Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, November 12, 2012

Monday 11/12 links

From Ian:

"How did you spend your Sunday? Most parents in Israel dropped their children off at school and then went to work. Parents outside of Israel likely spent the day with their children doing recreational activities, shopping, and visiting family.
Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets last year to protest the cost of living and housing, and tens of thousands protested inequality in national service this past summer. I believe we must show that same passion and rally on behalf of our brothers and sisters in the South. How can we carry on in our daily routines while they live in constant fear and under constant attacks? We must demand that our leaders take action to provide the most basic governmental function for its citizens – security.”

Beersheba mayor calls for decisive end to ‘war of attrition’ with Gaza
Chief of Staff Benny Gantz convening special meeting on rocket barrage in south

Israel Facing Attacks on 3 Fronts, Strikes Back in Gaza and Golan, Awaits US Support at UN

"Inside Israel’s security community, there is a growing realization that any deterrent value from the 2006 and 2008 Israeli military operations has vanished.
Alex Fishman, the military commentator of Yediot Aharonot newspaper said that Israeli leaders would have to do something severe militarily in order for Israel to regain its ability to deter terrorists."

BBC Watch: BBC’s Jon Donnison thinks escalation in southern Israel is a “PR battle”
And whilst terrified Israeli children run for cover in air raid shelters, the BBC’s Jon Donnison reduces the entire situation to a “PR war” on Twitter.

In Syrian spillover, experts see more chaos than chess

The latest cross-border fire in the Golan is a preview of the lawlessness to come and not a calculated move to draw Israel into the conflict
"Steiner projected that the territorial integrity of the entire Fertile Crescent — Syria, Lebanon and Iraq — was in peril and that those three nation states could crumble along sectarian lines. The Golan Heights, he projected, would soon become “a stronghold for jihadists who have come from Iraq to join the festivities.”

On Boycotting Israel by Douglas Murray

"There are a lot of Nazi caparisons being thrown around these days. Where might they be most accurately directed? Toward the State of Israel? Or against the growing number of people who believe that it is permissible to boycott any herb, any product or indeed any tune if it comes from the hand or the heart of a Jew?"

PMW: No trace of Jewish history in Jerusalem and in "our land" - PA TV News (Video)

New book reveals French terrorist’s anti-Semitic upbringing
Radicalization of Toulouse gunman began at home, brother says

"A documentary film covering similar topics was set to air Sunday on French television, featuring interviews with Abdelghani and his sister, Souad. “My mother always said, ‘We the Arabs, we were born to hate Jews,’ Abdelghani says in a scene from the movie. “This speech, I heard it all throughout my childhood.”

Analysis: Hezbollah’s lethal anti-Semitism

Norway, Austria slam Lebanon-based Shi’ite group’s Jew-hatred; EU efforts to ban terrorist group focus on anti-Jewish rhetoric.
“If this is what he [Nasrallah] said, it would fall into the category of anti-Semitic statements that we strongly reject,” Kjetil Elsebutangen, a spokesman for the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, wrote to the Post by email on Saturday.
Alexander Schallenberg, a spokesman for the Austrian Foreign Ministry, told the Post, “From our perspective, anti-Semitic statements... are totally unacceptable, regardless from what corner or personality they come from.”

Man with Ties to Palestinian Islamic Jihad Set to Speak in UK House of Commons

"Though Abu Maria claims he is no longer involved with Islamic Jihad, as recently as May he was pictured standing next to Khader Adnan, a member of Islamic Jihad, while holding a poster that declared support for Palestinian Islamic Jihad members Bilal Diab & Tha’er Hala."

In phonecall with Obama, Abbas vows to carry on with UN bid
White House: US president expressed opposition to unilateral statehood push; spokesman for PA president says leaders spoke at length Sunday

IAEA head says Iran dismantling nuclear site ahead of inspection

"The International Atomic Energy Agency has raised concerns about what appears to be months of work to scrub the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran of possible traces of nuclear weapons-related work. It believes Iran may have run experiments at the site on triggering a nuclear explosion."

