Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Unity! Hamas continues to arrest journalists and Fatah members

Palestine Press Agency reports that Hamas has arrested dozens of Fatah members in Gaza in the past day, endangering reconciliation efforts.

Moreover, Hamas continues to hold 6 journalists and is insisting that they go on trial.

Their crime? "Sabotaging the reconciliation!"

So people who report that Hamas is arresting Fatah members might be arrested for saying such a terrible thing.

Reporters Without Borders has nothing to say about this. But the International federation of Journalists did come out with a statement today:

According to the PJS, Hamas security operatives began arresting journalists, especially PJS members, on Sunday when they raided their homes rounding up six of them in two days. They include Abdul Karim Hajji, Hussein Abdel-Gawad Karsou' and Bassam Darwich who were arrested on Sunday followed by their colleagues Ashraf Abu Khasewan of Deir al-Balah and Mustafa Mekdad held since Monday evening.

Security forces also arrested family members of Jumua' Abu Shoumer, correspondent of al Hurrya radio in Gaza, to force him to turn himself in, added the PJS.

The Syndicate accused the Hamas authorities of working with pro-Hamas journalists to undermine its work on building unity among journalists in Gaza and strengthening their standing among their colleagues in the region, including within the Federation of Arab Journalists (FAJ). The PJS, which took part in the recent FAJ Congress, believes that Hamas' recent actions belie an attempt to frustrate on-going efforts to achieve national unity which are expected to be concluded soon in the signing of a reconciliation pact and the forming of a national unity government.

Meanwhile, Hamas media reports that the PA is arresting Hamas members in hte West Bank as well.

Abbas: "Frankly, yes, we are waging diplomatic war against Israel"

Mahmoud Abbas gave a wide-ranging speech on the occasion of the birthday of Mohammed today.

Abbas mentioned the occasional use by Israel's Foreign Ministry of the phrase "diplomatic terrorism" to describe some of the ways that the PA is trying to delegitimize Israel. He said, "I do not understand the meaning of this expression, but, frankly, yes we are waging diplomatic war against Israel for our rights to isolate Israel's policy in our land and delegitimize Israel on our land."

He also complained that Arab nations have never fulfilled their pledges given in years past of money to help "defend Jerusalem." he similarly complained about the many fatwas forbidding Muslims from around the world to visit Jerusalem while Israel controls the city.

Additionally, Abbas said "Today the world recognizes us; we are a state under occupation. All actions taken in our home since 1967 are invalid because the Fourth Geneva Convention says there is no right for a state that occupied another state to create a demographic change or to transfer its population to live in that state."

Of course, the Fourth Geneva Convention says nothing about demographics and was written to prohibit the forceful transfer of citizens to occupied territory; it does not address the voluntary movement of people to their traditional homeland in a disputed area.

Abbas also claimed that getting the UN resolution on non-member state status passed was extraordinarily difficult, although the voting hardly reflects that.

Two months without a rocket

A couple of days ago, a little-noticed milestone was reached.

It has been over two months since the last rocket was launched from Gaza into Israel. (There was a rocket test-firing into the sea reported in November, two reported rocket tests this month, and two mortars shot into Israel in December.)

As far as I can tell, there has never been a two-month period without rockets into Israel since the first Qassam was shot into Israel in February 2002.

It sounds like Israel achieved a major goal of Pillar of Defense.

I wish I came up with this cartoon before it was found out to be true:

Last week in Cairo, seven U.S. senators had a highly contentious meeting with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy during which the Muslim Brotherhood leader implied that he was the victim of an American media run by the Jews.

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) led a delegation last week to Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and Afghanistan that included Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Kirsten Gilibrand (D-NY). Their stop in Cairo included a 90-minute meeting with Morsy that devolved into an uncomfortable set of exchanges as the senators pressed the Egyptian president to explain his 2010 comments describing Jews as "bloodsuckers who attack Palestinians" as well as "the descendants of apes and pigs."

Inside the meeting, the discussion over Morsy's 2010 remarks was much more heated than either side publicly acknowledged afterwards, according to Coons. Addressing the comments was the first item on the senators' agenda, and the discussion did not go well, he told The Cable in an interview.

