Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Arab Insult News

The Arab League chief, Nabil al-Araby, has said comments made by a Muslim Brotherhood spokesperson in Egypt against the United Arab Emirates were “hostile,” in a statement issued by his office on Monday.

The Brotherhood spokesman, Mahmoud Ghozlan, had threatened action against the UAE if the Gulf country would attempt to capture and prosecute prominent Muslim scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi.

The Sheikh had sparked a heated row between the UAE and his Brotherhood supporters when he criticized the Gulf state for reportedly revoking the visas of Syrians who protested against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad outside of the Syrian consulate in Dubai.

Qaradawi’s comments provoked a heated response from the Dubai police chief, Dhahi Khalfan, who threatened to arrest the Sheikh.

“We are going to issue an arrest warrant against Sheikh Qaradawi” Khalfan wrote on his Twitter account earlier this week.

“If he insults the UAE will we leave him? ...Whoever insults the state or the government of the UAE, I will pursue him,” the police chief added.

In response to the Muslim Brotherhood’s retaliated threat of action against the UAE, Egyptian media cited Araby as saying on Monday: “I call on all political forces to resort to wisdom and prudence and to avoid hostile attitudes and irresponsible statements that can be detrimental to relations between Arab countries, and that cause dissension and division.”

The Arab League chief added: “We are about to prepare for the coming Arab summit in Baghdad, which we hope would restore the spirit of Arab solidarity and unify Arab positions on the challenges and major variables facing the region.”

And, yes, insulting the government can land you in jail, even in "moderate" Arab states:

Jordanian military prosecutors have charged six activists with insulting King Abdullah II during a demonstration in the southern city of Tafileh last week, a judicial official said on Tuesday.

"Twenty-one have been arrested following the demonstration. State security court prosecutors have charged all of them with rioting and six of insulting the king," the official told AFP.

If convicted, the six suspects face three years in prison each.

You see, that's why we need the Arab Spring. Instead of getting thrown in jail for three years for insulting the king, you can face the death penalty for insulting Mohammed. It's so much less barbaric.

Speaking of, it looks like the Saudi who tweeted messages meant to treat Mohammed like a human being - and who was charged with apostasy as a result - may get a light sentence, due to pressure from human rights activists and an abject, groveling apology he made in court:

An apostate Saudi journalist who is believed to be facing execution for insulting Prophet Mohammed PBUH (Peace Be Upon Him) has repented at court and this means reduced sentence.

According to the Arabic language daily Sharq, Hamza Kashgari declared his repentance before the judge at the court in Riyadh.

“Kashgari declared his repentance and expressed regret for offending the Prophet (PBUH)….this means he will face a light sentence,” the paper said, citing Kashgari relatives.

The 23-year-old man, who works for Albilad Arabic language daily, fled to Malaysia last month after King Abdullah ordered his arrest on charges of apostasy in an article he wrote on Twitter. A few days later, he was deported to the Kingdom and arrested on arrival.

Speculation mounted after his arrest that Kashgari could be executed following statements by a senior Saudi Muslim cleric that the writer would be sentenced to death for apostasy.

Sheikh Saleh bin Fowzan Al Fowzan, a member of the 7-man supreme committee of scholars in Saudi Arabia, said it has been established in Islam that any one who insults God or the Prophet should be killed.

“Repenting will not work…any man who insults God or our Prophet (PBUH) should be killed,” he said. “But we should first verify that this man (Kashgari) did insult Prophet Mohammed in his article on Twitter…if verified, then he must be killed……many scholars and people are now demanding his execution.”

In an official statement, Kashghari announced that he had repented and asked for forgiveness. "I admit that my ideas and words were deviant. Some doubts had affected my thinking and drove me away from the correct path," he said.

He said he had completely abandoned all his wrong ideas and the tweets he wrote, saying he was depressed at the time.

Kashghari thanked family, relatives, friends and scholars who supported him and tried to guide him to the correct religious path.

Just so you know the rule: make sure you never, ever insult Islam, orArab leaders, or any sheikhs, or Mohammed, or any other prophets, or the Quran, or Allah. Judaism and Christianity and "non-divine religions" and Western leaders are fair game, though.