Mossad tried to kill Saddam in the 1970s
Bomb in a book was opened by a different top Iraqi official, killing him, Israel TV documentary reveals; agents also sent bomb that injured top Nazi Alois Brunner in Damascus

The mouse that roared (when it found a bomb)
An innovative Israeli-made explosives detection system will go on display this week at a major conference on homefront security

Text of the draft UNGA resolution for Palestinian Arab non-member statehood

Here is the full text of the draft resolution that the PLO is expected to present to the UNGA to become recognized as a non-member state. I highlight the parts where the PLO appears to want to go beyond a simple upgrade of their status and to where they try to pre-determine their borders; there are some other interesting parts as well.

The preamble is a bit lengthy, and ultimately irrelevant; while it tries to score many rhetorical and legal points they are legally meaningless. The important parts are the numbered paragraphs of the resolution itself.

DRAFT [8 November 2012]
67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

Agenda Item 37: Question of Palestine

The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, and stressing in this regard the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples,

Recalling its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, affirming, inter alia, the duty of every State to promote through joint and separate action realization of the principle of equal rights and self determination of peoples,

Stressing the importance of maintaining and strengthening international peace founded upon freedom, equality, justice and respect for fundamental human rights,

Recalling its resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947,

Reaffirming the Charter principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,

Reaffirming relevant Security Council resolutions, including, inter alia, resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 446 (1979), 478 (1980), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003) and 1850 (2008),

Reaffirming the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Reaffirming its resolution 3236 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, and all relevant resolutions, including resolution 66/146 of 19 December 2011, reaffirming the right of the Palestinian people to self determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine,

Reaffirming its resolution 43/176 of 15 December 1988, resolution 66/17 of 30 November 2011, and all relevant resolutions regarding the “Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine”, which, inter alia, stress the need for (a) the withdrawal of Israel from the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem; (b) the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, primarily the right to self-determination and the right to their independent State; (c) a just resolution of the problem of the Palestine refugees in conformity with resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948; and (d) the complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,

Reaffirming also its resolution 66/18 of 30 November 2011 and all relevant resolutions regarding the status of Jerusalem, bearing in mind that the annexation of East Jerusalem is not recognized by the international community, and emphasizing the need for a way to be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the capital of two States,

Recalling the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004,

Reaffirming its resolution 58/292 of 6 May 2004, affirming, inter alia, that the status of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, remains one of military occupation, and that in accordance with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination and to sovereignty over their territory,

Recalling its resolutions 3210 (XXIX) of 14 October 1974 and 3237 (XXIX) of 22 November 1974, by which, respectively, the Palestine Liberation Organization was invited to participate in the deliberations of the General Assembly as the representative of the Palestinian people and was granted observer status,

Recalling also its resolution 43/177 of 15 December 1988, by which it, inter alia, acknowledged the proclamation of the State of Palestine by the Palestine National Council on 15 November 1988, and decided that the designation “Palestine” should be used in place of the designation “Palestine Liberation Organization” in the United Nations system, without prejudice to the observer status and functions of the Palestine Liberation Organization within the United Nations system,

Taking into consideration that the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, in accordance with a decision by the Palestine National Council, is entrusted with the powers and responsibilities of the Provisional Government of the State of Palestine,

Recalling its resolution 52/250 of 7 July 1998, by which additional rights and privileges were accorded to Palestine in its capacity as observer,

Recalling the Arab Peace Initiative adopted in March 2002 by the League of Arab States,

Reaffirming its commitment, in accordance with international law, to the two-State solution of an independent, sovereign, democratic, viable and contiguous State of Palestine living side by side with Israel in peace and security on the basis of the pre-1967 borders;

Bearing in mind the mutual recognition of 9 September 1993 between the Government of the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, the representative of the Palestinian people,