"We tried to give President Morsy an opportunity, now that he is the president, to put his comments in a different context because he was claiming that he was taken out of context. On their face they seemed to be very offensive and inappropriate," Coons said. "It was a difficult conversation."

Morsy told the senators that the values of Islam teach respect for Christianity and Judaism, and he asserted repeatedly that he had no negative views about Judaism or the Jewish people, but then followed with a diatribe about Israel and Zionist actions against Palestinians, especially in Gaza.

Then Morsy crossed a line and made a comment that made the senators physically recoil in their chairs in shock, Coons said.

"He was attempting to explain himself ... then he said, ‘Well, I think we all know that the media in the United States has made a big deal of this and we know the media of the United States is controlled by certain forces and they don't view me favorably,'" Coons said.

The Cable asked Coons if Morsy specifically named the Jews as the forces that control the American media. Coons said all the senators believed the implication was obvious.

"He did not say [the Jews], but I watched as the other senators physically recoiled, as did I," he said. "I thought it was impossible to draw any other conclusion."

"The meeting then took a very sharply negative turn for some time. It really threatened to cause the entire meeting to come apart so that we could not continue," Coons said.

Multiple senators impressed upon Morsy that if he was saying the criticisms of his comments were due to the Jews in the media, that statement was potentially even more offensive than his original comments from 2010.

"[Morsi] did not say the Jewish community was making a big deal of this, but he said something [to the effect] that the only conclusion you could read was that he was implying it," Coons said. "The conversation got so heated that eventually Senator McCain said to the group, ‘OK, we've pressed him as hard as we can while being in the boundaries of diplomacy,'" Coons said.

(h/t Yid With Lid)

Arabs desecrate Joseph's Tomb again

Ma'ariv reports that Joseph's Tomb was desecrated with urine and apparent attempts to set it on fire:

More than 2,500 visitors came Wednesday night to Joseph's Tomb. A special tour was organized by the Samaria Regional Council and "Shechem Echad" and it was held with the approval and support of the IDF and the Israel Police.

Upon arrival of the first soldiers and worshipers there they observed that Palestinians had desecrated the tomb building and tried to set it on fire. According to the deputy head of the regional council Yossi Dagan, the entrance to the tomb was awash with urine, and wall and window of the building were filled with soot from Palestinian ignition attempts.

Shomron Regional Council officials immediately cleaned the grave and washed the entrance and within minutes visitors who came to pray there could enter.

Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika said tonight "Only barbarians do these horrid things to desecreate this holy place."

According to Arutz-7, it was even worse:

Visitors to the Tomb of Yosef in Shechem were shocked to discover Wednesday night yet another instance of major Arab vandalism to the holy site. Arabs trashed furniture, destroyed books, and defaced the site with anti-Semitic graffiti, and there was evidence that they had tried to burn the structure down. In addition, human and animal waste was found all over the floor of the site.

Ma'an adds:

Kever Yosef in 2009

Witnesses told Ma'an that clashes erupted as local youths threw stones at Israeli soldiers, who fired tear gas and stun grenades.

The tomb has been desecrated numerous times, and several Jewish visitors to the site have been murdered over the years.

Under the Oslo Accords Interim Agreement, Jews should have free access to their holy places. Visiting once a month with armored buses in the middle of the night under heavy guard while the tomb is left open to desecration the rest of the time is not exactly "free access."

(h/t Kramerica, Ian)

Iraqi news sites publish more pure Jew-hatred

I've noted that Iraqi news sites have been publishing increasing amounts of pure anti-semitism (one example was here.)

The hate continues on.

Kitabat has an article called "The Biblical roots of racist Zionism." It is a review for a book published in 2002 in Baghdad. Outside of finding an excuse to spout anti-semitic conspiracy theories, it is unclear why this review is being published now.

[The book] demonstrates that Jewish/Zionist violence and crimes committed against the Palestinian people is an extension and a repetition of what happened since before the Zionist entity existed. What is happening now is not a reaction to confront the Palestinian as Jews/Zionists claim as they brainwash world public opinion, Western particularly, but is an extension of the ethnic philosophy thast derives its origins from the Jewish faith, and not just from the philosophy of racism that prevailed in European thought during the imperialist 19th century.