Those ancient "Palestinian shekels"

From PMW:

A Judean Shekel coin from the year 66 CE, the first year of the Jewish rebellion against Rome, was sold for $1.1 million this past week at an auction in New York. The words in Hebrew "Shekel of Israel [Year] 1" are printed on the front of the coin, and "Jerusalem the holy" appears on the back. [New York Post, March 10, 2012]

The official Palestinian Authority daily in writing about the auction described the Hebrew coin from the Second Temple period as an "ancient Palestinian coin" and as being part of the "Palestinian cultural tradition."

The article adds that the Jews' "political agenda" takes advantage of the sale of ancient Hebrew coins. The PA, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist, and only at times acknowledges that the state does exist, categorizes any archeological evidence of Israel's ancient past in the land as a "political agenda":

"It [the sale] is an opportunity for Jewish and Western scholars to use the Jewish revolt against the Romans in Palestine for a political agenda, and to connect this local revolt with the establishment of the Israeli occupation state."

Yeah, why would Jews be interested in an ancient Jewish coin from Judea that documents a Jewish revolt at the time that Jews had their own nation? Obviously, it is political!

Which brings up the question: if the coin is such a beautiful example of Palestinian heritage, why are no Palestinians bidding for it?

In a similar vein, a Jordanian named Gasser Anani gave a lecture last week about the supposed Judaization of Jerusalem, and he also talked about shekels, saying that they were realy an ancient Palestinian currency called "Shakla" and Israel "stole" them.

Of course, there is no such thing as an "ancient Palestinian currency." There would have had to be a Palestine for that to have been created. The first Palestinian currency was created by the British in 1927, and it had Hebrew on it.

In fact, the shekel is a unit of weight that was around since the Akkadian Empire and that morphed into a currency as it was usually used for silver. Jews never claimed that it was a Jewish invention; it is mentioned in the Bible as an already existing standard weight of silver in Abraham's time (Genesis 23) when he paid 400 shekels for what was to become the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

(h/t Stan)

The BBC allows Gaza liar to dominate interview

From Biased BBC, from Monday:

I've been waiting to see how the BBC would cover the recent missile terror attacks on Israel from Hamastan and finally, this morning, the BBC Today programme deigned to cover it @ 8.21am Naturally, Humphrys instantly suggested that Israel was to blame by impertinently striking against the Islamic terrorists that operate freely within Gaza. Then we had an interview, if you can it that, with Dr Aryeh Kontorovich who lives in Beersheva in southern Israel and Dr Mona El-Farra, vice president of the Red Crescent in Gaza. Basically Dr Mona was allowed to ramble on and on, without interruption. One wonders how the BBC can dare to suggest that the Red Crescent is some sort of neutral charity providing organisation after the semi coherent propaganda spouted by El-Farra. It doesn't matter what the situation is - when it comes to the BBC, Israel is ALWAYS to blame. Now, why might that be, do you think?

Commenter Sue went into detail on the interview, which you can hear here:

I found the respective speaking times as follows:

Dr Kontorovich 00:2:15:49
Dr. El-Farra 00:3:41:87

During Dr. Kontorovich’s two minutes, Humphrys managed to ask four questions including one statement:
“This started at the weekend, Friday? Things had been quiet since September?”
To which Dr. Kontorovich replied:
“In Be’ersheba, but I must stress that rockets have been falling continuously on Israel, but at a low intensity”
Humphrys ignored this, repeating:
“This (intensity) has been as a direct result of attacks on Gaza on Friday morning.”

Dr Kontorovich seemed upset and flustered, while Dr El-Farra let forth a continual stream of invective, alternately accusatory and self pitying. She was allowed to digress, uninterrupted, apart from an interjection by Humphrys “Sorry, the line isn’t terribly good (it was fine) if I can perhaps explain what was you’re saying. The car carrying this man described as a militant leader, that was attacked form the air...”

Mona El-Farra re-interrupted back, and continued by denying, twice, that there have been any rocket attacks from Gaza.

