Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

So what's the deal with the Lebanon/Israel maritime dispute?

Now Lebanon had a good article on the basics of what looks to become a major issue between Israel and Lebanon:

At issue now between Lebanon and Israel is where their maritime borders should be fixed. Along the coast, the countries more or less agree where the line should start, but out in the Mediterranean, there is serious bickering. Lebanon wants to use Point 23 (see graphic) as the border’s southern limit, whereas Israel wants to use Point 1, several kilometers north of Point 23.

Lebanon, however, finds itself in a bit of a quandary. In 2007, Lebanon inked a deal with Cyprus on their mutual maritime boundaries. In that agreement, which was never ratified by Lebanon’s parliament and is therefore not in force, the two countries decided that the southern limit of the maritime border should be Point 1.

Mohammad Kabbani, head of parliament’s Public Works and Energy Committee, told NOW Lebanon that using Point 1 was a mistake. The agreement with Cyprus, he said, was supposed to be written in a way that left Lebanon’s southern boundary open for negotiation. Lebanon’s parliament never ratified the agreement for fear of angering Turkey, which occupies part of Cyprus and does not think the Cypriot government has the right to be negotiating such deals.

With the Cyprus agreement shelved, in both July and October 2010, Lebanon sent maps and coordinates to the UN (in line with UNCLOS) stating that the southern limit of its EEZ is Point 23.

Kabbani dismissed the idea that Lebanon sought to use the “facts on the ground” created by Israeli licensing to set the border. He maintains that Point 23 is the proper point to use, and added that a group of experts are still working with Lebanese authorities to finalize the boundary. Kabbani said there is some talk of the border possibly being still further south of Point 23.

Israel, for its part, signed an agreement with Cyprus in December 2010 defining their undersea borders, using Point 1 as the northernmost limit of Israel’s EEZ. The countries ratified the agreement, and it went into force in February 2011. Lebanon soon cried foul, and in June 2011, Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour sent a letter to the UN calling the Israel-Cyprus agreement into question.

Today Israel is holding fast to Point 1 as the basis of a border, pointing to Lebanon’s agreement with Cyprus.

Over at Qifa Nakbi's blog, he summarizes this and the comments are fascinating.

He drew this map showing the disputed area:

And a commenter found this similar map that was printed at Makor Rishon:

The disputed area is roughly 1000 square kilometers.

This map shows that the current areas of Israeli exploration, drilling and most of their known reserves are well within an undisputed Israeli zone.

Globes notes this the issue is being greatly exaggerated:

However, the entire story has been taken out of all proportion. Even if the UN were to adopt the Lebanese version of the maritime border, there would be no serious harm to Israel's exploration licenses in the region.

A professional Israeli source that examined the border route under contention said that it involved the northern extremes of the Alon and Ruth licenses, in the northern part of Israel's licenses region. As far as is known, in these areas there are several structures that might contain gas or oil, but these structures are relatively small, and are not top of the agenda of Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL) and Delek Group Ltd. (TASE: DLEKG) who own the licenses.

The only fallout from moving the Israel Lebanon maritime border south would thus be in the Ruth and Alon gas and oil fields, if there are discoveries in these licenses, and if they spill over the border into Lebanon. If that is the case then development of these fields, which are far from the top of the agenda, would be delayed.

So is it a big deal? Lebanon sure is posturing as if it is. The Shi'ite speaker of Lebanon's parliament was quite aggressive:

Speaker Nabih Berri said in an interview with As-Safir newspaper published on Tuesday that those who oppose Hezbollah’s weapons should stand by it at this time, especially because of the oil exploration file that “is a priority to all Lebanese.”

“The value of oil reserves, which fluctuates between $200 billion and $300 billion, is enough to pay off the public debt and move Lebanon into a stage of economic and financial affluence,” he added.

One of the commenters at Nabki's blog wrote an article about this issue a year ago, and quotes himself:

As the above map shows, the Tamar1 find is within Israel’s territorial exclusive economic zone. That is not an issue. The real problem arises if the Lebanese can show that a natural gas/oil field spans the territorial boundaries of the two states. In that case what is the accepted international procedure for determining who gets what?

Interestingly enough and maybe even surprising to some, there is no single standard principle. There are two principles:

(1) The Right Of Capture principle says that each side is permitted to lift as much as it can on its side of the border. This principle is in effect all throughout the state of Texas but more importantly it is what governs the relationship between the US and Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico.

