Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Egyptian editors punished for talking with Israelis

Two senior Egyptian editors – one a member of the country's ruling party and the other an expert on Jewish affairs – have been punished by Egypt's Journalists Union for violating its ban on contacts with Israel, in a case that underlines the country's ambivalent policies toward its neighbor.
Egypt in 1979 became the first Arab nation to sign a peace treaty with Israel, but relations have remained cool since, with government-to-government contacts dominating links between the two nations.

Cultural exchanges and travel to Israel are officially discouraged by the government, while popular sentiments remain mostly hostile toward Israel because of its perceived oppression of the Palestinians.

Egypt's Journalists Union issued the ban on contacts with Israel in 1985. Yet, many Egyptian journalists have traveled to Israel since and escaped punishment.

On Tuesday, however, the union reprimanded Hala Mustafa, editor in chief of the state-run weekly Democratiya, or Democracy, for meeting with Israel's ambassador in Egypt. Hussein Serag, the expert on Jewish affairs and deputy editor of the weekly magazine October, was suspended from writing for three months.

Asharq Alawsat adds:

The committee "took into account" that Mustafa had "given assurances she was not familiar with the details of this ruling on normalisation. She thought it only applied to travelling to Israel."
He added that Mustafa had agreed to respect the 1981 ruling, something she would neither confirm nor deny.
However, she said she "totally" rejected the warning, telling AFP she might even turn to the courts for redress of what she said was a "moral injury."
"It goes against freedom of expression ... which the union should protect," she added.

Thursday links

Pajamas Media: Anti-Israel Bias Infects Medical Journals

Jawa Report: Daughter of top CAIR official met with HAMAS leaders with father's support and approval

Media Backspin: Fishermen's Tales at the BBC

Hamas says it has sent a "barrage" of floating bombs into the Mediterranean with the hope that it would hit Israeli targets and explode.

The Free Gaza movement is planning to send a flotilla of 10 boats to Gaza this spring.

Hmmm.

Gazans don't think they benefit from tunnels

A new poll of Gazans by the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion shows a number of interesting trends.According to this poll, oOrdinary Gazans tend to be more pragmatic and less extremist than Hamas, and in general they support Fatah more than Hamas.

One answer was intriguing: when asked who benefits most from the smuggling tunnels, 49.7% said "Hamas" and only 26.4% said "the people." Sounds like the "human rights" organizations that keep calling the tunnels a "lifeline" are out of step with what ordinary Gazans think.

According to the poll, Gazans also overwhelmingly support a "one-state solution," probably because of how the question was phrased. (A different poll from another organization found overwhelming support for the opposite.)

And 40% of Gazans would jump at the chance to emigrate to a Western country if they had the chance.

Unlike others, this poll did not ask whether Gazans support terror attacks against Israeli civilians. That number seems to have gone down slightly in the most recent PCPO poll: it is now "merely" 43%, with 57.4% of Gazans supporting terror.

The Lebanese AK-47 Index

A fascinating article in The National:

Abu Mahdi spends most of his day sitting in a plastic chair in front of a dilapidated concrete block shack on the outskirts of Beirut’s southern suburbs puffing on a water pipe and pouring coffee for a steady stream of visitors and customers that have come to examine his inventory.

Two of his first customers on a cold winter morning are young fighters in their late teens from the militant Shiite movement Hizbollah who are enraptured with a selection of gleaming new 9mm handguns from Belgium, the United States and the Czech Republic.

But these young fighters make only about US$400 (Dh1,500) a month for their work in “The Resistance”, putting the sleek automatic pistols, listed at $2,000 each, well outside their price range.
Although Hizbollah obviously issues military-grade weaponry to its fighters, the boys say only the highest-ranking members – leadership, undercover operatives, bodyguards and security teams – are given pistols, making them a critical, if expensive, status symbol among the youngest fighters, who have been known to take second jobs or save for years just to add private weapons to their inventory.

The group does not buy its weaponry on Lebanon’s back market, according to people familiar with its acquisitions process, but from the international black market. Hizbollah’s arms also come direct from Iran and Syria.
A few minutes after the Hizbollah gunmen arrive, a jeep from the Internal Security Forces, Lebanon’s federal police force, pulls up outside the shack but neither Mr Mahdi nor his militant customers seem worried. The police officers have arrived to pick up two assault rifles that they ordered a few weeks earlier. They seem to know the fighters and all start happily chatting and playing with the dozens of weapons stuffed in the back of Mr Mahdi’s truck.

...“I am exhausted,” [Mahdi] says, thanks to non-stop business demands. “I am making a lot of money but I have no time to sleep. Anyone who tells you that Lebanon is peaceful and stable is lying. Everyone is buying weapons; I can’t keep up.”

.... Arms dealers have used an interesting metric for judging the stability of the country: the price of the ubiquitous AK-47 assault rifle.
“There were so many AKs in the country at the end of the war that it’s almost pointless to import them, everyone just sells the same guns back and forth,” Mr Mahdi says. “So I can tell you, according to the price of one gun, how Lebanon is looking. And things are not good.”

Just before the death of the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005, whose assassination ushered in Lebanon’s longest period of chaos since the end of the civil war, a new model AK-47 in very good condition could be bought for $300. A month after his death, the price had doubled to $600. By the outbreak of the July 2006 war between Hizbollah and Israel, it had tripled to $900 as people expected either an occupation by Israel or ongoing civil strife in the aftermath.
“The war was terrible for Lebanon but I made $10,000 profit in just a few weeks,” Mr Mahdi admits. “But prices just kept rising.”
He says the high point for the price of the AK-47 was in the period of major Sunni and Shiite sectarian tension that preceded the May 2008 clashes between Hizbollah and its allies against groups of Sunnis loyal to the government.

“In the days before the action, I knew that something was going to happen because prices jumped to $1,300 per AK,” he said. “It’s come down just a little but business is too much for this peace to last. Everyone is walking the streets acting all good, but they’re lying.”
This prediction is based on several factors, according to Mr Mahdi. The first is a widespread concern by Hizbollah that al Qa’eda-style groups, who cannot resist having their biggest enemies – the Shiite and Israel – in such close proximity, will target Lebanon. The second problem is a lack of faith in Lebanon’s government.
“There is no government, those people are useless,” says Mr Mahdi. “No one trusts them to keep the peace, so everyone buys weapons to protect their homes and families. Normally I sell about 30 to 40 machine guns a month but right now, it’s double that. And the price is $1,200 for a gun in good condition, almost as high as May 2008.”
“But I know there is a real problem on the streets right now not just because of the machine guns but because I am selling so many RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) launchers. People only buy grenades when they think war is coming. An RPG isn’t really a weapon you use to protect your house, but everyone is buying them anyway. Not good.”

Facebook Fatwa?

A recent study found that Facebook was cited in 20% of recent divorce petitions.

Firas Press reports that in reaction, the Fatwa Committee of Al Azhar University in Cairo is banning Facebook for all Muslims, saying that entering the social networking site is forbidden and that the visitors are sinners.