Affirming the right of all States in the region to live in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders,

Commending the Palestinian National Authority’s 2009 plan for constructing the institutions of an independent Palestinian State within a two-year period, and welcoming the positive assessments in this regard about readiness for Statehood by the World Bank, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund and as reflected in the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee Chair Conclusions of April 2011 and subsequent Chair Conclusions, which determined that the Palestinian Authority is above the threshold for a functioning State in key sectors studied,

Recognizing that full membership is enjoyed by Palestine in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, and the Group of Asian States and is also a full member as in the League of Arab States, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Group of 77 and China,

Taking note of the 11 November 2011 report of the Security Council Committee on the Admission of New Members,

Stressing the permanent responsibility of the United Nations towards the question of Palestine until it is satisfactorily resolved in all its aspects,

Reaffirming the principle of universality of membership of the United Nations,

1. Reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the basis of the pre-1967 borders;

2. Recognizes that, to date, 132 States Members of the United Nations have accorded recognition to the State of Palestine;

3. Decides to accord to Palestine Observer State status in the United Nations system, without prejudice to the acquired rights, privileges and role of the Palestine Liberation Organization as the representative of the Palestinian people, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and practice;

4. Expresses the hope that the Security Council will consider favorably the application submitted on 23 September 2011 by the State of Palestine for admission to full membership in the United Nations;

5. Affirms its determination to contribute to the achievement of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the attainment of a peaceful settlement in the Middle East that ends the occupation that began in 1967 and fulfills the vision of two States, an independent, sovereign, democratic, contiguous and viable State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with Israel and its other neighbors, on the basis of the pre-1967 borders, with delineation of borders to be determined in final status negotiations;

6. Expresses the urgent need for the resumption and acceleration of negotiations within the Middle East peace process, based on the relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet Roadmap, for the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement between the Palestinian and Israeli sides that resolves all outstanding core issues, namely the Palestine refugees, Jerusalem, settlements, borders, security, water and prisoners;

7. Urges all States and the specialized agencies and organizations of the United Nations system to continue to support and assist the Palestinian people in the early realization of their right to self determination, independence and freedom;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to implement the present resolution and to report to the Assembly within three months on progress made in this regard.

Some items to note:

As I mentioned previously, the PLO is trying to include the borders of "Palestine" in the resolution, even though the UNGA cannot determine borders.

They are trying to ensure that becoming a "state" would not mean that they must give citizenship to Palestinian Arabs they claim to represent outside their borders, by saying that statehood does not prejudice the PLO's role. The PA now reports to the PLO, and this would not change that, which means that their "state" may be the only one in the world that is run by an organization, and is therefore anything but democratic.

The word "contiguous" means that they are insisting that there is a land bridge between Gaza and the West Bank, which would cut Israel in two unless it is completely above ground.

The continuous use of the phrase "1967 borders" is nonsensical. The UN recognizes that the 1949 armistice lines were never considered international borders and even as de facto borders, they were between Israel and Jordan, with no "Palestine" even being considered between 1949 and 1967. By using that language, the resolution is simply pushing a lie, and it should (in a sane world) invalidate the resolution altogether.

Of course, the resolution does not mention that a significant part of the "state" is a completely separate political and physical entity, which again should be enough to scuttle the entire stunt - in a sane world.

(h/t CHA. Arnold)

NBC romanticizes "resistance" in report from Taybeh

On the surface, this seems to be another feel-good story about how Palestinian Christians brew beer. But there is propaganda here.

The first problem, of course, is saying that Taybeh is "home to the only brewery in Palestine." Since there is no Palestine, and the US is careful to refer to the "Palestinian territories," this is essentially NBC's recognition of a state that doesn't exist. (And if you claim that Palestine has existed for a long time and that they are not referring to PA-ruled areas but to the area of British Mandate Palestine, well, there are breweries in Israel.)