“let me tell you that for the last four months there were no rockets against Israel and Palestinians respected the cease-fire.”

“It is not a war between two equal parties, Israel with its very strong army attacking a group of militia, many that have been confined to the cease-fire for the last four months. This time Israel started [it]. I will not talk more about this.”

She was allowed to digress, completely uninterrupted for a further minute or two, listing everything lacking in Gaza, and she evaded the one significant point that Humphrys put to her, which was that if the rocket attacks from Gaza were to cease, there would be no raids into Gaza by Israel. The nearest she got to addressing that point was to say she didn’t approve of rocket attacks.

This interview was typically incompetent and misleading.

Indeed, the Red Crescent doctor is allowed to spout lies without the least attempt by the BBC interviewer to challenge her. Her insistence that Israel was targeting children and that there were no rockets from Gaza in four months was especially egregious.

Ha'aretz lists rocket attacks for the past year:

January, 2011 - 39 rockets fired toward Israel

February, 2011 - 28 rockets fired toward Israel

March, 2011 - 105 rockets fired toward Israel following clashes in Gaza

April, 2011 - 140 rockets fired toward Israel following an IDF hit on a Hamas terror cell

May, 2011 - 1 rocket fired toward Israel

June, 2011 - No rockets were fired toward Israel

July, 2011 - 27 rockets fired toward Israel

August, 2011 - 171 rockets fired toward Israel after a coordinated terror attack by Palestinian militants kills eight Israelis

September, 2011 - 13 rockets fired toward Israel

October, 2011 - 56 rockets fired toward Israel as response to release of former captive IDF soldier Gilad Shalit

November, 2011 - 9 rockets fired toward Israel

December, 2011 - 42 rockets fired toward Israel

January, 2012 - 18 rockets fired toward Israel

February, 2012 - 30 rockets fired toward Israel

March, 2012 - Some 200 rockets fired toward Israel after the IDF assassinates the leader of Popular Resistance Committees

(h/t Yoel)

How an Irish leftist changed his mind about Israel

This article from the Irish Independent has been going around, and for good reason:

I used to hate Israel. I used to think the Left was always right. Not any more. Now I loathe Palestinian terrorists. Now I see why Israel has to be hard. Now I see the Left can be Right -- as in right-wing. So why did I change my mind so completely?

Strangely, it began with my anger at Israel's incursion into Gaza in December 2008 which left over 1,200 Palestinians dead, compared to only 13 Israelis. I was so angered by this massacre I posed in the striped scarf of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation for an art show catalogue.

Shortly after posing in that PLO scarf, I applied for funding from the Irish Arts Council to make a film in Israel and Palestine. I wanted to talk to these soldiers, to challenge their actions -- and challenge the Israeli citizens who supported them.

I spent seven weeks in the area, dividing my time evenly between Israel and the West Bank. I started in Israel. The locals were suspicious. We were Irish -- from a country which is one of Israel's chief critics -- and we were filmmakers. We were the enemy.

Then I crossed over into the West Bank. Suddenly, being Irish wasn't a problem. Provo graffiti adorned The Wall. Bethlehem was Las Vegas for Jesus-freaks -- neon crucifixes punctuated by posters of martyrs.

These martyrs followed us throughout the West Bank. They watched from lamp-posts and walls wherever we went. Like Jesus in the old Sacred Heart pictures.

But the more I felt the martyrs watching me, the more confused I became. After all, the Palestinian mantra was one of "non-violent resistance". It was their motto, repeated over and over like responses at a Catholic mass.

Yet when I interviewed Hind Khoury, a former Palestinian government member, she sat forward angrily in her chair as she refused to condemn the actions of the suicide bombers. She was all aggression.

This aggression continued in Hebron, where I witnessed swastikas on a wall. As I set up my camera, an Israeli soldier shouted down from his rooftop position. A few months previously I might have ignored him as my political enemy. But now I stopped to talk. He only talked about Taybeh, the local Palestinian beer.