Maybe I'll start a similar rumor about YouTube, and then all the jihadi videos will be removed...

Work accident!

The Al Qassam Martyrs Brigades announces the martyrdom of Dujana Abdul Rahman, who was killed in a "jihad" mission in Gaza City.

By my count, this is the fifth Hamas victim of a "work accident" this year.

PA prime minister Salam Fayyad has controversially attended the Herzliya conference on Israel's security. In his speech, he stated the oft-cited position that the Palestinian Arabs "only want to live in dignity on 22% of historic Palestine."

We have gone into detail a number of times about the fact that "historic Palestine" certainly includes significant portions to the east of the Jordan river.

But to make it easy for Fayyad, I would like to ask him which tribes were part of "historic Palestine" and which were not?

According to Robinson and Smith in their survey of Palestine in the 1830s and 40s, the tribes around the Jordan Valley at the time included the the Ka'abineh, the Rashaideh, the Ta'amirah, the Mas'udy, the 'Abbad, the Amir, the 'Abbadin, and the Mushalikhah, the ' Adwan, Ibn Ghiiniim, Beni Hasan, the Baharat, the 'Ajarimeh, Beni Sukhr, and Beni Hamideh. Some were to the east and some to the west. Which ones are "Palestinian?"

The Palestine Exploration Fund's survey of eastern Palestine in the 1880s mentions that the Adwan tribe is the strongest tribe east of the Jordan, along with their rivals the Beni Sakhr, and the Hameidi (who would sell their corn in Jerusalem.)

However, the Adwan clan is mentioned in a recent study as being "Palestinian." And the earlier Robinson/Smith study talks about Adwan members who were in Jericho.

So a reasonable person would conclude that the Arab tribes from a mere 150 years ago often fought with and allied with each other depending on the political atmosphere of the day, were often nomadic (many tribes had originally come from as far away as Yemen,) did not think of the Jordan as any sort of political boundary, and did not consider themselves "Palestinian" in the least (the Beni Sakhr stretched up from the eastern part of the Jordan valley to the Hauran area of today's Syria.)

So, Mr. Fayyad, which tribes were "Palestinian"? Specifically, are the Adwans your people? And if they are - why do you say that "historic Palestine" is strictly to the west of the Jordan, using a country boundary that simply didn't exist until the 20th century?

If you care so much about your historic rights, why do you ignore the illegal Jordanian usurpation of your "historic" land?

More to the point - why is the definition of "Palestinian" land, since 1964, always exactly congruent with land controlled by Jews?

More on the 12-year old bride of the 80-year old Saudi

Some more details on the 12-year old bride married to the 80 year old man in Saudi Arabia, partially explaining why the case was dropped. From the Saudi Gazette:

A Buraidah girl, 12, sent shockwaves through the courthouse here when she said that she accepted her marriage to an 80-year-old man because she wanted to obey the wishes of her father.

The marriage has caused a great deal of controversy in the Kingdom and resulted in widespread condemnation from local and international human rights activists. The elderly man paid SR85,000 dowry which the father claims he is holding for his daughter.

The decision surprised Ibrahim Al-Amr, the judge of the General Court in Buraidah on Monday. Al-Amr was expected to issue a verdict in the matter when the girl made the announcement.

During the court session, she said: “The marriage took place with my consent and I accept him as my husband in obedience to my father.”

The child’s statement was not the only surprise of the day. The girl’s divorced mother also dropped a bombshell by withdrawing the lawsuit she had filed to annul her daughter’s marriage to the 80-year-old man.

The girl’s mother has now added a condition to the marriage, that her daughter must be allowed to complete her education and that her former husband should drop previous cases he had filed against her. Also, she stipulated that she be given custody over her son.

So the mother, who previously appeared to be defending her daughter, now looks like she was just using her as a bargaining chip; she willingly sacrificed her daughter to be in a better legal position vis-a-vis her ex-husband.

Truly sick.

This is the logo of the Tehran Emrooz newspaper, and it is causing a controversy in Iran.

Mohammed Ali Ramin, Associate Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance said in a statement that this logo represents a "soft war" against the regime.

Ever since the riots that followed the rigged elections, the Iranians have been especially sensitive to any perceived uprising or signs of discontent. This logo represents just such an attitude, according to Ramin.

He brought a full-size version of it to the Iranian parliament and said that he has repeatedly asked the newspaper to change their logo, without result.

According to Ramin, the logo is meant suggest a woman dancing ballet and is therefore a manifestation of a quiet protest on the part of the paper.

For the second half of 2008, the newspaper was banned altogether by the government.

We keep finding more fake civilians

Thanks to Hamas' continuously adding new "martyrs" to their list of Al Qassam Brigades members killed during Cast Lead, plus incredible recent research done mostly by PTWatch, our list of people who were called "civilian" who were really members of terror groups keeps growing.

We are now up to 363 "civilians" (according to PCHR) who were really terrorists.

We have identified that fully 75% of the "policemen" killed in Gaza were known members of terror groups. Hamas' obituaries commonly refer to the "police" as "mujahadeen of the security forces" showing that Hamas certainly considered its police force to be jihadists.

If you add together all the "police," the fake "civilians" and the "militants" that PCHR admitted, we now have the names of 672 people who were legitimate targets in Gaza. That is nearly half of all the victims. For a war that was waged largely in urban areas, especially when the opposing side's entire strategy was to maximize civilian victims, was this is an enviable achievement.

And we are not done counting yet.

UAE camel pageant a hit

From RIA Novosit:

The ongoing Al Dhafra Festival camel beauty pageant in the United Arab Emirates challenges the global financial recession with camel sales reaching almost $16.5 million in the first three days.
Emirate camel breeder Hamdan Al Falahi accounted for more than half of the turnover, buying camels worth over $8.7 million.

A total of 1,200 owners from all Persian Gulf states have brought 28,000 of the most beautiful she-camels to take part in the core activity of the festival, a beauty pageant known locally as Camel Mazayen. The winner will get a cash prize of $11.4 million.

Other camel competitions include the best milking camel mare, as well as the quickest racing mare.

The event, which is to last until next Monday, is visited by some 6,000 people daily.

Al Quds adds that a single camel was sold for $2.72 million, a world record, barely beating the previous record from 2008.

12-year old Saudi bride drops divorce petition

A follow-up to this story, from Arab News:

A 12-year-old girl who was married off to an 80-year-old man in Buraidah has dropped her request for a divorce just one day before a court hearing to annul the marriage.
A source at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) said the girl, her mother and legal representative came to court and withdrew the request.
The girl failed to appear in court on Monday when the hearing was originally supposed to be heard. Her legal representative did not provide a valid reason for her absence.
The HRC, which had formed a committee to investigate the marriage, was stunned that the girl had dropped her request. “No one really knows the real reason behind the change of heart,” said the source, adding that although the HRC cannot interfere in people’s personal lives, it would continue lobbying for a minimum marriage age.
The case has attracted a lot of interest. The girl’s father married her off to his 80-year-old cousin in exchange of SR85,000 in dowry money. However, the girl’s mother, who is separated from her father, accused the man of raping her daughter.
The girl had also told a local journalist over the phone that she “doesn’t want him, save me.” When the mother’s lawyer failed to get the marriage annulled, she brought the case to the attention of the Kingdom’s media.