(2) Both sides of the dispute would resort to international arbitration.

Keeping in mind that Lebanon and Israel are in a state of war and given that the Israeli side has already started the exploration and the construction of the required infrastructure which of the above two principles is going to apply if Lebanon can demonstrate that there are natural resources that span the internationally recognized boundary? You have guessed it, The Right of Capture is most likely to be applied.

In other words, if Lebanon was smart, they would be trying to work with Israel to demarcate the borders, as they are way behind in exploration and construction.

If it wasn't for the fact that Lebanon is now politically and militarily controlled by a terrorist group, this could have been a way to actually forge a peace agreement between the two states. Imagine a Mediterranean natural gas equivalent to OPEC!

Alas.

UNIFIL troops attacked

From Naharnet:

Three French soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) were wounded on Tuesday in a blast targeting their vehicle in the southern coastal city of Sidon, Agence France Presse reported.

The blast took place at the southern entrance of the city, an army spokesman told AFP.

Only two days ago, the Lebanese Army pledged to protect UNIFIL forces:

Lebanese army commander General Jean Kahwaji warned that France and other countries that are part of UNIFIL have fears regarding their abilities to carry out their tasks in South Lebanon, and their desire to strengthen the Lebanese army’s role, the National News Agency reported on Sunday.

During a meeting held in his honor in France, Kahwaji added that the Lebanese army will confront any attempt to harm UNIFIL.

Of course, Hezbollah restricts what the LAF can do in southern Lebanon.

Since they have their own army.

That is not happy with UNIFIL.

(h/t T34)

Is J-Street aiding the PA in its September UN stunt?

From Aaron Klein at WorldNetDaily, July 13:

The left-wing Jewish lobby J Street has been aiding the Palestinian Authority in its bid to unilaterally declare a Palestinian state at the United Nations, according to PA officials speaking to WND.

The officials said J Street has been helping the PA to set up Capitol Hill meetings with mostly Democratic lawmakers in a search for diplomatic support for their U.N. statehood move. Israel strongly opposes the plan to unilaterally declare a state in September.

J Street did not return WND email and phone requests for comment.

Strangely, the J-Street site is silent on the matter. My request for them to clarify went unanswered.

However, in a fawning interview of Jeremy Ben Ami, Michael Omer-Man writes that J-Street opposes the unilateral statehood bid:

In addition to not involving itself in Israel’s internal politics, J Street also opposes outside pressure on the Jewish state to make peace. [!!!!! - EoZ] J Street, Ben-Ami said, also opposes the Palestinian bid for recognition of statehood in the United Nations this September. He described a scenario where Palestinians’ false expectations and ultimate let-down upon declaration of statehood could lead to renewed violence.

“We are not in favor of UN action, we’re trying to put it off,” he explained. “We’re trying to avoid [it] and we’re trying to advocate for the US to do things that will avoid [Palestinian statehood recognition] coming to a UN vote.”

That's not exactly a condemnation of the statehood bid - one that attempts to take the Temple Mount, Western Wall and the entire Old City out of Jewish hands. It sounds more like J-Street wants to fine-tune how and when the PLO should stake their claim.

But if we are to believe Jeremy Ben-Ami, the WND report is not true. I believe, however, that it is entirely possible that J-Street is consulting with the PLO on strategy, and that the PLO calls up J-Street to arrange meetings.

J-Street's official position on Jerusalem is that it should be negotiated - but J-Street does not advocate that it should be recognized today as Israel's capital.

(The worst part of the article was where Omer-Man claims, falsely, that J-Street's position is virtually identical to Kadima and Labor. It isn't, and the Palestine Papers show that Kadima was way to the right of J-Street.)

The news about the small golden bell, possibly from a tunic worn by a high priest during the Second Temple period that was discovered in the sewage tunnel near the City of David, has angered Palestinian Arabs as the wire services have picked it up.

Various Arabic media are noting the story by quoting a Silwan official as saying that this "underlines the efforts of the occupation and the extremist Jewish groups to falsify history and planting Jewish history forged in the region."

But I thought that biblical history is Palestinian history as well!

Hamas increasing control of tunnel trade

Palestine Today reports that Hamas security forces have been active today in the vicinity of the Rafah tunnels - and even filling some of them in.