The Old Testament or the Torah is written by rabbis during the first millennium BC and have nothing to do with the original Torah...tying together fables that have no archaeological basis...

They didn't only write the Torah as a reaction to the so-called Babylonian captivity. But they meant to implant in the Jews the spirit of intrusion, aggressiveness and violence, hatred and cruelty in dealing with others and not to give them mercy or pity, and other barbaric practices of killing, genocide, destruction and burning.

There is nothing more proof of this matter than the commandments the scribes wrote in the Old Testament, which states the need to transfer this barbaric heritage from generation to generation, as it says multiple times: "Let these words which I command you today be on your heart, and teach them to your children and talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the way and when you lie down and when you get up, and make them a sign on your hand and on headbands between your eyes and write them on the doors of your house and on thy gates."

The transplant and development of this fierce psychological aggression is instilled in the depths of the individual Israeli since childhood through religious education. They are not limited to people in the Zionist entity, but includes Jews living in the so-called diaspora.

The Torah has been planted in the depths of Jewish self, for centuries, this trend of bloody obscurantism and hatred of all others, their love of bloodshed and destruction and annihilation, and the right to extract the wealth and property of the gentiles as the wealth of the world are all belongs to them...

Apparently, the Iraqis aren't too concerned over the ban on "defamation of religion" that the Muslim world always claims it desires.

The West, as usual, is clueless that writings like this are being published every day in the nation that it liberated.

The dwindling Jews of Yemen

The Yemen Post has a very nice article tracing the history of Jews in Yemen, and how things have been going downhill since, oh, Mohammed:

According to traditions the Jews of Yemen history can be traced back as far as King Solomon , with legends telling the tale of some 75,000 Jews who, having foretold the fall of Jerusalem - destruction of the first Temple - emigrated to Yemen in search of a more hospitable land where they would spread their beliefs and sprung forth a new community.

Historians established that the first mention of the immigration of Jews to Yemen took place at the beginning of the second century BC.

While Judaism flourished in Yemen provinces for several centuries the coming of Prophet Mohammed and the fast-paced spread of Islam throughout ancient Arabia changed everything.

By the fifth century C.E. The Jewish population had rose to about 5,000 souls, with communities scattered throughout the country.

When Saladin became sultan in the last quarter of the twelfth century and the Shiites revolted against him, the trials of the Yemenite Jews began. Their capital at the time was Teima and they called themselves Rechabites.

Tribes lost in the middle of the Islamic empire, the Jews of Yemen were often at war with their Ismaelitic neighbors.

As centuries past and Islam became the beating heart of Arabia, Yemen Jewish communities were ostracized, forced back to the outskirts of Yemen metropolis.

In the 19th Century, under the rule of the Imams, the Jews of Yemen became social pariahs, being forced to follow harsh and often humiliating rules -- they were forbidden from wearing new or flamboyant clothes, compelled to walk long distances on foot as riding donkey and mules were reserved for Muslims; they were also prohibited from engaging in money transactions --

Reports estimated the Yemeni Jewish community to be standing at 30,000 with 200 in Aden - southern seaport - 10,000 in Sana'a, 1,000 in Sa'ada, 1,000 in Dhamar and 2,000 in the desert of Beydha --

A series of mass migration to the Jewish of Israel left only a handful of Jews in Yemen northern highlands, the only remnants of a long exhausted line of Israelite migrants, who once upon a time sought refuge in the land of Queen Sheba.

Yemen 2011 Revolution left the Jewish community ever more so vulnerable as sectarian tensions started to flare up again in Yemen, awaken by the Houthis' claims over provinces lying north of Sana'a and Sunni extremists clamoring for a return to Sharia law.

With most of the remaining Jews of Yemen now living in a guarded compound in Sana'a, the dwindling community has said to be living a nightmare, with the walls of history literally closing down on them.

There's more, read it all.

Now there are rumors that Israel is trying to save the remaining Jews of Yemen. The rumors are coming from Arab and Iranian sources, though, not Israeli, so they are a bit suspect.