Something fishy is going on....

Egyptian convert to Christianity barking up the wrong tree

From Daily News Egypt:

The lawyer of a man who converted from Islam to Christianity sent a memo to the United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in a bid to urge the Egyptian government to allow him to change his religious affiliation on official documents.
Ashraf Edward Kirolos called on the OHCHR to intervene in the case of Mohamed Ahmed Hegazy, who converted to Christianity and sought legal action to have his religious affiliation recognized on his national ID card and other official documents.
Kirolos’ memo urged the organization to pressure the Egyptian government into honoring its pledges and international commitments with regards to religious freedom, namely when it comes to converts to Christianity.
“While the government facilitates the conversion from Christianity to Islam, it refuses to recognize citizens who choose to convert from Islam to Christianity, which is a double standard and a violation of citizens’ rights and religious freedom,” the memo read.

He expects the UN Human Rights Commission to actually try to defend human rights?

HRW slams Jordan - but avoids slamming the Arab world

Human Rights Watch just wrote a report slamming Jordan for arbitrarily revoking the citizenship of a few thousand Palestinian Arabs. I had covered the phenomenon here as well as Jordan's absurd defense of the practice.

What is interesting is HRW's legal arguments against Jordan's actions. After the organization goes into detail on the right to nationality, it adds this paragraph:

Prevention of statelessness

In addition to the prohibition on arbitrary deprivation of nationality, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness provides additional guidance on situations in which nationality must not be withdrawn: states must not "deprive a person of his nationality if such deprivation would render him stateless."[28] To the contrary, article 1 of the convention stipulates that a state "shall grant its nationality to a person born in its territory who would otherwise be stateless."[29] The convention also declares that states must not "deprive any person or group of persons of their nationality on racial, ethnic, religious or political grounds" and that a "transfer of territory shall include provisions designed to ensure that no person shall become stateless as a result of the transfer."[30] Jordan has not yet acceded to this convention. It is, however, a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires it to "respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality."[31]

Jordanians of Palestinian origin whose nationality is withdrawn become stateless because, under international law, Palestine in 2009 is not a state and has not been one at any time since Jordan's independence.[32]

While it is true that HRW's legal arguments are a bit of a stretch - as they mention, Jordan never accepted the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness and indeed most nations did not, including the US (Israel did) - nevertheless it is interesting that HRW is using it as a basis for an argument that what Jordan is doing is wrong.

Because by that very same argument, every Arab country is equally wrong by refusing to grant citizenship to people of Palestinian origin born in their countries - who now number in the millions. Not only is the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness being violated, but also the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states:

Article 7

1. The child shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right from birth to a name, the right to acquire a nationality and. as far as possible, the right to know and be cared for by his or her parents.

2. States Parties shall ensure the implementation of these rights in accordance with their national law and their obligations under the relevant international instruments in this field, in particular where the child would otherwise be stateless.

Article 8

1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.

As HRW notes earlier, "Palestine" is not a nation that is recognized under international law, which means that between the two conventions, every Arab nation is violating international law by refusing to allow children of Palestinian Arab origin to become citizens. (Even if you expand the definition of "nationality" and "identity" to include Palestinian Arabs, keeping children stateless is proscribed in this Convention.) Practically every nation on the planet has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child. (Somalia and the US are the only exceptions, UNICEF explains why here.)

Human Rights Watch is not afraid to take on Jordan in defense of Palestinian Arab rights to a nationality. Do they have the guts to take on the entire Arab world - including the Palestinian Arab leadership who oppose the naturalization of their own people in other countries, against their will?

The legal and moral arguments are identical. But it is a lot less politically correct.

Another car bomb in Gaza

There has been a series of car bombs in Gaza over the past month. The latest from this morning targeted the car of Hamas leader Abu Omar.

On January 26, a naval police officer's car was blown up. On January 13th, a police officer's car and another naval police officer's car was blown up.

No serious casualties yet, but there is something going on there.

PA "maliciously" associates Qaradawi with Jews

Sheikh Yusuf Al Qaradawi has caused some controversy by publicly siding with Hamas and against the PA and its leaders.

The PA responded by insulting Qaradawi.

According to Middle East News Agency, one of the PA's "malicious" attacks was publishing a picture of Qaradawi with a rabbi.

Qaradawi was unfazed, saying that the "rabbi" was from Neturei Karta.

The interesting part is that the PA continues to try to delegitimize its opponents - from the more extreme position. Just like they have made fun of Hamas for not being committed enough to "resistance," the PA tries to attack one of the most extreme mainstream preachers as a lover of Jews.

This is Israel's "peace partner."

Palestine Today has a story about a baby born in a Gaza hospital. He has dark skin, short arms and legs, and is very hairy, so much so that he has the nickname "gorilla."

The horrified parents refuse to take him home.

So who are the Palestinian Arabs blaming? Why, Israel, of course.

You see, every Gaza baby born over the past few months who is less than perfect is automatically considered to be a victim of "white phosphorus." So even though this baby is apparently a newborn, and was conceived months after the war, the puerile Palestinian Arabs love to say that Israel is the reason for all of their problems, which includes birth defects.

Moderate PA TV: "Jews are the enemy of humanity"

From Palestinian Media Watch:

The following is the transcript of excerpts of the hate speech in a mosque broadcast on PA TV [this past Friday:]

"The loathsome occupation in Palestine - its land and its holy places - by these new Mongols and what they are perpetrating upon this holy, blessed and pure land - killing, assassination, destruction, confiscation, Judaization, harassment and splitting the homeland - are clear proof of [unintelligible word - Ed.] hostility, of incomparable racism, and of Nazism of the 20th century. The Jews, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger, the enemies of Allah and of His Messenger! Enemies of humanity in general, and of Palestinians in particular - they wage war against us using all kinds of crimes, and as you see - even the mosques are not spared their racism...

"Oh Muslims! The Jews are the Jews. The Jews are the Jews. Even if donkeys would cease to bray, dogs cease to bark, wolves cease to howl and snakes to bite, the Jews would not cease to harbor hatred towards Muslims. The Prophet said that if two Jews would be alone with a Muslim, they would think only of killing him. Oh Muslims! This land will be liberated, these holy places and these mosques will be liberated, only by means of a return to the Quran and when all Muslims will be willing to be Jihad Fighters for the sake of Allah and for the sake of supporting Palestine, the Palestinian people, the Palestinian land, and the holy places in Palestine. The Prophet says: 'You shall fight the Jews and kill them, until the tree and the stone will speak and say: 'Oh Muslim, Oh servant of Allah' - the tree and the stone will not say, 'Oh Arab,' they will say, 'Oh Muslim'. And they will not say, 'Where are the millions?' and will not say, 'Where is the Arab nation?' Rather, they will say, 'Oh Muslim, Oh servant of Allah - there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.' Except for the Gharqad tree [tree mentioned in the Quran - Ed.], which is the tree of the Jews. Thus, this land will be liberated only by means of Jihad..."