Back in Tel Aviv in the summer of 2011, I began to listen more closely to the Israeli side. I remember one conversation in Shenkin Street -- Tel Aviv's most fashionable quarter, a street where everybody looks as if they went to art college. I was outside a cafe interviewing a former soldier.

He talked slowly about his time in Gaza. He spoke about 20 Arab teenagers filled with ecstasy tablets and sent running towards the base he'd patrolled. Each strapped with a bomb and carrying a hand-held detonator.

The pills in their bloodstream meant they felt no pain. Only a headshot would take them down.

Conversations like this are normal in Tel Aviv. I began to experience the sense of isolation Israelis feel. An isolation that began in the ghettos of Europe and ended in Auschwitz.

Israel is a refuge -- but a refuge under siege, a refuge where rockets rain death from the skies. And as I made the effort to empathise, to look at the world through their eyes. I began a new intellectual journey. One that would not be welcome back home.

The problem began when I resolved to come back with a film that showed both sides of the coin. Actually there are many more than two. Which is why my film is called Forty Shades of Grey. But only one side was wanted back in Dublin. My peers expected me to come back with an attack on Israel. No grey areas were acceptable.

...

Any artist worth his or her salt should be ready to change their mind on receipt of fresh information. So I would urge every one of those 216 Irish artists who pledged to boycott the Israeli state to spend some time in Israel and Palestine. Maybe when you come home you will bin your scarf. I did.

Read the whole thing.

Hamas website is posting IDF videos!

The Hamas news site Palestine Times has a series of videos about the events of the past few days.

Interestingly, two of them were posted on YouTube by the IDF.

One was this video where residents of Ashdod hear six huge explosions:

They have similar videos of Israelis running to shelters. The idea is to show their rocket fire is causing panic among Israelis - which is, after all, the very definition of terrorism.

The other video is more interesting. It is the interview that I posted yesterday of PRC spokesmen who insist that Hamas is not doing anything to stop their rocket fire. The caption it "The Brigades commends the government's support for the resistance."

Which means that Hamas is also admitting that they are not trying to discourage terror groups from shooting rockets at Israel.

The very things that the IDF wants to communicate with the outside world - that Gaza rocket fire is aimed randomly at civilians, that they can cause serious damage, that Gaza's leadership wholeheartedly supports their firing - are what Hamas brags about to their people!

Did Israel agree to stop "assassinations?" (updated)

From Reuters/Ma'an:

Islamic Jihad said on Tuesday it would adhere to its commitments under a truce deal brokered by Egypt to end four days of fighting with Israel that killed 25 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Jihad leader Daoud Shihab told Ma'an the deal was reached after many meetings and discussions with Egypt. The movement stressed it demanded that Israel halt assassinations of political leaders, Shihab said.

The latest fighting was sparked when Israeli warplanes killed the leader of the Popular Resistance Committees on Friday.

Shihab said the group is committed to the truce as long as Israel adheres to its commitments. "We do not trust Israel, but we trust our power and if Israel does not commit, we will reply," he added.

He called the truce a victory for Islamic Jihad, and a Palestinian achievement.

A senior Egyptian security official told Reuters that the deal to cease hostilities was set to take effect at 1 a.m. local time (2300 GMT).

The official said in a telephone call from Cairo that both sides had "agreed to end the current operations", with Israel giving an unusual undertaking to "stop assassinations", and an overall agreement "to begin a comprehensive and mutual calm."

"There is an understanding," Israeli Civil Defense Minister Matan Vilnai told Israel Radio. "At the moment the direction is toward calm and it appears, unless there are last minute developments, that this round is now behind us."

Amos Gilad, a senior Israeli defense official, said Israel would feel free to take "pre-emptive action" if Israeli lives were in danger -- a reference to future strikes against Palestinian militants believed to be planning attacks.

But, he told Army Radio, if "there is quiet on their part, there will be quiet on our part."

A Palestinian official close to the talks said "the factions are committed," alluding to the Islamic Jihad and Popular Resistance Committees, who were most active in the fighting, but that these groups were waiting to see how Israel would respond.