Sources say that Hamas wants to limit the kinds of items allowed in, and to increase "quality control" of smuggled items. The main purpose seems to be for Hamas to ensure that all goods that are smuggled in are taxed properly, as they are putting fences up around the tunnel areas so they can inspect the contents of all trucks exiting the area.

Hamas claims there are no honor killings!

Reuters reports:

Most safe-houses in the Gaza Strip are meant to provide protection for armed militants on Israel's target list. Now Gaza is offering protected shelter to battered Palestinian women.

Its lone women's safe-house, opened two months ago, has had eight clients, all guarded by police from the Islamist Hamas movement that runs the enclave and enforces a conservative though not radical Muslim religious code.

So-called 'honour killings' are rare but not unknown among religious Palestinians of Gaza and the West Bank, and like every society it is not immune to wife-beating.

"In 2010 there was no record of killing under the motive of family honor and this is a positive development," said Huda Naeem, a Hamas lawmaker who backed the safe house as a way station for women at risk within their own families.

And of course Reuters believes her.

Assuming she is only referring to Gaza "honor killings," I know of specific cases in April and July in Gaza. (There were many more in the West Bank.) And, as Reuters goes on to say later:

Sobheya Joma, a woman lawyer at the Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR), said there was no way to know for sure if honor killings were really eradicated.

"The ICHR is worried because it has recently noticed that some deaths were listed as unexplained or accidental," Joma told Reuters in her Gaza city office.

Reuters being Reuters, of course, they need to blame Israel for some of the women being beaten by their husbands in Gaza:

At one stage, women under risk were transferred to the other Palestinian Territory - the West Bank - where they could be kept safe from angry relatives.

But it is now virtually impossible for Gazans to get to the West Bank because of an Israeli blockade, which is vigorously imposed following repeated Hamas attacks on the Jewish state.

That awful Israeli policy allows Gaza husbands to beat their wives!

(h/t jzaik)

Hamas executes two "collaborators"

From Ma'an:

The government in the Gaza Strip announced Tuesday that two residents accused of collaborating with the Israeli occupation have been executed.

Hamas officials told Reuters the two men, a father and son, had confessed to providing intelligence that helped Israel track down Palestinians including Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi, who was killed in a 2004 airstrike on his car.

One of the crimes they were convicted of is that they "weakened the morale and spirit of resistance of the Palestinian people."

PCHR notes:

[T]he ratification of death sentences is an exclusive power of the President of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) under the Code of Criminal Procedures (3) of 2001; the implementation of any death sentences without the President's ratification constitutes a violation of the law and constitution. PCHR stresses that the ratification of such sentences is necessary especially following signing the Palestinian reconciliation agreement in May 2011.

So this is not only Hamas' attempt to scare potential "collaborators." It is also a slap in the face of the "unity" agreement.

Hamas is telling Abbas, quite plainly, that they do not recognize his authority or position at all.

The last time Hamas executed a "collaborator" was only hours before the "unity" agreement was signed. This is the first time Hamas has openly ignored this PA law since the agreement.

Erekat's threats of the day

His lies are getting surreal:

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat vigorously condemned both Israel and the United States during a briefing to over 90 Palestinian envoys in Istanbul on Sunday, saying the Oslo process was on the verge of failure.

Erekat said that if the United States continued to stymie the Palestinian efforts to get a state recognized by the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority should be dismantled.

"If the United States wants the Palestinian Authority to continue to exist, then the price is the establishment of a Palestinian state in keeping with the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital," Erekat told the envoys, according to a transcript of his remarks that appeared in the Al-Ayam newspaper.

"But if the United States vetoes accepting Palestine to the United Nations in the Security Council, uses its financial aid to the PA as political blackmail and leaves Israel as the source of authority, then in my opinion, the PA must cease to exist."

The very definition of the Palestinian Authority is an interim organization that only handles administrative, internal affairs until a final status agreement.

In other words, by definition, the PA will cease to exist anyway the minute a Palestinian Arab state would be established!

Moreover, Erekat is saying that Oslo is "on the verge of failure" if the US doesn't acquiesce to ripping up Oslo itself by bypassing any negotiations and giving the PLO everything it demands, at Israel's expense.

Erekat is threatening the US by saying that the PA should cease to exist unless the US allows it to cease to exist, and that Oslo will fail unless the US supports destroying Oslo.

Lewis Carroll couldn't come up with a character to say something so absurd.