But the quote from Khoury that brewing beer is a "peaceful resistance to the occupation" - which NBC incorporated into its headline, "'Resistance' by the pint: Palestinian brewery thrives" - is far more problematic.

Before the intifada Khoury had said that "Beer has nothing to do with politics" and even allowed a rabbi to certify it as kosher. As I noted earlier this year, Taybeh Brewing is marketing a non-alcoholic version to Hamas and has a slogan, in Arabic, "Drink Palestinian — Taste the Revolution." (In English, they say "Drink to Peace.")

There is zero indication that Israel has done anything to discourage the brewery from operating; on the contrary, Israel has invested in a strategy to make the economy thrive in the territories. When the owner of the brewery says that his job is a form of resistance, he is pretending that he is somehow bravely staring down the evil Israelis - when in fact he works closely with them to help his export business.

He's not a resistor - he is a collaborator!

Beyond that, there has been a history of real oppression against the Christians of Taybeh - from their Muslim neighbors.

NBC is pushing a completely false anti-Israel narrative, subliminally, in the context of a human interest story. In many ways, that is worse than the explicitly anti-Israel bias we are so used to seeing, because this comes without you thinking about it. The idea of "resistance" to Israel - which, in Arab parlance, includes violence as well - should not be romanticized.

(h/t Anne)

Now, Arabs claim the Magna Carta provides the "right to return"

In the UN on Wednesday:

The Palestine refugees would not disappear into thin air, the representative of Lebanon stated, urging that they be given the right to return. That right was acknowledged in the Magna Carta in 1215 and codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, implementing international humanitarian law and resolutions seemed to be inconvenient for Israel, but acting according to law and normality was not a matter subject to convenience.

The Magna Carta? This was a new one on me.

Since Lebanese representatives to the UN tend to simply parrot talking points, I found the likely source for this idea that the Magna Carta discusses a "right to return" all the way back from 1979.

It was mentioned in a document prepared for the UN's "Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People." And the text there shows that duplicity by the "pro-Palestinian" crowd is hardly a recent phenomenon.

The document, called "An international law analysis of the major United Nations resolutions concerning the Palestine question" by William Thomas Mallison and Sally V. Mallison, states:

Historically, the right of return was so universally accepted and practiced that it was not deemed necessary to prescribe or codify it in a formal manner. In 1215, at a time when rights were being questioned in England, the Magna Carta was agreed to by King John. It provided that: "It shall be lawful in the future for anyone... to leave our kingdom and to return, safe and secure by land and water..."

So let's look at the Magna Carta, and see what is hidden behind the ellipses.

42. In the future it shall be lawful for any man to leave and return to our kingdom unharmed and without fear, by land or water, preserving his allegiance to us, except in time of war, for some short period, for the common benefit of the realm. People that have been imprisoned or outlawed in accordance with the law of the land, people from a country that is at war with us, and merchants - who shall be dealt with as stated above - are excepted from this provision.

Ah, so it only applies to people who are citizens of the country they left! And it clearly does not apply to members of a entity that is hostile to the country.This is hardly a universal "right of return," and the authors of this paper knowingly quoted only a small excerpt to promote a ridiculous assertion - one that is now confidently shouted at the UN.

It also obviously doesn't apply to descendants.

1979 anti-Israel writers were no less deceptive than their more modern counterparts.

What about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

It says

Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.

But this also only applies to citizens or nationals of that country. The text was meant primarily to stop nations from preventing nationals from leaving, and the "return" clause was only added to strengthen the right of citizens to leave. See CAMERA's analysis. Regrettably, the 1963 UN document that is the source for this is not online as far as I can tell.