As a result of these rumors, a Houthi spokesman says that they have no problem with Jews and they are willing to let them go back to their homes. Except for those who supported the deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh, which is realy every single Jew in Yemen. Saleh saved their lives by protecting them and giving them a place to live when the Houthis took over the areas the Jews lived in.

So the offer seems a bit hypocritical.

Especially since, as I've reported, the Houthi logo includes the words "Damn the Jews".

But wasn't it nice of them to offer?

Reason #82,654 the UN is worthless

Mahmoud Abbas will tell anyone who listens to him that the UN General Assembly recognizes the State of Palestine within the "1967 borders."

Just today, his spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said "We will deal with any Israeli government that is committed to the decision of the General Assembly of the UN for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital."

(By the way, the UN did not declare Jerusalem to be the capital of "Palestine" in the relevant, operative part of resolution.)

I looked again at how the resolution referred to borders.

Here is the only part of the operative section that mentions it:

4. 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 fulfils 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 on the basis of the pre-1967 borders

There is only one problem. There are no such things as "pre-1967 borders." The Green Line was never accepted by either the Arabs, Israel or the international community to be the legal borders of Israel.

Certainly UN diplomats are well aware of this fact. Indeed, UNSCR 242 says that Israel and its neighbors have the "right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force," a reference to the fact that the Green Line was not recognized as a border.

If the UN would draft a resolution based on the borders created by pink elephants in 1873, would it be worth the paper it was written on? Because that is exactly what this is.

In fact, not a single person debating the resolution noted this obvious error in the text itself.

This isn't the only mistake in the resolution, of course. It contradicts itself between two of the operative clauses, which also have to do with borders. On the one hand, it says the UNGA "Reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to independence in their State of Palestine on the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967," which implies all of the territory. But then it says it wishes for "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 and water."

Did the UNGA determine the borders or is it a final status issue? It cannot be both. Yet this contradiction is embedded in the text, again, without a note of caution from a single member of the UN.

Instead of creating a committee to iron out these self-contradictory parts, the UNGA rubber stamped whatever the Palestinian Arabs wrote.

Which is another reason that the UN is worthless.

Wednesday linkdump

From Ian:

Disrupting the ecosystem of extremism By Ron Prosor

We cannot rest until the evil ideologies that fuel terror become nothing more than relics of the past.

"There is a specific kind of ecosystem that creates terrorism. Terrorism is rooted in hate, watered with instability and state support, and then planted in the next generation.
Every roadside bombing, every suicide attack, and every act of terrorism begins with words and thoughts of hate. It begins with al-Qaida websites that turn suicide bombers into jihadi celebrities. It begins with Hezbollah summer camps that use arts and crafts to glorify martyrdom and teach bombmaking skills to children.
It begins with statements by Hamas leaders like Atallah Abu al-Subh, who recently said on public Palestinian television (and I quote) “The Jews are the most despicable and contemptible nation to crawl upon the face of the Earth.” This is the poison that is being fed to people across the Middle East, day after day."

Won't Syria Be Obama's Main Middle East Crisis in 2013? By Barry Rubin

"The Obama Administration, especially now with Secretary of State John Kerry, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, and CIA director John Brennan will maintain a consistent policy of helping to create an Islamist-dominated regime in Syria, believing that this is a great idea since the Muslim Brotherhood is moderate and will restrain the "real" extremists. To paraphrase what a former U.S. intelligence official said: So, they tell us they're going to take over; they tell us exactly how they're going to do it; then they do it. Now we watch the results playing out in front of our eyes and there's still some question out there that this threat even exists!"

Obama Needs to Realize It’s Not About the Palestinians

"Mutual threats to the U.S. and Israel — such as nuclear Iran, Islamic terrorism, the proliferation of advanced missiles and nuclear technologies, and the clear and present radical menace to pro-U.S. Arab regimes — transcend the Palestinian issue. Moreover, pro (and anti) U.S. Arab leaders have never considered the Palestinian issue a cardinal matter on their agenda. They are currently traumatized by the lethal Iranian nuclear threat, raging Arab Winter, emboldened Islamic terrorism and the erupting Iraqi, Syrian and Muslim Brotherhood lava, which might trigger their downfall."