Vilnai was quoted as saying in a radio interview that "anyone who is planning to carry out attacks must calculate that he might be targeted."

There is a lot of contradictory information here.

Islamic Jihad has been explicit that it wants to see a stop to "assassinations," by which it appears to mean targeting of terrorist leaders, not weapons depots or other targets. Its own announcement of the cease fire - hours after an angry communique that insisted that it would never accept any calm with Israel - only mentioned the "assassination" aspect and didn't ask for a stop to airstrikes in Gaza altogether.

From all appearances, Islamic Jihad leaders are trying to save their own skins. There announcement was striking by not referencing any pain that Gaza citizens might be feeling; it was only about their "mujahadeen." They simply don't care about anyone but themselves.

The question is, what exactly did Israel agree to?

On Friday, after a few rockets hit Israel, Israel attacked and killed the PRC leader, saying that he was planning a major terror attack on Israel. Did Israel commit to not doing so again? From the quotes that are out there, the answer is a strong "perhaps" depending on who is doing the speaking. It seems inconceivable that Israel agreed not to kill people preparing to shoot rockets into Israel. Or would Israel wait until the rockets are in the air?

The Jerusalem Post adds: (h/t Ian)

Speaking with Army Radio Tuesday morning, hours after the Egyptian-brokered deal came into effect, Gilad denied that Israel committed to refrain from assassinating heads of terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip.

"There is no written agreement," Gilad said, "Israel has no documents, no negotiations, no contacts with the terrorist organizations."

The only understanding that exists, he reiterated, is quiet.

If Israeli intelligence knows of a terrorist attack being planned, "there will be action to prevent it."

Either way, while things are calmer, that are hardly calm.

An Israeli army spokesman said three rockets landed in southern Israel Tuesday morning, without causing injuries.

Several mortars have also been fired recently.

To Nader's Unborn Children

A short article in the blog "Sleepless in Gaza" is getting a lot of attention, as it is filled with pathos - and more than a few lies sprinkled in:

To my unborn children,

I know you probably won’t be there to read this. Maybe I would be dead before you see the light. Or rather, witness how very inhumane and so unjust this world has become. I’ll just write anyway, maybe at least your elder brother or sister witnesses all that and read this.

Ever since I came to Gaza, I’ve been dreaming of a better life. Peaceful and quiet. No explosions or blood. No injuries or martyrs. Nothing but a regular peaceful life each and every one of us would wish for.

In Gaza, everything is different. In Gaza, Israeli F16s substitute birds. In Gaza, we sleep on the continuous buzzing coming from the ever-existent drones. We wake up to find that there’s no electricity. In Gaza, explosions are the sunshine and the smell of ash is the scent of the city.

Electricity barely comes in Gaza, where it’s very dangerous to live in. Every moment you live is considered a new life because it’s very dangerous and Israelis bring their toys over to Gaza and play with us the hard way.

My beloved unborn children, being a Gazan means that you’re strong willed, courageous, and like no other. As you grow up, you’ll learn all about the different kinds of weapons and arms both allowed and internationally forbidden. What’s different in Gaza is that Israel doesn’t distinguish its targets. Meaning, they kill anything that moves with a smile. Frankly, they would kill us more than once if possible.

Growing up in Gaza isn’t easy. Growing up in Gaza is a challenge. A quest. And the reward is a strong courageous personality. So brave to the point that you’d stand in front of a tank with a bare chest and a rock. Daring it to move forward yelling ‘over my dead body’. More like mashed if you want to know.

Another thing you’ll gain as a Gazan is that you’ll be able to distinguish the sounds of whatever that kills. Be a M-16, AK-47, .50 Cal, Shells from the Israeli warships in the sea, warplanes in the sky, tank shells, and the list goes on forever. Living in Gaza is a challenge of patience. Only the strong and the brave can survive. By survive, I mean living yet another day of struggle and a million hardships a day.

Last but not least, don’t leave Palestine. It’s where you belong. It’s where everything counts and where whatever little will make a huge change. Don’t leave Palestine because it’s my motherland. Your motherland. Don’t leave Palestine because at the end of the day, it’s all you’ve got left. Don’t leave Palestine even if you’ll be living on olive oil and thyme all your life.