(UPDATE: Ian found it online, with free registration from Calameo. Ingles' entire monograph is suffused with references to the right of return of nationals. Several times during his discussion he refers to "the right of a national to return to his country." In addition he discusses the matter of how countries may strip nationality from those who leave their country over a long period of time; again the point being that he is only speaking of nationals of the country in the context of return. Beyond that, the language added to the UDHR for "return" being only to strengthen the right to leave was added by Lebanon:

The Lebanese amendment was to add, at the end of paragraph 2, the words
"and to return to his country".

In submitting his amendment, the representative of Lebanon pointed out that
the text under discussion:

"... was intended to cover all movements inside and outside of a given
State. According to that article, any person had the right to leave any
country, including his own. The ideal would be that any person should be
able to enter any country he might choose, but account had to be taken of
actual facts. The minimum requirement was that any person should be able
to return to his country. If that right were recognized, the right to leave a
country, already sanctioned in the article, would be strengthened by the
assurance of the right to return. Such was the object of his amendment."

And, again, it clearly does not include descendants of those who left. That is an innovation that is uniquely applied to Palestinian Arabs, with legal arguments that are at least as specious as these are.

After last week's fabricated reports that former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni admitted that she had sex with prominent figures in order to blackmail them to do Israel's bidding, I suppose it was only a matter of time for some Arab "reporters" to start rumors as to who Livni supposedly slept with.

Even though the original rumor was that Livni slept with the enemy while working for the Mossad, the new rumors say that she slept with PLO figures Saeb Erekat and Yasser Abed Rabbo, presumably during negotiations.

The stories are saying that Livni admits that she outfitted the bedrooms with cameras to catch the naked Palestinian officials having sex with her, and that she threatened to post the videos on YouTube if they didn't concede to Israeli demands.

The latest version of this ridiculous story seems to have originated at the Charles Ayoub news site in Lebanon. The story has since been taken down after Saeb Erekat threatened a lawsuit, but it lives on in many other Arabic sites.

Hamas celebrates targeting Israeli civilians - but only in Arabic

From the English website of Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades:

Al-Qassam Brigades is declaring its responsibility for the following operations as a response to Zionist aggression on the Palestinian civilians:

Day: Sunday Date: November 11th, 2012.
Time: Early Morning - Al Qassam Brigades and Palestinian factions target Israeli military sites around Gaza Strip.
These operation is part of the repelling operations against the occupation assaults on Gaza Strip and West Bank, and as a response for the ongoing aggression against Palestinian people.

Hamas has publicly claimed for years that they only target Israeli military sites with their rockets, even though it is obvious that they and the other terrorist groups aim right at Israeli communities and schoolchildren.

In Arabic, however, Hamas is celebrating the destruction of Israeli homes and the injuries of Israeli civilians. From the Arabic al-Qassam website:

The Zionist enemy admitted Monday morning the fall of several Grad rockets fired by the Palestinian resistance in the Gaza Strip, towards the usurped "Netivot" West occupied city of Beersheba, injuring 26 and causing panic and destruction of homes.

Channel Two Hebrew reported that 26 Israeli usurpers were wounded and of panic situations after a rocket hit a house in the usurped "Netivot" west of the occupied city of Beersheba. The channel reported, on the morning of Monday, 11/12/2012, that the missile directly hit the courtyard of the house causing severe damage as well to neighboring houses, and also damage to the electricity grid in the usurped area. Occupation authorities announced the cancellation of classes in the town until further notice. Since the dawn of the day Monday, the Palestinian resistance shot more than 30 rockets at Israeli settlements around Gaza in response to the continuous Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The residents of communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip in the occupied Negev spent the nightin fear near protected areas, and since the middle of the night there was maximum alert in the region.

No pretense here that they are only targeting the IDF, and glee at whatever they can do to disrupt the lives of ordinary people. Plus they scour Israeli websites to find all the photos they can to celebrate the damage they inflict on civilians:

Even though their Arabic press releases also claim they are targeting the military, their happiness at hitting civilian targets and causing schools to close makes it obvious to their Arabic readers what the real targets are.