Obama tried to meddle in Israeli elections, says senior source
Reports claim that Obama has attempted to undermine Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli elections, showing his hostility, as well as his ignorance of Israeli politics

"Dan Senor, a former foreign policy adviser to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign today said that during a recent trip to Israel, two US officials admitted that recent comments by US President Barack Obama were intended to undermine Benjamin Netanyahu’s election bid."

Genocide Abuse Day at the IHRC

"The far left have tackled this problem by keeping Jewish victimhood centre stage, whilst alleging that Zionists wanted the Holocaust and/or actually colluded with the Nazis to bring it about. They turn the moral tables on Zionism, by claiming that Zionists needed and desired and worked towards dead Jews in order to gain global sympathy for their enterprise.
The pro-Iranian IHRC ( Islamic Human Rights Commission), however, prefer the tactic of declaring a Genocide Memorial Day. This year it is subtitled “Remembering Man’s Inhumanity to Man” and will be held on 20th January. The day’s title enables the IHRC to gently subsume the genocide of European Jewry under the sheer scale of man’s inhumanity to man. Challenge this as sophistry and you are forced into a somewhat nauseating comparative study in human suffering."

Peter Oborne gives a free pass to Palestinian rejectionists
It is astonishing that Oborne's blatantly one-sided account of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which eschews proper context, is allowed to pass for respectable journalism in Britain

"According to a very recent opinion poll carried out by a Ramallah-based research centre, some 88 percent of West Bank Palestinians believed that armed struggle is the right method to achieve independence. This accords with earlier polls which show a majority of Palestinians supporting a two state solution only as a stepping stone to the eventual 'liberation' of Palestine."
"Yet none of this features on Oborne's political radar. In describing his visit to Ramallah, he declares that 'there was not a hint of violent language from Riad Malki, foreign minister of the Palestinian Authority'. (Palestinians are adept at playing the game of public diplomacy, as we know). In other words, the violence and extremism that Oborne so disapproves of can only be found on the Israeli side of the border. This view is so one-sided and sloppy that it beggars belief that any serious journalist could entertain it."

Lee Jasper: 'Israel is racist oppressor'
Respect Party politician Lee Jasper has used the upcoming Holocaust Memorial Day to mount an attack on Israel as a "racist oppressor".

"Mr Jasper, a former equalities adviser to Ken Livingstone and an activist on race relations issues, made the comments about Israel and the Holocaust on his Facebook page.
Writing incorrectly that HMD is today – it is in fact later this week – he said: "We are asked to remember that which Israel has forgotten, that religious & racial hatred is a sin against God."

UK teachers encouraged to join pro-Israel unions
Jewish teachers in the United Kingdom are bring encouraged to join unions to combat anti-Israel rhetoric.

Senior Hamas Commander: We Labor “Day and Night” Educating Children to Become Suicide Bombers (VIDEO)

"On December 18, 2012, senior Hamas commander Zaher Jabarin gave an interview to Hamas’ Al-Quds TV, during which he said Hamas labors “day and night” educating Palestinian children in Gaza to become suicide bombers.
The role of suicide bomber is in high demand amongst children, Jabarin claimed. “The Palestinian youngsters, the resistance and Jihad warriors, fight and quarrel over performing a courageous suicide operation,” he said."

Abbas protests Malaysian prime minister’s Gaza visit
Palestinian Authority president says Abdul Razak’s meetings with Hamas leaders in the Strip undermine his status

"The visit prompted a bitter protest from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who said it undermined his status and that of the PLO as the representative of the Palestinian people. Abbas said he was seeking “clarifications” from the Malaysian government."

Canada: Pakistani protesters say: ‘Massacre of Shia Muslims a Zionist plot’

"A large crowd of about 300 men, women and children gathered outside the Pakistani consulate on Jan. 14 to protest against deadly terrorist attacks in Pakistan, which had targetted primarily Shia Muslims.
The messages delivered by most of the speakers at the protest reflected that of the promotional flyer for the event, which stated in part, “Massacre of Shia Muslims; Zionist Plot – Local and Regional Extremist Hands” and “Down with Zionist Plots.”"

