samaria Sector Military Court, over the murders of five members of the Fogel family two and a half months ago.

"I don't regret what I did, even if it means I'm sentenced to death," Amjad said ahead of the indictment hearing.

Five members of the Fogel family were butchered in the March 11 terror attack in Itamar. Husband and wife Udi and Ruthie Fogel and three of their children: Yoav (11) Elad (4) and baby Hadas (four months).

I wonder if the Mondoweiss people still think that some Thai workers, or Jewish neighbors, murdered the family? They sure seem silent on the arrests and confessions - except to talk about how awful Israel treated the people of Awarta who protected the murderers.

Syrian "news" agency now claiming 14 killed (UPDATE x3: Now 22!)

SANA is now reporting that 14 "youths" were killed at 225 injured at the Syrian border today.

They claim that all of them were shot.

They also claim that the IDF fired directly at ambulances.

Furthermore, they are claiming that the IDF fired "phosphorus bombs."

Needless to say, the story does not show a single picture of a "martyr", of bullet holes in an ambulance, or of any life-threatening injuries.

All of this is highly suspect, but watch to see Western news agencies starting to quote it as if it is true, without qualifications. Or, more likely, the wire services will quote the "death toll" without mentioning the more outrageous claims that make the death count look suspect.

YNet adds:

IDF sources said that some four landmines exploded inside Syrian territory, several hundred meters from the border. The blasts near the Quneitra crossing were caused after protestors hurled Molotov cocktails which started a fire. The fire detonated the landmines and left some protestors wounded.

UPDATE:

From the Reform Party of Syria:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington DC, June 5, 2011. The Reform Party of Syria has learned today, from intelligence sources close to the Assad regime in Lebanon, that Syrians storming through the Golan Height next to the Quneitra crossing are Syrian farmers who have migrated in recent years from the drought-stricken northeast Syria to the south. Estimates put the number at 250,000 impoverished migrants.

Information received cite the regime has paid hundreds of these farmers $1,000 each to show-up and $10,000 to their families should any of them succumb to Israeli fire. In Syria, an average salary is about $200 a month and to these impoverished farmers, such a one-time sum can keep them economically afloat for six months.

Such tactic was used in the past by another defunct Ba'ath Party in Iraq, under Saddam Hussein, to pay Intifada-driven Palestinians the sum of $25,000 to their next-of-kin should they die throwing stones. That measure had a worldwide impact and it seems the Assad regime is using the same play from a twin playbook.

It is obvious, with this action, Assad wants to divert the attention of the world away from his own massacres and brutality that resulted in some 70 deaths yesterday and about 30 today in Jisr al-Shoghour. RPS expects, on the basis of today's success, for these operations of incursions to multiply in scope in the near future for two reasons: 1) Divert the attention away from Assad's barbarism and savageries, and 2) Stand tall again in the eyes of the regime's supporters whose morale has taken quite a beating the last 3 months because of the violence perpetrated by Assad against unarmed civilians.

On this day of Naksa, RPS strongly believes in ownership and title of its Golan Heights. But unlike a regime bred on the use of violence, the Syrian people, demonstrating how peaceful they are as they endure one massacre after another, believe in peaceful negotiations to repatriate our lands. If Assad really wanted the Golan Heights, he would walk the same peaceful path Anwar Sadat walked long before him. But then, if he does, how can he justify his own existence as the "Commandant de la Résistance". For Assad, winning through peace means also losing the war against his own people.

(h/t Challah Hu Akbar and Silke)

Update x2: Need I note that there are squads of reporters at that spot, on both sides, and none have yet corroborated a single death?

UPDATE x3: Now Syria is claiming 22 dead. They even have photos now!

Oh, and they also are saying that Israel hurled grenades towards them.

The Western media is eating up the death figures and ignoring the other parts that are obviously nonsense. Yet they choose to believe part of the same nonsense.

Cartoon shows the purpose of "right of return"

Sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words.

From Palestine Times:

Arab League remains silent on Syria

From Now Lebanon:

As people in the Arab world continue to voice opposition to dictatorial regimes, their leaders remain mostly silent. Though formerly quiet members of the international community have spoken out against the violence in Syria, the latest country to witness a significant anti-regime uprising and subsequent security crackdown, the Arab League has remained silent.

Turkey is positioning itself as a mediator between the Syrian government and the protesters, hosting opposition activists for The Conference for Change in Syria this week, and the EU and US have passed sanctions against the Syrian leadership. Many however, are left wondering why the Arab states, which condemned the government crackdown against dissenters in Libya and kicked the country out of the Arab League, are keeping mum on the Assad regime.

According to Dr. Hilal Khashan, professor of Political Studies at the American University of Beirut, the Arab League is not an autonomous entity, and thus never acts on its own. “It intervened on Libya because of Western pressure, because NATO and the US needed to legitimatize their intervention against [Colonel Muammar] Qaddafi,” he said. But the West doesn’t seem very keen on repeating the action, he added, especially not in Syria.

To Egyptian activist and executive director of Cairo-based Arab Forum for Alternatives Mohammad Agati, the question isn’t about Arab silence, but rather its intervention in Libya in the first place. “A typical Arab League does not take any stances,” he said. “If anything, they usually bolster regimes.”

Most experts NOW Lebanon spoke with confirmed that view. Because the majority of the region’s regimes are autocracies, few leaders want to see any of their counterparts get toppled.

“In addition to [their fear of a] domino effect, Syria is regarded as an anchor state and microcosm of the entire Arab East,” explained Khashan. “An authoritarian leadership, a business class, a divisive society, as well as religious and ethnic divisions; if Syria goes down, the entire region will be affected… No one in the Arab League is willing to see Assad go,” he said. When asked whether the Arab states are hoping the Assad regime will tame the protests, no matter how many people are killed, he said, “I hate to agree, but that is the case.”

Actually, the Arab League was pretty early in its condemnation of Libya, before NATO airstrikes. I think it was that at the time, right after Egypt and Tunisia, it appeared that by choosing the Libyan protesters they felt they were backing the strong horse.

In Syria, since it is not clear at all that the protesters will win, the Arab League doesn't want to get involved without making itself look even more irrelevant.

Rafah border closed - first by Egypt and then by Hamas

From Ma'an:

Palestinian officials closed the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the terminal's director Ayyoub Abu Sha'ar said.

Abu Sha'ar said the crossing was closed because the Egyptian authority's mechanism at the terminal was unclear, and because Egypt closed the crossing on Saturday without coordinating with Palestinian officials.

Egypt opened the terminal several hours later than scheduled Saturday without informing Palestinian officials. Several buses of Palestinians were left waiting at the Egyptian gate, and dozens of Palestinians tried to storm the border.

Abu Sha'ar said consultations were ongoing between Gaza's foreign ministry and the Egyptian government to resolve technical and administrative problems at the terminal. He said the crossing would reopen as soon as the issues were fixed.

Al Arabiya reported that the Egyptian action came after Egyptian security forces found weapons in a car driven by Palestinian Arabs in Alexandria.

Gruesome video of Syrian soldiers mocking dead Syrian civilians

From Now Lebanon:

WARNING (Viewer discretion advised): Extremely graphic video shows members of the Syrian army surrounding bodies of civilian protestors they killed, allegedly on top of the Karak Mosque in Daraa. The soldiers are seen equipping the bodies with weapons and ammunition to make it look like the protestors were armed. They are also laughing at the dead men and calling some of them “dogs” and “despicable.”