PS: tell your mother that I love her so much. Kiss her cheeks and forehead for me.

With all my love,
Papa.

The most outrageous lie is, of course, "Israel doesn’t distinguish its targets. Meaning, they kill anything that moves with a smile. Frankly, they would kill us more than once if possible." This sickening calumny inserted in an otherwise heart-rending piece turns this from what could have been brilliant into just another case of inciting hate against Israeli Jews.

But there is much to be said for the piece, as no one - not even a Zionist - can fail to be moved by the light of Gazans. The problem is that the anger is misplaced.

So, even though the truth has no chance of infiltrating the pitch-black hate that the Arab world has for Israel, here is a Zionist's letter to Nader's unborn children:

Dear children,

You don't know me. And there are many people who want to make sure that you never will know me.

Because there are many people - your leaders, your teachers, your journalists - who have much at stake in painting me and all Zionists as evil, genocidal murderers.

In 2005, after much agonizing and soul-searching, Israel decided to uproot hundreds of Jewish, Zionist families from Gaza. Gazans were chafing under Israeli rule, and Israelis there were living in fear of terror attacks from Gazans. While the Jewish residents who lived there did not want to go, the Israeli government - led by the most right-wing prime minister in Israeli history - decided to forcibly remove them. Perhaps you can appreciate how much it hurts to lose one's home.

The reason Israel decided to do this was simple: it was hoped that such a move would help bring peace to the region. Without the Israeli presence there, people thought that Gaza could turn into a Singapore on the Mediterranean. There would be no more reason for rocket attacks on Jewish communities. The Palestinians could build their own paradise.

Some wealthy American Zionists even paid millions of dollars to buy the greenhouses the Israelis were leaving behind, as a gift to help Gaza's economy and to help jump start the metamorphosis of the sector into an oasis of peace. No one wanted peace more that Israel, and no one sacrificed more for peace than Israel. The lies you are being fed in school - that Israel is an expansionist state dedicated to stealing land from Arabs - were shown to be false, because Israel left Gaza for only one reason: in the hopes of bringing peace to the region.

Things did not turn out that way.

Militant groups in Gaza continued to shoot rockets at Israel. Hamas ended up taking over the area, killing hundreds of fellow Palestinians in the process. An Israeli soldier was kidnapped and hidden in Gaza.

The leaders of Gaza - your leaders - never dismantled a single refugee camp. They imported thousands of weapons. They allied with Iran. They continued to threaten Israel and they continued to attack Israel.

You may not believe this, but no one would be happier with a peaceful Gaza than Israel would. No Zionist wants to see anyone in Gaza suffer. Nothing would thrill Zionists more than to see a Gaza where both sides can freely cross the border to buy goods or work without fear of being murdered by the other. The IDF does not kill innocent people on purpose - ever. No Israeli celebrates when innocents are, invariably, killed. And, as much as you are taught otherwise, Israel spends tens of millions of dollars to ensure that innocent civilians would not be hurt in Gaza when it defends itself.

Yes, Israel defends itself. And it will continue to do so. It is maddening that after the painful withdrawal from Gaza - a land that Jews have lived in, on and off, for over two thousand years - the peace that they yearned for never came. On the contrary, the rocket attacks on innocent Negev communities increased. Israel is a sovereign nation and it will not tolerate attacks on its citizens. And you know quite well that the thousands of rockets that come from Gaza are aimed squarely at Israeli civilians. Israel will defend itself, and she will not apologize for it.

But she wishes she wouldn't have to.

Once upon a time, not long ago, there was the Erez Industrial Zone, where thousands of Gazans were employed and were able to support their families in dignity. It is no longer there, and the reason is because the terrorists that Gaza hosts and often celebrates would keep attacking it. The idea of co-existence and peace is not what Hamas or Islamic Jihad want.

Once upon a time, after the 2008-9 Gaza war - the war that your leaders started with a barrage of rockets similar to those seen this past weekend, in what they called Operation Oil Stain, a full three days before Israel attacked - Israel built a field hospital to help those injured in the war at Erez. Your leadership forbade anyone from coming and being helped.