Italian MP: Anti-Semites Sitting in EU Parliament
Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein fights inclusion in EU parliament of representatives from ‘anti-Semitic’ European parties.

"More than 30 MPs in the European Union Parliament stood in protest Monday to express support for a request to keep representatives from anti-Semitic parties out.
The request, filed by Italian MP Fiamma Nirenstein, seeks to challenge the membership of Greek representative Eleni Zaroulia of the Golden Dawn party, and Hungarian MP Tamas Gaudy-Nagy of the Jobbik party."

Israeli doc helps Haitian amputee get groove back
Georges Exantus underwent surgery in Israel after he lost his leg in the 2000 earthquake; today he’s boogying on the dance floor

"Israeli doctors and physical therapists who came to Haiti after the quake sent him to Israel for surgery and rehabilitation.
Three years later, the 31-year-old professional dancer is back on the floor, spinning away as he does the salsa, cha-cha and samba. A prosthetic leg doesn’t hold him back."

Yesh Atid to Make History with First Female Ethiopian MK

Pnina Tamano-Shata, number 14 on the Yesh Atid list, will be the first ever female MK from Ethiopia.
"Pnina Tamano-Shata, number 14 on the Yesh Atid list, made aliyah from Ethiopia at the age of three. She is a lawyer who in the past worked as a reporter on Channel 1 News. Now, she will be making history as an MK. Previous MKs from Ethiopia have all been male."

Reuters creates a "blockade" on the truth

From Reuters:

Malaysia's prime minister defied Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip to visit the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday, part of a diplomatic push by Gaza's Islamist rulers that is irritating their secular rivals in the West Bank.

Israel has not had any say over what goes through the Rafah border since the EUBAM observers left Gaza in 2007.

Since then, Hamas members have traveled back and forth to Iran for terror training, many buses filled with European sympathizers of Hamas have entered Gaza, Gaza's political leaders have gone on extended Middle East tours and attracting lots of fellow anti-semites, and construction material has been transferred into Gaza through Rafah.

Israel has a full naval blockade on Gaza - one that is entirely legal - and it limits the types of materials that go into and out of Gaza through Israel. But it doesn't restrict what transverses Rafah, although Israel is understandably concerned over the hundreds of tons of weapons that get smuggled in that way.

Reuters, however, is making the act of Malaysia's prime minister into a heroic act, saying he is defying Israel's blockade - as if Israel was trying to block him.

In fact, it is Mahmoud Abbas who condemned the Malaysian leader's visit, not Israel.

Najib's visit drew a stern rebuke from Abbas, who has not set foot in Gaza since his forces fought and lost a civil war against Hamas there in 2007.

"The Palestinian presidency rejects and denounces the visit ... and believes it undermines the representation of the Palestinian people," his office said in a statement. "It enhances division and does not serve Palestinian interests."

Reuters, once again, ignores the truth for its own narrative purposes.

(h/t Arnold)

"The settlements don't endanger Israel's existence - they guarantee it" (Dani Dayan video)

From a January 15th debate at the Royal Geographical Society.

(h/t Yoel)

Life in Lebanon "horrible" for fleeing Syrian Palestinians

From Reuters:

Palestinian refugees who fled Syria's war to neighboring Lebanon are living up to 20 in a room with no water, fresh air or electricity, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said Tuesday.

Donors needed to do more to help at least 20,000 Palestinians who have already come in from Syria and more than 200 who join them every day to endure "horrible" conditions, UN Relief and Works Agency chief Filippo Grandi told Reuters.

He had toured the Shatila Palestinian camp and found "the conditions were horrible" for new arrivals.

"The main problem they have is accommodation. They rent small, cramped, very unsanitary premises without running water, without ventilation, without electricity," he said.

"And sometimes you see rooms in which 12, 15, 20 people live in really substandard conditions." He met one family living in a dark room with only one candle. "I couldn't see who I was speaking to," Grandi said.

Some politicians fear an influx of majority Sunni Muslim Syrians and Palestinians will tip the demographic balance of a country that is still reeling from its own 15-year civil war. More than 400,000 Palestinian refugees already live in Lebanon.