The UN's news site has yet to say a word about the 130 or so rockets fired at Israel since Saturday night on its Middle East page.

Video report on luxury homes in the West Bank

Speaking of luxury houses in the West Bank....Here is a BBC report.

(h/t jzaik, Elder of Lobby)

PA TV: "Jesus was Palestinian, the first Shahid"

From Palestinian Media Watch:

Issa Karake: "We are standing at Jesus' Plaza, in front of the Church of the Nativity, [to convey] to those who uphold human rights: Take action before it is too late, take action to save [the Palestinian prisoners] the sons of Nativity, the sons of Jerusalem, and the sons of Jesus, the Palestinian, and the sons of Jesus, the Palestinian, the first prisoner and the first Martyr (Shahid) in history."

[PA TV (Fatah), May 4, 2012]

(h/t Ian)

12 11/11/12 links

12 from Ian:

BDS Fail in Brighton by Jonathan Hoffman

Brighton Argus: "A large group of pro-israel supporters gatecrashed a planned protest outside the Brighton Dome last night. Pro-Palestinian campaigners had arranged to picket the performance of controversial dance group the Batsheva ensemble. But unknown to them, their opposite numbers had arranged a counter-demo, outnumbering the original protest."

Finance minister threatens to withhold tax revenues if Palestinians make UN statehood bid
Yuval Steinitz points at success of freezing assets in preventing similar measure last year

BBC Watch: Petition for release of BBC’s Balen Report

“We call upon the BBC to release the findings to the general public of the Balen report that looked into its Middle East coverage and allegations of bias against Israel by the BBC. The BBC has spent over a third of a million pounds on covering up these findings for eight years."

Islamic Leader Praises Zawahiri, Calls For Shariah Law in Egypt

"Rifai Taha, the former president of Gamaa Islamiyya’s Shura council in Egypt, said that al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri should be praised and called on Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi to allow Zawahiri’s return to Egypt."

EU to mull listing Hezbollah as terror group
Austria’s Foreign Ministry tells 'Post' discussions underway to designate Lebanese Shi'ite group as terrorist organization.

Turkey searches Armenian plane en route to Syria
Aircraft flying to Damascus detained, searched by Ankara authorities in attempt to thwart potential arms delivery to Syrian military

Refugee-Turned-Activist Seeks Attention for Plight of Egyptian Jews

“The difference between the Israeli refugee camps and the Palestinian ones is that in Israel we worked, studied, got out, and prospered,” Zamir says. “The Palestinians keep themselves in their camps for four generations, with UNRWA (the United Nation Relief and Works Agency) giving more and more money.”

Cotler to Canada: Recognize Jewish refugee rights
Canadian MP proposes formal government recognition of 850,000 Jews "forcibly displaced and exiled from Arab countries."

His deep, dark secret: He’s Arab, Muslim and serves in the IDF
New film looks at the tiniest of Israel’s minorities — Muslim Arabs who voluntarily enlist
Video with Hebrew subtitles

Israeli team to help put ‘disaster robots’ on their feet
Researchers from BGU to participate in US-sponsored program to develop robots to assist in an emergency

The top 10 advances in diabetes research in Israel
Israel is a powerhouse in diabetes research. In honor of World Diabetes Day, November 14, ISRAEL21c brings you the top developments emerging from the country.

Bahá'í Shrine voted most beautiful structure in Israel
More than 40,000 readers of lifestyle portal Xnet rank 50 public structures famous for unique architecture

Also, Christian Zionism - a Overdue Reality Check by David Brog

PalWatch on PA kids saying "the Jews" killed Arafat

(h/t AC)

The Arabic says "Hezbollah."

The Zionist community in South Africa is concerned that this is more than just a private person or organization showing approval for Hamas and Hezbollah, pointing to a very tall radio tower on top of the building. Whether or not this is true, the fact that people in parts of Cape Town are willing to loudly advertise their support for terror organizations is alarming enough.