The next time that Abbas claims that the PA is adhering to the Road Map, ask him about that part that mentions "incitement."

Hamas/Galloway fundraiser in Boston tonight

From "Justice With Peace":

When: Monday, February 1, 2010, 6:30 pm
Where: Palestinian Cultural Center for Peace • 41 Quint Ave • (Green Line B to Harvard Stop, Glennville Ave to Quint) • Allston

Fundraiser for Viva Palestina

Gaza Aid Convoys

with

The honorable
GEORGE GALLOWAY
Member of British Parliament
Leader of the Viva Palestina convoys to Gaza
Lifelong international activist

Tickets at the door – General: $20 - Students with ID: $10
Limited capacity private reception with Mr. Galloway: $1000

You give money to Galloway, he gives it to Hamas! How much easier can fundraising for terror be on US soil?

h/t ckb at lgf

PalArabs vs. Kurds in their quest for freedom

An interesting article from The National (UAE):

Success stories of state-building in the Middle East have been few. The United Arab Emirates has certainly been one. Qatar, and to an extent Bahrain and Jordan, are now featuring high on good governance indexes. Yet the most impressive of all has been Iraqi Kurdistan.

Less than 25 years ago, Iraqi Kurds suffered one of the Middle East’s worst genocides of modern history. In 1986, Iraq’s former president Saddam Hussein ordered Operation Al Anfal, killing close to 150,000 Kurds over the course of three years. That number exceeds all the deaths resulting from more than 60 years of conflict between the Arabs and Israel, which has seen at least half a dozen wars. [Actually, it is about triple the numbers killed in Arab-Israeli wars. - EoZ]

In the aftermath, Iraqi Kurdistan has emerged from civil war to become one of the Middle East’s most promising regions. One can only hope that the way Iraqi Kurds did it might inspire the Arabs.
...
The Kurds understood that the international status quo would force them to reconnect with Baghdad. Thus, they moved to their second best option: they rejoined Iraq but made sure it would be a federal union that would give their northern region enough cultural, economic and political independence.
Since then, the Kurds have not wasted time in crying foul over surrendering their historic quest for independence. Instead, they founded a new formula: Iraqi Kurdistan would remain part of Iraq as long as Baghdad has democratic rulers. The emergence of a dictator would force the Kurds to go their separate way, fair and square. This position won the Kurds further kudos in the capitals of the world.

More importantly, unlike some Arab leaders and their signature policies of double talk about Israel – promising peace in English and talking war in Arabic – Kurdish leaders have preached to their people that the autonomy or rights they had earned, whether in Iraq or Turkey, were the best they could get.

Meanwhile, the Kurd’s quest for an independent state has all but vanished. This means that Kurds would not be blowing themselves up, and that their leaders would not be insisting on independence in a populist manner like several Arab and Iranian leaders often do regarding Palestine.
This newfound Kurdish wisdom has penetrated all the way into Kurdistan, as Iraqi Kurds held free and fair elections for their regional parliament last year, when a considerable opposition bloc emerged. Mr Barzani himself was re-elected Kurdistan’s president with 68 per cent of the vote, a percentage that makes many Arab presidential elections, with poll numbers exceeding 90 per cent, look silly.

Democracy, still not ideal, is now taking root in Iraqi Kurdistan.

And with democracy comes good governance and economic prosperity. For that, the Kurds have been tapping their human capital assets from their diaspora. Again, compare that to most Arab countries where brain drain has become an unstoppable trend.

The Kurdistan state-building experiment in northern Iraq, even if only within the limits of autonomy, is far from perfection. Yet it is one of the most impressive in the Middle East. It should certainly serve as a model for several Arab countries to emulate.

While the analogy is not exact, the lesson that the author seems to be saying is that, for people who want to be free, official statehood is not the only option and that most of the benefits can come from autonomy and compromise. Furthermore, the hardheaded insistence on a state naturally leads to terrorism and is counterproductive to those who want true freedom and democracy.

However, this argument makes sense to Palestinian Arabs only if the point of a "Palestinian state" is to protect the lives of PalArabs, to end decades of misery,to build institutions and preserve an identity and bring freedom.

But given the negotiating pre-requisites of the "moderate" Palestinian Arab leaders, it is clear that their real goals have little to do with helping their people. Their goal, as it has been since 1948, is really only to destroy Israel, and as a result the wise advice that is given here will fall on deaf ears.

Dangerous marriage in Gaza

From The Media Line (h/t Media Backspin tweet):

Ehsan fell in love with his wife A’isha, a girl from the neighborhood, when he was 14 and she 13.

Eight years later they are still together, with Ehsan is about to graduate with a degree in pharmacology from Gaza’s Al Azhar University and A’isha studying journalism at the same school.

But after being together for years, the couple is still no closer to being able to expose their marriage.

“I am a religious person and well mannered, and so is A’isha,” Ehsan told The Media Line. “We know right from wrong. Whenever we sneak our the back door of the university so that we can walk in the street for five minutes, we feel guilty and ashamed.”

“Then I remind myself that it’s not wrong, even though our parents don’t know,” said the black-haired young man with cautious honey eyes. “I have never even touched her hand, or degraded her in any way, be it hurting her feelings or her dignity. How can I hurt a person I love more than myself? Love is not wrong even though it’s considered ‘scandalous’ and unacceptable here in Gaza.”

A’isha and Ehsan’s status is what is known in Gaza as a ‘conventional marriage’, a union recognized by law, but often without the approval of the religious authorities or the couple’s families - an anomaly in a society in which religion, law and cultural legitimacy are so intricately weaved together.

“Conventional marriage, in its real meaning, is just like the real legitimate marriage but lacks the court papers, appearance and approval,” Dr Hassan Al Juju, Head of the Supreme Council of Sharia Law in Gaza told The Media Line. “Instead of the sheikh, a lawyer does his usual work in the presence of the man and woman. The bride’s father or legal guardian has to be present even if she is over 18.”

‘Conventional marriages’ occupy an uncertain space in Gazan society and are frequently known to stir controversy. The debate on whether they can be considered legal and culturally legitimate often appears irresolvable and the boundary between ‘conventional marriages’ and ‘secret marriages’ is often blurred.

In a society in which women’s ‘honor’ can impinge upon a family’s reputation, secret marriages and love affairs are a dangerous business, and often end in ‘honor killings’ – the murder by a family member of a female seen to have shamed the family name.

Men began knocking on A’isha’s door to ask for her hand in marriage when she was 16. Although she would always find a reason to refuse, she knows it won’t be long before her parents would start asking questions and force her to get married.

“I hope it never happens,” A’isha said through tears. “I am trying my best to buy him time and I don’t know how my destiny will end once my family knows I am married.”

“I am sure my family will either kill me or lock me up forever,” she said. “I want to live my life and be happy. Is that too much to ask?”

Many say they got into a conventional marriage by chance.