Beyond that, his threat is a veiled threat to start a new intifada, because if the PA internal security (which employs tens of thousands) disappears, all those "policemen" will seek to use their American weapons in other ways, just as they did in 2001. This has been the usual modus operandi among Palestinian Arab leaders since 1920: "Give us what we want or terror will magically break out." They have always acted more like the mob than like political leaders when dealing with other countries.

What a peaceful guy!

(h/t DF)

Hezbollah blames Norway massacres on...well, take a guess

From the Daily Star (Lebanon):

Hezbollah condemned Monday the recent attack in Norway that left at least 76 dead as “proof” of the racism of Zionist culture.“

"The terrorist act committed by a right-wing extremist, who supports Zionists in Norway, is additional proof that the culture stemming from the Zionist enemy, or ideas that support it, is deeply tied to the racism of its leadership,” a statement released by the party said.

Hezbollah’s statement said “Zionist terrorism” poses a danger to Palestinians and Arabs as well as to Europeans and warned against “attempts to overlook terrorism tied to Zionism.”

“Concerning this assault, standards differ within the international community and positions are taken based on the identity of those accused of terrorism. If they were Muslims, then their culture and society would be condemned, whereas if they were close to Zionists, justifications and excuses would be sought,” it added.

Hezbollah said attempts to overlook the incident’s link to Zionist terrorism would encourage further attacks.

Hezbollah's Al Manar TV added:

The motive that urged the “Christian” fanatic to launch terror attacks in Norway was the source of terror in the world, Israel; and so, the first European country to declare the recognition of an independent Palestinian State and the right for Palestinians to have a good livelihood, was the first to witness a deadly terror attack since decades.

Beside the pro-Palestinian events, investigations revealed that Breivak was against “Muslim Domination in Europe”, and a supporter of Zionism. Furthermore, he was an admirer of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, and Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman.

The extremist criminal was reportedly labeled as a “Shabbath Goy”: Hebrew for a non-Jewish individual who assists the Jews in performing an act that is forbidden for Jewish individuals according to their biblical law.

That last bit comes from rabid anti-semite Gilad Atzmon in a bizarre rant he penned earlier today.

If Hezbollah and their buddy Atzmon would try to create a list of bad things that Jews aren't responsible for, they'd be done in time for brunch.

Iranian general: "We have no option but to destroy Israel"

From Pajamas Media:

In reaction to the recent assassination of Iranian scientist Dariush Rezaiinejad, chief commander of the Basij Brigadier General Mohammad-Reza Naghdi stated:

The main plot for this criminal act was conceived by the American government, and since it is scared of the reaction by the Muslim world due to the uprisings in the region, it had the Zionist regime commit the heinous act.
…
In order to protect the security of our country, we have no option but to have the Zionist regime wiped off the map.
Naghdi, who was born in Iraq, was a member of the Iranian Quds Force involved in international terrorism before he was appointed by Ayatollah Khamenei to the post of commander of the Basij in 2009. He has previously threatened to assassinate American generals in retaliation for the killings of the Iranian nuclear scientists.

I could be wrong, but I think it is a violation of international law to threaten to destroy an entire nation.

The magic pumpkins of the Qassams

From YNet:

Farmers from the community of Kfar Maimon in southern Israel presented huge pumpkins in a Beersheba market over the weekend, noting that the unusual vegetables were grown using old-time agricultural techniques and a special ingredient – Gaza rockets.

Three people had to join forces in order to lift one 140-pound round pumpkin and another 100-pound pumpkin and load them into a car Friday. The exceptionally large vegetables drew plenty of attention at the market, as well as skepticism, with some visitors wondering whether the pumpkins were real.

"My father is an old-time farmer, one who wakes up early every morning, arrives at the field and speaks to the pumpkins, Dotan Mines told Ynet. His father, Shimon, has been working in the field for more than 50 years. "He doesn't use new technologies to examine the soil, but rather, he feels the soil…this treatment enables the pumpkin to reach such dimensions."

Mines added that that the field in question was hit by two rockets in the past, attributing some of the pumpkin magic to the Qassam strikes.

"Some of the pumpkins were hit when the rocket landed. Maybe they became upset and that prompted them to grow like that," he said. "The really large one grew a few dozens of meters away from the landing site."

Palestine Press Agency reported on the "magic Gaza rockets" that produce large pumpkins. One of their more knowledgeable readers pointed out that the rockets use potassium nitrate for fuel - which is a fertilizer.

So if "Palestine" becomes a state, they can go to the International Court of Justice to demand compensation for fertilizing Israeli fields so well.