Grandi said Jordan, which already hosts 2 million Palestinian refugees and their descendants from the Arab-Israeli wars, was turning back Palestinian refugees from Syria, though he did not have figures.

Jordan has said it cannot take in more Palestinian refugees.

"I understand the sensitivity of the issue for the Jordanian authorities," Grandi said.

"I would like to appeal to (Jordan) to exercise all humanitarian considerations when Palestinian refugees ask to be admitted to Jordanian territory from Syria," he added.

It is funny how UNRWA is so understanding of Arab nations mistreating Palestinian Arabs. You never hear the UN or the EU condemn Arabs for specifically discriminating against Palestinians.

They save their condemnations for another target.

By the way, three Palestinian Arabs - including a child - were killed today in Syria. It was in all the headlines, wasn't it?

Iran: "If Assad is toppled, the line of resistance against Israel will be broken"

From Iran's ABNA:

Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei on international affairs, said the fall of al-Assad will damage the resistance front against Israel.

“The main reason behind our focus on the Syrian issue is to prevent the fall of the resistance line against Israel. If Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, falls the resistance line against Israel will break up,” Velayati stated.

[Velyati] described his fate as a “red line” for the Islamic Republic.

Westerners who pretend Iran is a rational player need to read this quote over and over again. Iran is stating that its major foreign policy goal is to fight Israel, to the extent of pulling out all the stops to prop up a ruthless, murderous dictator that the entire world agrees must go.

If Iran's hatred for Israel is so irrational, why do people still believe that their desire for a nuclear bomb that would be aimed against Israel is any less monomaniacal?

In a related story, the Times of London reports about Hezbollah's direct fighting for the Assad regime, along with Iraqi Shiites. No doubt this is at Iran's behest as well. As the CSM reports:

An unprecedented and slickly-produced video is being circulated around Shiite areas of Lebanon showing alleged Shiite combatants fighting in Syria. The video's production and open dissemination highlight how fighters outside Syria are jumping into the country's ongoing civil war – and growing more bold about it.

According to Lebanese sources close to the militant Shiite Hezbollah, the combatants seen in the video are a mix of Hezbollah members and Iraqi Shiites, but the video was produced in Iraq.

Hezbollah’s leadership has played down persistent reports that its fighters are helping defend the beleaguered regime of President Bashar al-Assad. But the video, which was clearly made with the consent of the combatants, appears to reflect the growing conviction within Shiite circles in Lebanon that the war in Syria is no longer one between an embattled autocratic regime and a grassroots opposition but a sectarian confrontation against the emerging and increasingly influential Salafi Jihadist groups that view Shiites as heretics and Hezbollah as an enemy.

The conflict in neighboring Syria presents Hezbollah and its Iranian patron with a strategic dilemma. Assad’s Syria represents the geopolitical lynchpin that binds Hezbollah to Iran and is a core component in the “Jabhat al-Muqawama” or “Axis of Resistance,” the pan-regional alliance challenging Israel and Western ambitions in the Middle East. If Assad falls and is replaced by a moderate Sunni regime that turns away from Iran and towards Saudi Arabia and Turkey, Hezbollah could become isolated on the Mediterranean coast and potentially threatened by a Sunni resurgence in the Levant.

Sources in the Syrian opposition, the rebel Free Syrian Army, and Western embassies concur that Hezbollah is participating in some fighting and also training regular Syrian troops in urban warfare tactics and turning the pro-regime Shabiha militia into an effective paramilitary force.

How do you act in your holiest site when it snows?

It is hard to tell the difference between the third holiest place in Islam - and a schoolyard at recess.

Palestinian Human Rights Foundation declares the Holocaust a "myth"

The Palestinian Human Rights Foundation (Monitor) has an article in its website by Dr. Mustafa Ahmed Abul Khair, chairman of its Advisory Council and a professor of international law.

In the article, Khair claims that Israel should compensate Egypt for damages Egypt claims Israel has done to it over the years, up to some $500 billion.

In order to buttress his argument, he says that "the Zionist entity is extorting Germany to get too much financial compensation for the myth of the Holocaust."