Nur, 31, holds a prestigious position in a Gazan civil society organization. With a degree in social science from the Islamic University, she has a tall fit frame, grey eyes, looks younger than her age and is smartly dressed.

“Every one who meets me thinks I am very happy and that I am lucky to have such an open minded father that lets me work and not get married,” she told The Media Line. “But the truth is much more complicated and painful.”

“My father has been refusing every man that knocks on our door for over nine years,” Nur said. “I am tired of him taking my salary and preventing me from marriage. Now I see education, work and independence as a burden, not a privilege.”

“Eight months ago a man came to ask my father for my hand,” she said. “After two months my father said he wasn’t fit and that I should forget about him but it was too late, we are in love.”

“I know it might sound too bold or maybe wrong but what could I do?” she said. “I had to turn to Dr. Hassan and tell him to give my father his last ultimatum or I will use conventional marriage to marry this man. I just want to be happy and be a mother. Isn’t that my right?”

Though the consequences for those who chose traditional marriage can be very severe, the desire to find love and happiness is often too big a draw.

“You know what would happen if we revealed our marriage right now?” Ehsan said. “She would be killed and I would be either locked up or have to go into hiding to keep myself alive. But I can never let them separate us and I will do everything to fight them if they try. I am willing to take her and live somewhere else or hide or even get out of Gaza.”

Hamas threatens to attack international (Jewish) "targets"

Hamas has threatened to retaliate for Al Qassam Brigades co-founder's assassination by attacking "targets" worldwide, as the PLO used to do.

Asharq Alawsat reports:

[Hamas official Yahya] Moussa told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas was examining the changes in the rules of the game, saying "Hamas was careful not to carry out operations abroad in order not to put the security of any country at risk, and it respects the sovereignty of countries, but now institutions of the movement will study the possibility of reversing this decision."
In a press conference held yesterday, Hamas senior figure Mahmoud al-Zahar said "We kept the arena of confrontation between us and the Israeli enemy within the occupied territories, and if Israeli wants – as it wants now to change the rules of the game –to open the international arena to attacks, then in this case Israel will be responsible for the repercussions of this."
He added "Israel has experienced this, and was burned by this in its conflict with the PLO, and it knows that Hamas is no less able to reach its targets in any place." He also said "we are capable of hurting the Zionist enemy, and this is something that is known by the occupation forces, whether on this arena or elsewhere."

In practical terms this means that they are threatening to attack Jews worldwide, like the terror attack against the Argentina Jewish center in 1994 or the 2002 Ghriba synagogue bombing.

One Arab columnist interprets Hamas' threat, and other things that Zahar said, as a threat to the sovereignty of Arab nations who have ties with Israel.

Hamas is also trying to be a part of the investigation of the assassination of Mahmoud al Mabhouh, the the Dubai police are telling them to get lost.

According to Palestine Press Agency, Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan refused to allow Hamas anywhere near the investigations, saying that they only deal with the Palestinian Authority and does not deal with private individuals or other entities during investigations.

Khalfan also denied that there were any previous attempts on Mabhouh's life in Dubai, as his brother claimed, saying that if there were any, why weren't the police involved?

He also wondered why Hamas would let Mabhouh go to Dubai alone and without bodyguards if he was so important. (Hamas had already said that they couldn't get air tickets for the bodyguards so they were due later that day.)

Meanwhile, the Dubai police announced that Mabhouh was killed within five hours of arrival in the emirates.

UAE "black magic" scam

The best part of this story is the last sentence:

Two men who thought they could double Dh250,000 (US$68,000) in a black magic scheme ended up with a bag full of counterfeit money, the Federal Supreme Court heard today.

An Emirati and an Omani man first heard late last year of two Africans who would supposedly double an investment using black magic, the court heard. They invited the men into the home of the Emirati and handed them a briefcase with Dh250,000, officials said.

The two Africans went into a bathroom and switched the money with counterfeit bills. They poured powder on the fake money and told them not to open the transparent bag until six hours had passed, officials said. They immediately left and switched off their phones.

Six hours later, the men opened the bag and discovered the currency was clearly counterfeit. They reported the incident to the police. Because black magic is illegal, the "investors" were also charged.

Prominent Dutch socialite proves her seething Jew-hatred

Islam Online had an interview with Gretta Duisenberg, the wife of the former first president of the European Central Bank.

She already had a history of outrageous actions -

participating in rallies where the demonstrators sang "Hamas, Hamas, send Jews to the gas!", where she herself sang "Intifada! Intifada!," hanging a PLO flag from her balcony during the height of the suicide bombings, meeting with (and holding hands with) Arafat who she said "hates killing," and similar actions.

This interview does not disappoint. To her adoring Islamic audience, she says everything they want to hear, with a litany of lies that it is difficult to consider any intelligent person would admit to believing in:

I have seen these films on YouTube showing how Palestinians put the dead bodies on donkeys, because there are no ambulances.
While the Palestinian people are using these little wagons, Israelis shoot the donkeys from their watching towers.

Therefore, Palestinians have to carry all the goods themselves.
Have you heard about the human organs that Israelis are taking from the Palestinians?

It is true; I saw the pictures. The Israeli soldiers are taking away young men and five days later, they brought them back cut open.

Israel has admitted committing such a crime.
The Jewish lobby in Holland, like in the United States, is very strong and powerful, and it is still playing on our guilt feelings, although it is 63 years since the Holocaust.

In addition, whenever you have something against the Jewish people in Holland, they call you an anti-Semite.

My opinion is that Hamas was chosen by people, not Fatah, so Hamas should be the leader, not Abbas.

Hamas — Israelis, Europeans, and Americans say — is a terrorist organization, which I believe it is not.

Hamas is now being collectively punished by the whole world, more or less, and Gaza borders are closed.

The Zionist idea is to create a big Israel only for Zionists. Israelis want to annex the whole of Palestine, and all Palestinians have to go out.

Israel wants Palestinians to be servants for Jews. Many Israeli leaders have said that Palestinians are like cockroaches and that Israelis will crush them.

I have all those quotes at home with the date and where they were said.

This prominent socialite, good friends with the Queen, gets her "facts" from YouTube videos and Jew-hating conspiracy sites in the Internet!

When anti-semites want to believe something, they don't let mere facts get in their way. Mrs. Duisenberg is proof of this.

Iranian official threatens to destroy Tel Aviv

Palestine Press Agency quotes Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, advisor to Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as saying that Tel Aviv would be "erased from existence" in case Iran is attacked.

The implication seems to be that Iran will act out this threat even if it is threatened by the US, as he was speaking in reaction to the news that the US was deploying missile defenses around the Persian Gulf.

In other news, the Organization of the Islamic Conference has made yet another special holiday in support of Palestinian Arabs, taking an Iranian idea to make January 18th into an annual "Day of Gaza and Resistance."

The illustration to that story in the print edition of the Tehran Times couldn't possible be construed as anti-semitic, could it?

Dueling PalArab responses to Goldstone

The PA announced that they will do their own investigation of Goldstone report claims, and Hamas is not happy.