(h/t Israel Muse)

EU's Catherine Ashton's latest folly (Missing Peace)

From Missing Peace:

On Thursday EU high commissioner Catherine Ashton issued a statement in which she condemned the issuing of tenders for some 1200 new housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Pisqat Ze’ev and Ramot.

Ashton labeled these neighborhoods ‘settlements’ and called them ‘illegal under international law’. She furthermore claimed that the building in Ramot and Pisqat Ze’ev was threatening to make the two state solution impossible.

Ashton’s condemnation of the new building in Jerusalem is once again based on gross distortion of the facts. This happened earlier when she condemned a housing plan for the Gilo neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Pisqat Ze’ev: illegal settlement?

Pisqat Ze’ev, for example was mainly built on land that was legally bought by Jews during the British Mandate - before the establishment of the state of Israel.

The Jews who bought the land almost a century ago planned to build a new settlement by the name of Chawtselet Benjamin. The Holocaust foiled the plan since most of the Jewish landowners perished in Hitler’s death camps. This wasreported by the Israeli paper Ha’aretz earlier this year. Ha’aretz based its story on original documents in the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem

Settlements illegal under international law?

The EU consistently labels Jewish settlement in the West Bank ‘illegal under international law’.

Many experts on international law disagree with this EU position. Among them are Professor David Phillips, Professor Eugene Kontorovich , Professor Julius Stone, who wrote a book on the subject titled “Assault on the law of nations”, and Eugene Rostow the former dean of Yale Law School..

Here’s what Rostow wrote at the time about Jewish settlement in what is now termed the West Bank:

“The heated question of Israel’s settlements in the West Bank during the occupation period should be viewed in this perspective. The British Mandate recognized the right of the Jewish people to “close settlement” in the whole of the Mandated territory. It was provided that local conditions might require Great Britain to “postpone” or “withhold” Jewish settlement in what is now Jordan. This was done in 1922. But the Jewish right of settlement in Palestine west of the Jordan river, that is, in Israel, the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, was made unassailable. That right has never been terminated and cannot be terminated except by a recognized peace between Israel and its neighbors. And perhaps not even then, in view of Article 80 of the U.N. Charter, “the Palestine article,” which provides that “nothing in the Charter shall be construed … to alter in any manner the rights whatsoever of any states or any peoples or the terms of existing international instruments….”

Threat to two state solution?

Ashton writes that the new housing projects in Ramot and Pisqat Ze’ev threaten the two state solution.

However the so called ‘Palestine Papers’ which give a detailed description of the peace talks between the Olmert government and the Palestinian Authority tell a different story.

In fact the Palestinians proposed during these negotiations that Israel annex these neighborhoods.

Here’s what the Palestinian negotiator Abu Allah said to former US secretary of state Condoleeza Rice during the talks:

We proposed that Israel annexes all settlements in Jerusalem except Jabal Abu Ghneim (Har Homa).This is the first time in history that we make such a proposition; we refused to do so in Camp David.
We cannot accept the annexation of Ma?ale Adumim, Ariel, Giv'at Ze?ev, Ephrat and Har Homa settlements

So the only Israeli settlements that were unacceptable to the Palestinians and could have threaten the two state solution were Ma’aleh Adumim, Givat Ze’ev,Ariel, Efrat and Har Homa.

Har Homa is in that list the sole Jerusalem neighborhood: the rest are towns outside Jerusalem.

So how can building in neighborhoods that the Palestinians themselves proposed for annexation by Israel threaten the two state solution?

Jordanians freak over tiny map in health brochure that mentions "Israel"

Assabeel notes that Jordan's "Association Against Zionism and Racism" is strongly protesting a tiny map shown in the background of an illustration in a pamphlet meant to teach health awareness.

Here's the drawing:

And here is the offensive map, enlarged:

The anti-Zionist group is upset at a number of things.