Even today, while Israel is under fire - on the same day that your leaders shot mortars directly at the crossing where aid goes into Gaza - Israel did not close the crossing and sent hundreds of trucks over, because Israel does not want to hurt the innocent people of Gaza.

The only people who are aiming their weapons at civilians, on purpose, are the terrorists that your leaders are supporting. The only people who celebrate the deaths of innocent civilians are those on your side.

If you are willing to open your eyes, just a little, you will see what your leaders have done - that they have cynically hidden weapons in your mosques and neighbors' homes, that they have created an electricity crisis and power shortage because they are placing their own political goals above your welfare, that they have raised entire generations on hate rather than wishes for peace.

Israel wants peace, a real, lasting peace with all her neighbors. Your leaders have said, quite clearly and explicitly, that this is not what they want - they want to see the end of Israel.

So here we are. Do you want Gaza to become a Singapore or an Afghanistan? Whichever you choose, it will come true, sooner than you think. And if you choose the right one, your own children will never need to hear machine guns or rockets or warplanes and they will be able to grow up in peace and prosperity.

I wish you would get to know me. I don't hate you. And I would prefer to be friends.

Wishing you all long and peaceful lives where friendship can replace enmity and cooperation can replace hate,

A Zionist.

Egyptian parliament demands expulsion of Israel ambassador

From Egypt Independent:

In an evening session Monday, the People’s Assembly demanded the deportation of the Israeli ambassador, Yaakov Amitai, and the withdrawal of the Egyptian ambassador from Tel Aviv.

The assembly voted unanimously on a statement prepared by the Committee on Arab Affairs, which also called for stopping gas exports to Israel in protest against the brutal attacks committed by Israel against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, considering it a flagrant violation of human rights.

Assembly speaker Saad al-Katatny asked a special parliamentary committee to follow up the implementation of the demands with the government.

The statement said, “Egypt after the revolution will never be a friend of the Zionist entity, the first enemy of Egypt and the Arab nation,” and demanded that the Egyptian government review all its relations and agreements with that “enemy.”

It also called for activating the Arab boycott of the “Zionist entity” and the international companies that deal with it, considering such boycott strong support of the “choice of resistance,” the strategic option for the liberation of the occupied territories.

Sounds like the "new" Egypt is taking rhetorical talking points from Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Latest Zionist crime: An offensive cigarette lighter

From Quds Media, in another embarrassing attempt to incite Arabs to war:

In what is being seen as an extension of the commercialization of Israel’s formal Judaisation policies, an Israeli company has sparked wide condemnation for marketing a new lighter which has the Israeli flag superimposed on a picture of the Dome of the Rock in occupied Jerusalem’s Noble Sanctuary of Al-Aqsa. “Israel” is written alongside in Hebrew. Al-Aqsa Foundation for Religious Endowment and Heritage has called the company’s act “a flagrant violation of Al-Aqsa Mosque and an attempt to Judaise it”.

In a statement released to the media, the Foundation said that the Israeli occupation authorities “are trying, through state institutions and now commercial ventures to obliterate Islamic landmarks, especially Al-Aqsa Mosque”. The mosque has been the site of armed incursions by illegal Jewish settlers intent on carrying out Talmudic rituals inside Islam’s third holiest mosque. “This move emphasises the threat to Al-Aqsa Mosque,” claimed the Foundation.

“Israel is trying to strengthen its occupation and hold over Al-Aqsa,” said the statement, “and this is not the first time that the image of Al-Aqsa has been used to promote Israeli goods.” This was a reference to an earlier use of the mosque’s picture on Israeli wine bottles.

Actually, they were vodka bottles as well as wine bottles.

PA elections will be delayed. What a surprise.

From The National (UAE):

Palestinians will not hold presidential and parliamentary elections in May because of disagreements between the two main political factions, a Palestinian elections official said this week.