To meet Ban Ki Moon's deadline for responses, the PA instead submitted a report describing how it will create a commission of inquiry to investigate the very few claims that Goldstone had against "armed groups." Hamas, in turn, is saying that they will not cooperate with any PA investigation, saying that the PA is not qualified to write such a report - and besides, Hamas already released their own investigation that found that everything they did was perfectly legal.

They (think they) found Arafat's invisible poison!

Firas Press writes:

Bassam Abu Sharif, a former adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, says that the toxic material that killed the late president is called 'Iim', a substance which is colorless, has no smell and was placed in food or drink that has given to 'Abu Ammar.'

Iim? (The word in quotes transliterates to "althalim.")

The investigation continues. They know who killed Arafat, they know why, they know how; all they need is the tiniest bit of ....evidence.

Once again, Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the idea of Israel being a Jewish state. The evidence he brings is the fact that the letter that Harry Truman wrote recognizing Israel had the words "Jewish state" crossed out and replaced with "State of Israel."

This is not the first time the PA brought out this argument; Saeb Erekat floated the same idea last April.

The argument is bogus, of course. The UN had declared the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state, and Truman was recognizing Israel based on the UN's language. He wrote the letter before Israel had named itself. Clark Clifford (not Truman) only changed the letter after Israel declared itself a state. It did not reflect any ambivalence by the US as to what exactly Israel was.

In fact, going through UN archives, one sees the terminology "Jewish State" used thousands of times. One interesting examples is the ICJ opinion against Israel's defensive barrier, which says "On 14 May 1948, the independence of the Jewish State was declared." (Admittedly, most of the more recent examples are usually Arabs who rail against the concept as being racist, at the same time that they reside in states that openly declare themselves Arab and Muslim.)

It looks like Mabhouh was assassinated

It appears that Ma'an's early story about the death of Hamas co-founder Muhammad Al-Mabhouh being from cancer was not accurate, and he was in fact assassinated. (I was waiting for the UAE police to say something on the matter.)

One Israeli media outlet says it was a Mossad hit. Inyan Merkazi says that Mabhouh was negotiating a deal to transfer arms from Iran to Gaza and was killed by four Mossad hitmen who first interrogated him and got lots of good information.

Two interesting Hebrew news stories (updated)

SShender links to two interesting stories in the Hebrew media.

One is a Ma'ariv article that quotes an analysis of the footnotes in the Goldstone report, done by Im Tirtzu, that are negative against the IDF, and finds that 92% of them come from Israeli NGOs who are funded by the New Israel Fund, which spends huge amounts of money - so far over $140 million - from abroad to fund these far-left, often anti-government NGOs. Examples include Adalah, Breaking the Silence, B'Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Yesh Din, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.

The other is a Channel 2 video report about the "religious war" in Gaza, where Christians have been subject to abuse and worse by Hamas since the coup. The video shows where Christian holy books were burned and schools sacked.

Here is an English translation of that story: (h/t "Guest")

Happy Tu B'Shvat! Plant a tree in Israel!

YNet has some good stats on the eve of Tu B'Shvat the traditional Jewish New Year for trees) from the Jewish National Fund:

Israel is the only country in the world which has more trees now than it did 100 years ago. In 1901, the year in which JNF was founded, Israel contained only 14,000 dunam (roughly 3,500 acres) of forest land altogether.

By 1980 the figure reached 556,000 dunam and currently Israel contains 855,663 dunam of forestry. JNF has planted over 240 million trees in its years of existence.

"Each year JNF plants an average of 15-20,000 dunam. The plating period is between October and the end pf March," Stenzler said.

61 times as much forest in Israel compared to 1901!

Go here or here to plant a tree yourself.

Israel testing UAV "flying ambulance"

Coolness from the IDF page:

Rescue without human touch: The Air-Mule UAV which assists in medical evacuation has recently passed its initial flight tests. The new UAV, which weighs a ton, will be able to carry equipment and fly into complicated places, such as in urban areas and crevices. In addition to that, the Air-Mule takes off vertically, similar to a helicopter, and its stability will be guaranteed by a unique flight supervision system.
Urban Aeronautics, the company producing the UAV, is one of the world's leading companies in the development of propellers which are installed inside the aircraft instead of outside. The advantage of this location of the propeller is that it allows the aircraft to carry out a wider range of operations in narrow places as well – as opposed to conventional airplanes and helicopters which can only operate in open areas.

"The number one cause of aerial accidents is damage caused to the rotor, and we managed to overcome this obstacle," says the CEO of Urban Aeronautics, Dr. Rafi Yoeli.
During the tests, the Air-Mule succeeded in overcoming difficult weather conditions, and the test team was very satisfied with its flight abilities during a storm that occurred at the test area. The Air-Mule is currently undergoing additional tests further examining its stability and its ability to fly between two previously defined locations.

A manned variant of the actual machine, designed by Israelis, can be seen here:

X-Hawk: Medical Rescue and Evacuation

Medical emergencies arrive without regard to location or time. Unfortunately, emergency medical teams don’t have the same luxury. Both location and time are factors that can hamper their effectiveness and make all the difference between life and death. Medical technology may be miraculous, but it’s not much good unless it can get to you.

Traditional ambulances are subject to the whims of urban traffic patterns. Everyone knows the desperate sound of a wailing siren stuck in a rush-hour bottleneck. Even MEDEVAC helicopters have limitations. We’ve all seen footage of a helicopter, it’s rotor hovering precariously close to a mountainside, struggling to lower a medic to a remote mountain ledge.

X-Hawk, in its air ambulance configuration offers a revolutionary capacity for emergency rescue teams to reach their destination quickly, in spite of practical obstacles or complex landscapes.

What makes X-Hawk so much better?
‘Rotorless’ design eliminates the serious safety hazards associated with helicopter rotors and permits secure access to any location.

Arrival time is guaranteed and predictably speedy with effectively zero vulnerability to contingencies such as traffic or other access obstacles.

The capability to sustain a safe, stable hover adjacent to a window, wall or slope or to land safely in a congested space allows access and evacuation from virtually any location without the use of ladders or hoists.

X-Hawk is significantly quieter than any helicopter, an important consideration with regard to urban environments.

Cool!

UPDATE: Jameel beat me to this story by a few months.

Large IDF graffiti in Gaza

No one can doubt that IDF soldiers did do some minor but unprofessional things in Gaza, like leaving graffiti behind.

Apparently, one IDF soldier decided to leave graffiti on a much larger scale - a 60 meter Star of David in a field in southern Gaza carved out by some heavy, but maneuverable, vehicle:

I'm surprised that this was not mentioned as a war crime by Goldstone.

(From the UNITAR report commissioned by Goldstone.)

Hamas accuses Israel of assassinating co-founder

I reported last week that one of the co-founders of Hamas Al Qassam Brigades died of terminal cancer last week in Dubai.

Well, Hamas launched an "investigation," and determined that it wasn't cancer that got him - it was an assassination plot by the Mossad!

The high-tech Israelis apparently killed him through "an electrical appliance that was held to his head," according to his brother, who must be credible according to UN fact-finding standards.