+972 magazine pushes the "9/11 Dancing Israelis" lie

In yet another example of how 972 magazine has no journalistic integrity, an article by Yossi Gurvitz claims that Israelis were "gleeful" after the horrendous terror attack in Norway on Friday.In fact, Gurvitz says that Israelis actually support terrorism because they are usually so happy at any terror attacks, both against Israelis and against foreigners.

His proof of Israelis' "glee"? He notes a couple of talkbacks in a YNet Hebrew article. Yes, he generalizes all Israelis based on a few comments! (Of course, some comments compare the terrorists to settlers too - but Gurvitz is very selective in his outrage about anonymous comments in YNet.)

But he doesn't stop there in his zeal to tarnish all Israelis as loving terror attacks. He writes:

During the shock following the 9/11 attacks, a strong undercurrent of glee showed up. Four Israelis were actually arrested in New York for dancing in front of the burning towers. They spent quite some time in detention before being kicked out of the US.

Apparently, Gurvitz likes to spend time on 9-11 truther websites, because those who actually remember the story know that there were no dancing Israelis on 9/11. The woman who reported them to the police described them this way:

MARIA: Like a few minutes must have gone on, and all of a sudden down there I see this van park. And I see three guys on top of the van, and I'm trying, you know, to look at the building but what caught my attention, they seemed to be taking a movie.

MILLER: (VO) Maria says the three young men were kneeling on the roof of a white van. It was parked right here. They were taking pictures of each other with the World Trade Center burning in the background.

MARIA: And I could see that they were, like, happy, you know? They--they--they weren't--they didn't look shocked to me, you know? They didn't look shocked. I thought it was very strange.

If I would have had a camera with me that day, I would have been taking photos as well - and hundreds of people did. But there was no dancing and no celebration (although there does seem to have been excitement at witnessing such an event, and somewhat bad taste at taking tourist-type photos in front of the smoke.)

The Israelis denied dancing to the US authorities and went on Israeli television and denied it again. But "truther" websites started the rumor that there were "dancing israelis" - and 972 mag now pushes that lie as well. And, of course, they weren't arrested for "dancing," as pseudo-journalist Gurvitz asserts.

So what else does Gurvitz have to slander an entire country as being gleeful when scores are murdered? Nothing. He states it as fact, and then psychoanalyzes it as if he proved it. Few of 972's readers would doubt his accuracy for a second, because they already buy into the idea that Israelis are collectively morally corrupt (outside of the brave, moral writers for 972mag, of course.)

To be fair, I have no doubt that Israelis have mixed feelings at terror attacks abroad. They hope against hope that the victim country will now have an inkling of the fear that Israelis had to go through for years, before going on the offensive to stop daily terror attacks (using methods that no doubt offend the oh-so-moral sensitivities of 972mag columnists.) In other words, they naturally hope that Europeans will start to empathize with what Israelis have had to live with and notice that they have common enemies. This is human, but it is a not close to the happiness that Gurvitz is describing in this sickeningly vile piece of garbage.

The day after Palestinian Arab statehood

For all the talk about Palestinian Arab statehood, I find it interesting that none of the articles about the supposed benefits of statehood actually enumerate any benefits for real live Palestinian Arabs.

A recent example is this article in Al Jazeera by Noura Erakat (apparently Saeb's niece) where the benefits of statehood can be summed up as: it will hurt Israel politically.

But will even a successful statehood bid benefit real Palestinian Arabs? What would happen the day after it achieves its unilateral aims?

If the bid goes forward, the economic and security cooperation with Israel would disappear. The vast majority of Palestinian Arab exports are to Israel and if Palestine is a sovereign nation Israel will feel no obligation to continue that relationship. It would take years for a similar trade program to grow with the Arab world, and there is no evidence that there is a pent-up demand for Palestinian Arab goods in Jordan and Syria and the Gulf states.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian Arabs who are now employed in Israel and in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria would lose their jobs, putting more economic pressure on the PA. And, of course, the PA already is heavily dependent on foreign aid, aid that may be put in jeopardy after the supposed goal of independence is achieved. NGOs will likewise start looking elsewhere for recipients of their cash, and Israeli NGOs that have been working hard for cooperation with Palestinian Arabs would no longer be able to continue. Israeli Arabs will have a much harder time visiting their relatives across the border.