One, of course, is that "Israel" is mentioned within the 1949 armistice lines.

Second, is that instead of saying "Palestine" in the area between Israel and Jordan, it only says "West Bank."

Third is the complete absence of the word "Jordan" at all in the light blue area.

Fourth is that the Golan Heights is referred to as "occupied by Israel" - which implies that other areas of the territories, and Israel itself, are not themselves "occupied."

Their research showed that other health brochures were partially funded by USAID, so their little conspiracy-leaning minds went into overdrive, saying that the US has been behind this travesty.

They are claiming that the US is pushing a "Jordan is Palestine" scenario by publishing this map in the background and not mentioning Jordan, as well as forcing Jordanians to recognize a state that their government already recognizes.

The commenters wholeheartedly are latching on this conspiracy theory of US -funded brainwashing of innocent Jordanian kids. After all, don't all kids obsess over the background details of boring health pamphlets?

(h/t Yisrael Medad)

Religious and moral Hezbollah involved in drug scandal

From Al Arabiya:

Lebanon has been rocked by a scandal involving the brother of a top Hezbollah official suspected of importing untested pharmaceutical products through forged government documents.

Lebanon’s Parliamentary Health Committee chief Atef Majdalan revelead on Thursday that “four pharmaceutical importers were involved in an operation to import more than 100 types of drugs through forged [documentation].”

It later emerged that a brother of Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish -- also a Hezbollah member –was involved in the scandal. Media reports even suggested minister Fneish might have facilitated the forging of health ministry documents for his brother and that four pharmaceutical firms implicated in the case had ties to Hezbollah.

Future News television reported on Friday that Fneish’s brother “forged the signature” of Health Minister Ali Hassan Khalil to import untested drugs. The television added that the drugs entered the country “10 months ago” and that the firms involved in the importation had ties with Hezbollah.

Future News is close to the Lebanese Future Movement critical of Hezbollah and its military arsenal.

Lebanese al-Nahar newspaper reported that the firms imported most of the drugs from South East Asia and sealed them with the stamp of an accomplice company in Britain to suggest that the medicines were made in Europe.

Of course, Hezbollah has been involved in the South American cocaine trade, so this is child's play for them. But it shows that they have as little regard for the lives of fellow Lebanese as they do for infidel drug addicts in the West.

Videos of Gaza "firecracker" launches

Terrorist apologists love to refer to Gaza rockets as harmless "firecrackers."

Here are two videos, from Hamas and Islamic Jihad respectively, showing off their multiple rocket firing ability to their own people. Both were posted in the past 24 hours.

Over 70 such "firecrackers" were shot at Israeli civilians overnight, causing injuries (which the terrorist websites also celebrated.)

11,000 Syrian refugees in 24 hours

These are real refugees:

Thousands of Syrians fled their country on Friday in one of the biggest refugee exoduses of the 20-month civil war after rebels seized a border town, and the United Nations warned that millions more still in Syria will need help as winter sets in.

The UN said 11,000 refugees had fled in 24 hours, mostly to Turkey. The influx caused alarm in Ankara, which is worried about its ability to cope with such large numbers and has pushed hard, so far without success, for a buffer zone to be set up inside Syria where refugees could be housed.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based group that compiles opposition activist reports, said at least 20 members of the Syrian security forces were killed when rebel fighters attacked a security headquarters in Ras al-Ain.

Thousands of residents poured out of the Arab and Kurdish town, in the northeastern oil-producing province of Hasaka, 600 km (375 miles) from Damascus.

In Geneva, a senior UN official highlighted the plight of Syrians still in the country. An estimated 4 million people would need humanitarian aid by early next year when the country is in the grip of winter, up from 2.5 million now, said John Ging, director of operations at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

I didn't realize that Ging, who left UNRWA last year, was now at UNOCHA. Ging was consistemtly critical of Israel and let anything from Hamas slide - even though he was the target of at least two murder attempts in Gaza.