Hamas doesn't mention the mysterious appliance, but does say that it "holds the Zionist enemy responsible" for Mabhouh's death and that it "will not go unpunished." The details of the Hamas forensics investigation will be revealed "in a timely manner."

I guess the Mossad is losing its touch, if it waits for a guy to have terminal cancer before dispatching a crack team to assassinate him.

Goldstone ignored his own UN-supplied evidence (UPDATED)

As we wait for the IDF response to Goldstone to be released, I looked a little further into the Al Badr flour mill incident that Goldstone chose as a perfect example of Israel trying to starve Gazans to death.

As the New York Times reported:

The Goldstone report asserts that the Bader flour mill “was hit by an airstrike, possibly by an F-16.” The Israeli investigators say they have photographic proof that this is false, that the mill was accidentally hit by artillery in the course of a firefight with Hamas militiamen.
The dispute is significant since the United Nations report asserts that “the destruction of the mill was carried out for the purpose of denying sustenance to the civilian population,” an explicit war crime.

It turns out that Goldstone had photographic proof that the flour mill was not hit by airstrikes as well - and purposefully ignored it.

The Goldstone commission asked UNITAR, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, to examine and analyze publicly available satellite images of various locations in Gaza to determine the dates and extent of damage. One of the sites was the infamous flour mill.

From Goldstone:

The Mission visited the site of the air strikes and surveyed the surrounding area in Sudaniyah, west of Jabaliyah. It met and interviewed the Hamada brothers, joint owners of the el-Bader flour mill, on four occasions. It spoke with representatives of the business community about the context and consequences of the strike on the flour mill. Mr. Hamada also testified at the public hearings in Gaza.493...

919. On 9 January, at around 3 or 4 a.m., the flour mill was hit by an air strike, possibly by an F-16. The missile struck the floor that housed one of the machines indispensable to the mill’s functioning, completely destroying it. The guard who was on duty at the time called Mr. Hamada to inform him that the building had been hit and was on fire. He was unhurt. In the next 60 to 90 minutes the mill was hit several times by missiles fired from an Apache helicopter. These missiles hit the upper floors of the factory, destroying key machinery. Adjoining buildings, including the grain store, were not hit. The strikes entirely disabled the factory and it has not been back in operation since.

922. The Mission found the Hamada brothers to be credible and reliable witnesses. It has no reason to doubt the veracity of their testimony

So, Goldstone reports based on the credible Hamada brothers that the flour mill was struck by F-16s and Apache helicopters on January 9th.

What did UNITAR say?

The Al-Badr Flour Factory of Sudaniyya appears in the satellite imagery to be composed of multiple building sites situated along the north side of El-Bahar Street. Based on the detailed assessment from the imagery, the only visible damages detected to the factory complex are to the southernmost building which was severely damaged along the southeastern side. The damages appear to have occurred between 16 and 18 January 2009. Within the immediate 500m vicinity of the factory complex there are a total of 43 detected damage sites, including 33 destroyed or severely damaged buildings. The majority of this identified damages occurred between 10 and 18 January 2009. There are clear indications in the imagery of extensive IDF tank movement and related damage to both buildings and vegetation cover in this area during the last three days of the conflict. It is probable, given
the damage signatures, that the majority of damage in this area was caused by intense IDF ground fire. It is important to note that because of the angle of satellite imagery acquisition, it is possible that severe damage to the north and eastern side of the flour factory buildings has not been detected.

UNITAR, based on a time sequence of satellite images, finds that all the damage seems to have occurred a full week after Goldstone's "credible witnesses" said it was strafed by multiple air attacks - while the IDF was on the ground, fighting. And damage on the upper floors done by Apache helicopters would presumably be visible on satellite images.

Here is UNITAR's image, and what Google shows there in an image copyrighted 2009 but that appears to have been taken beforehand:

As we have seen many times, Goldstone fully accepted testimony from Gazans as being credible, even when there was abundant evidence showing otherwise. And in this case, the evidence was information that he himself commissioned!

UPDATE: The IDF report is out, and it says that tank shells did hit an upper floor of the flour mill on January 9th, returning fire. Afterwards, it coordinated firefighters to come and put out the fire. No airstrikes as Goldstone asserts. The IDF report also states that no IDF soldiers were on the roof of the mill (where they would be exposed to enemy fire,) where Hamada testified he found multiple bullets.

So apparently there was fire on the 9th that would have not been picked up by satellite, but it was not from airstrikes as Goldstone and Hamada claimed. The fire was justified as part of a battle.

There was clearly fighting in that neighborhood, as PCHR records that every person killed in that area outside December 27th was a militant. The IDF could not say conclusively that the flour mill was used by Hamas but it says it has some evidence that it was so.

Oh, and another Hamas fact...

A little more proof that Hamas did target civilians during Cast Lead, notwithstanding their denials.

Omri at Mere Rhetoric points to the fact that Hamas sent SMS messages to Israeli civilians during the war. They didn't warn people to take cover - on the contrary, they said that the Qassams would reach them and that the shelters will not protect them.

Sounds like a pretty explicit threat and statement of intent. Too bad Goldstone missed that one, too.

What do you do with a used Qassam rocket?

If you are Yaron Bob, you make it into art:

And you donate some of the profits towards rocket shelters.

Details here.

(h/t sshender)

Israelis marking goods as "Made in Palestine"?

Firas Press reports on an (apparently) Arab study of Israeli settler policy.

Among its claims is that Jewish farmers in the Jordan Valley are labeling their produce as being "Made in Palestine," not so much for the European anti-Israel market as for selling the products in Arab countries. Some of the farmers will set up partnerships and front companies with local Arabs to sell their products to Arab consumers abroad. The products include dates, herbs and cherry tomatoes.

Well, they are made in Palestine by Palestinian Jews, even if those Jews don't refer to the area that way any more....

Really bad anti-semitism in Malmo, Sweden

Erik Johansson in the comments points to an interview with the mayor of Malmo, Sweden, Ilmar Reepalu, where he says, "We don't accept either Zionism nor antisemitism. They are both extremes that pose them selves above other groups and regard those [groups] as inferior."

And in response to a pro-Israel demonstration, he stated "I would have wished for the Jewish congregation [in Malmo] to take a stand against Israel's violations of the civilian population of Gaza. Instead they choose to hold a demonstration at Stortorget [a big square in Malmo] that could send the wrong signal."

In other words, Jews who support Israel are almost a legitimate target for anti-semitism.

The rest of the article points out how bad things are in this liberal enclave of Malmo. The mayor is asked about his opinion of Jews who feel so threatened by Arab and leftist violence that they are considering fleeing the city (the mayor is dismayed), and about Jewish children being harassed in schools (the mayor says this is a school matter.)

To the question mentioning that synagogues in Malmo are forced to hire their ownsecurity firms, the mayor responded that he has had swastikas painted on his apartment door as well and thatthe Right is responsible. The interviewer mentions that the Jews believe that extreme Left and Muslims are responsible for their harassment, and the mayor disagreed.