A third intifada seems likely, with the inevitable Israeli response. Even if it is a low-level war with "only" firebombs and stones and handguns against Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, Israel would no longer feel obligated to respect the autonomy of Area A. Checkpoints that have been removed because of security cooperation would return, with the concomitant loss of mobility among the newly liberated people.

Hamas would take advantage of the nascent chaos and recruit the newly unemployed for their terrorist brigades with ready Iranian cash. They would also use that cash to build a separate social infrastructure, using that as a means to recruit new members and fans. In Gaza, of course, they will continue to consolidate their iron grip on the people there while paying lip service to "unity." Targeted killings of terror leaders will resume, and the current sense of relative safety that West Bank Arabs have will disappear. Freedom of the press and assembly would likely be even more severely curtailed than it is now.

Israel's coordination in sending thousands of tons of goods to Gaza would dry up, as the line between Israel and Gaza becomes an international border. The problem will go into Egypt's lap - and Egypt is not rushing to expand the Rafah crossing to handle hundreds of trucks daily.

Millions of "diaspora" Palestinian Arabs may demand to move into "Palestine," causing huge problems. It is not inconceivable that Syria or Libya would "encourage" their Palestinian "guests" to move out. that Imagine 200,000 Lebanese Palestinians saying that it is time for them to move to their new homeland. Would the PA build new camps for their people, trading one form of misery with another? They haven't even taken down the camps in their own autonomous areas!

Right now, as Abbas famously said a couple of years ago, "in the West Bank we have a good reality . . . the people are living a normal life." Statehood would change that "good reality" in an instant, and Mahmoud Abbas (who is now 76 years old) will not be able to fix it. Does he have any successor with any charisma or a following? How popular will Fatah be after the economy goes down the drain?

So why isn't the media looking at these issues? The only supposed benefits of statehood involve political issues like how "Palestine" would be able to go to the International Court of Justice to press bids against Israel or become a full member of various international bodies. Nobody is spelling out a scenario where Palestinian Arabs, in the territories or in Arab countries, will personally benefit.

Which indicates that, just as they have been throughout their short history, Palestinian Arabs are again being used as pawns by their leaders. As always, no one cares a bit about them.

Hamas tries to tie Norway terrorist to Zionism

Hamas came out with a press release on Saturday condemning the terror spree in Norway:

The Hamas movement is saddened by the terrible attacks that occurred in Norway, which have left dozens of innocent civilians as victims, which... caused widespread destruction.

We in the Hamas movement denounce these heinous crimes and express our full solidarity with the people of Norway and the families of the victims at this difficult time, wishing a speedy recovery to the wounded.

These attacks show the dangers of extremist tendencies which promote and incite hatred against Islam, this time aimed at youth camps that were expressing their solidarity with the Palestinian people under occupation and the lifting of the siege.

This confirms that the crime of the incitement campaigns of the unjust ongoing Zionist and American siege against the Palestinian people...The free world must stop providing cover for Zionist extremism.

Isn't that sweet, that one of the leading terror organizations in the world is condemning attacks against civilians - when they have been responsible for purposefully targeting and killing thousands of civilians themselves!

The Ma'an News Agency published the Hamas condemnation but for some strange reason, no doubt related to its newsworthiness, it didn't mention the part where Hamas blamed Zionism for the Norway attacks and praised the victims as supporters of Palestinian Arabs. In other words, it treated what was purely a political statement as if it was a real expression of sympathy for the victims.

Compassion and cynicism are not the same, and by reporting it as the first and not the second, Ma'an has once again obfuscated rather than illuminated.

(h/t Challah Hu Akbar)

UPDATE: Ma'an updated the article somewhat, after I tweeted their editor.

Bethlehem bakers go on strike because PA lowered price of bread

Palestine Today says that bakers in Bethlehem are calling s strike today, in protest of the PA lowering the price of a kilo of bread.

The price has been lowered from four shekels to three and a half shekels.

The bakers are complaining that they cannot make any profit at such a price level.

I had no idea that the PA set prices on basic food items. Economists have never been thrilled with such heavy-handed methods.

Economist and Nobel prize winner Milton Friedman once said, "We economists don't know much, but we do know how to create a shortage. If you want to create a shortage of tomatoes, for example, just pass a law that retailers can't sell tomatoes for more than two cents per pound. Instantly you'll have a tomato shortage."

UPDATE: I am told that Israel does the same on various staples. (h/t Akiva)