From other articles in the same newspaper, it appears that Jews in Malmo are in serious fear, and that the mayor's attitude is encouraging this. This article mentions how even blonde Jews are afraid, how Jews are hiding any public signs of their Jewishness, how the Jewish cemetery was firebombed, how that pro-Israel demonstration in the town square was met with eggs, bottles and firecrackers - while the police looked on.

A Jewish soccer team does not dare to play away games because of verbal and physical violence against them. Angry Jew-hating fans stormed the field last August forcing the players to retreat.

This article is about a Jewish family moving to Israel specifically because of the anti-semitism in Malmo.

Here are a number of incidents where Jewish students are harassed in schools, including a young man who was threatened with "Halal slaughter."

Anti-semitic crime doubled in the city in the past year, to 79 incidents,and most are probably not reported.

Things are in a really bad way in Sweden, and the attitude of the mayor is clearly not helping the Jewish community there in the least.

Hamas lies about Shalit in response to Goldstone

Palestine Press Agency says that Hamas' response to Goldstone also talks about how it is treating Gilad Shalit.

Their "commission of inquiry" claims that the armed groups holding Shalit are "committed to the Third Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war, saying he has the proper amounts of food and was being held in a safe and clean manner that preserves his dignity."

The only problem is that the Third Geneva Conventions also specifically says in Article 125

Art. 125. Subject to the measures which the Detaining Powers may consider essential to ensure their security or to meet any other reasonable need, the representatives of religious organizations, relief societies, or any other organization assisting prisoners of war, shall receive from the said Powers, for themselves and their duly accredited agents, all necessary facilities for visiting the prisoners, for distributing relief supplies and material, from any source, intended for religious, educational or recreative purposes, and for assisting them in organizing their leisure time within the camps. Such societies or organizations may be constituted in the territory of the Detaining Power or in any other country, or they may have an international character.

The Detaining Power may limit the number of societies and organizations whose delegates are allowed to carry out their activities in its territory and under its supervision, on condition, however, that such limitation shall not hinder the effective operation of adequate relief to all prisoners of war.

The special position of the International Committee of the Red Cross in this field shall be recognized and respected at all times.

As soon as relief supplies or material intended for the above-mentioned purposes are handed over to prisoners of war, or very shortly afterwards, receipts for each consignment, signed by the prisoners' representative, shall be forwarded to the relief society or organization making the shipment. At the same time, receipts for these consignments shall be supplied by the administrative authorities responsible for guarding the prisoners.

Hamas has never allowed any third party to visit Shalit. As far as I can tell, Hamas never specified how Red Cross visitation would compromise Hamas' security.

Also, Article 13 states "prisoners of war must at all times be protected, particularly against acts of violence or intimidation and against insults and public curiosity." This was violated with Hamas' parade mocking Shalit in front of thousands of Gazans in 2008.

Hamas frightened of Egypt (guest post by Zvi)

A couple of recent comments in response to my post about Hamas groveling to Saudi Arabia (the publication of that letter is making waves in PalArab media) are worth posting.

Sshender pointed out that Khaled Meshal was acting in at least a humiliating way to Egypt as well, pointing out a Hebrew link from Channel 10 to a hostile Egyptian interview with him and to general statements that Mubarak has been making about Hamas.

Zvi follows up with a worthwhile analysis:

Here's how I see this. It's not about the Saudis at all. It's about Egypt.

Hamas knows that if Egypt ever becomes REALLY SERIOUS about hurting Hamas, Hamas is going to be in extremely hot water. Egypt can shut down the tunnels if it wants to do that, both by building as deep and strong a wall as it wants to build, and (if Egypt gets really serious) by arresting or shooting anyone on the Egyptian side who participates in the tunnel "industry."

The Egyptian steel wall sends that signal very clearly. In fact, ever since the news about the steel wall became public, the Hamas leadership appears - to me, at any rate - to have shown increasing signs of panic. I can see why; if it works, then Hamas can't bring in weapons, can't tax the tunnelers and can't smuggle its people in and out. If it works, then Gazans really WILL have a crisis on their hands, and Hamas will be very clearly to blame.

Egypt, for its part, is furious with Hamas for two reasons: 1. Hamas humiliated the Egyptian government when the Egyptians tried to reconcile the factions, and again when Egypt tried to work out an exchange of prisoners between Hamas and Israel. 2. Hamas has kept parading in front of the world its closeness to Iran, at a time when the Egyptians are absolutely apoplectic to find that Hezbollah was planning for terror attacks against the Suez Canal, which is one of Egypt's primary strategic assets, and against other Egyptian targets. As of last week, Egypt's state prosecutor was asking for the death penalty for the terrorists.

The Hamas attempt to do what it did last time, and use civilians to camouflage an attack on the Egyptian border (I'm assuming that this is what happened) went very wrong when Hamas murdered an Egyptian border policeman in cold blood.

[Egypt has shown its displeasure not only with the wall but also by kicking out the pro-Hamas demonstrators and the public announcement that no more leftist aid convoys will travel through Egypt. - EoZ]

Egypt said earlier this week that it would consider *cough* throwing the Gazans under the bus *cough* withdrawing completely from Palestinian affairs. It has pretty firmly rejected Hamas flirtations.

So now Hamas is going back to the Saudis. Why? Most importantly, because if the Saudis (who have been flirting a bit with the Syrians lately) actually agree to get involved again, this will make the Egyptians look isolated and powerless. Hamas leaders may be calculating that the Egyptians will immediately try to restore their diplomatic prestige by rushing to mediate something (this is a guess, I will admit. ; - ) And an engaged Egypt is not going to simply seal off Gaza and let Hamas stew in its own violence and stupidity.

While Hamas made the Saudis look like useful idiots last time around, the Saudis are suckers for things that will make them look influential in the region, as long as it doesn't involve making peace with Israel. So under normal circumstances, I would expect them to go for it.

But at the moment, the Saudis are fighting a war against what they see as Iranian proxies in Yemen. While Huthi forces are apparently trying to request a truce at the moment, the Saudis are apparently having none of it (I'm reading only a little bit into this column: http://asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=2&id=19655). The little snipe at Hamas in the column also suggests that Hamas is very much out of favor in Saudi circles. So I'm expecting the Saudis to ignore this.

Hamas will keep trying to find mediators that it hasn't already humiliated. I'm betting that Hamas will try the Turks next, and the Turks are likely to go for it. It's unclear whether Fatah will accept Turkish mediation.

Meanwhile, Hamas has lost the so-called "legitimacy" of an "electoral mandate, weakening its position among Gazans." Useful idiots will continue to willfully forget that in 2007, Hamas gunmen violently overthrew the elected order, threw their opponents off of buildings and forcefully occupied Gaza, putting it under the control of people who are living in Damascus. Now that the parliamentary term has expired, the fig leaf is simply gone. Hamas has refused to cooperate with PA elections, and that's how things stand.

None of this means that Hamas is on its last legs or that it will change its behavior or its associates. Hamas leaders have been very clever liars and very clever when it comes to survival - all the while continuing to try to murder as many Jewish civilians as possible.