The gridlocked Hamas-Fatah reconciliation has made it impossible for the Palestinian Central Elections Commission (CEC) to hold elections on May 4, the date originally set by the groups, said the Ramallah-based organisation's chief electoral officer, Hisham Kuhail.

"May 4 is out of the question," said Mr Kuhail, who oversees the CEC. In an interview with The National, he said the commission cannot stage the election primarily because Hamas will not allow it to make the necessary preparations in Gaza, such as updating the voting registry and installing voting centres.

The problem can be resolved only by "real reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah", he said.

Further, under Palestinian law, Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, must issue a decree instructing the CEC to begin preparing for the elections. This process takes 90 days.

"But to this moment, that has not happened," Mr Kuhail said.

The earliest feasible date to organise an election would be after June, he said.

A Hamas-Fatah agreement signed in Cairo last year was supposed to have led to an interim government that would govern both Gaza and the West Bank until elections took place.

Mr Abbas probably will not issue the order for the elections until Hamas and Fatah settle their disagreements over who will run the interim government, sources say.

Given how Gaza Hamas leader Haniyeh has been acting alike a head of state, undermining not only Abbas but even Hamas political leader Meshal, this is hardly surprising. Hamas will not willingly give up or share power in Gaza, and indeed will do everything they can to take over in Ramallah as well, hoping for an Egyptian-style revolution that would replace the current PA leadership with Islamists.

See also Elliot Abrams' commentary.

(h/t Ian)

Egyptian clerics: "Hatred of Jews is a form of worship" (MEMRI)

This one's got it all: Jews are donkeys, "President" Benjamin Franklin (who was president 50 years ago) warned the US against them, calls to kill all Jews, and more.

But don't call them anti-semitic.

Egyptian cleric Gharib Ramadhan: There are very many traits that characterize the Jews, and the Koran focused on a few of them, such as the violation of commitments, from which we suffer to this day. Not just us in Egypt – the entire world suffers from this.

Another trait is their hard-heartedness, God forbid. If you want to know what true hard-heartedness means, go to the Jews. You will find a lot of it there.

[…]

They were deported from England by King Edward, and from France by King Philip. They were deported from Hungary, from Belgium, from Czechoslovakia, from Austria – I won't start with the dates – from Holland, from the Kingdom of Naples, from Russia… Wherever they go they get deported and then they return. For example, they went back to France and to Hungary, and were deported again. If they are good people, how come people get rid of them?

Allah punished them by transforming them into apes and pigs, and by prohibiting them from eating several edible things. He forbade them to eat anything with claws – animals and birds that do not have cloven hooves, like camels, geese, ducks… They are prohibited from eating ducks. If Sheik Amin were here, he could have told us how greatly they were punished.

Moderator: May Allah reward you, Dr. Gharib.

Egyptian cleric Shihab Al-Din Abu Zahu: I would like to comment on…

Moderator: Make it quick, we have a break.

Shihab Al-Din Abu Zahu: He said that they were deported from wherever they went. US President Benjamin Franklin… It is the US that sponsors them today, but if the Americans had acted upon Franklin's legacy, they would have saved America. May Allah make them fall along with the Jews.

US President Benjamin Franklin said: "A great danger threatens the United States of America. That danger is the Jewish danger. In whichever land the Jews have settled, they have corrupted the morals, and lowered the level of commercial honesty. They always isolate themselves and never mix with others. For more than 1,700 years, they have been lamenting their fate, because they were expelled from the lands of their forefathers.

If Palestine were given back to them, not all of them would go there, because they are parasites and cannot live at the expense of their own kind. They must live among the Christians or others not of their race.

If these Jews are not expelled from the United States by the Constitution, within a century, they will be streaming into the US in such large numbers that will enable them to rule and destroy our people. They will change the form of government for which we shed our blood, and for which we have sacrificed our lives, our property, and our personal freedom. Within less than a century, our grandchildren will have to work in the fields in order to feed the Jews, while the Jews control the financial institutions. If the American people do not deport the Jews once and for all, their children and grandchildren will curse them in their graves.

The values of the Jews are not the same of those of the Americans, and will not be the same even if the Jews live among us for ten generations. A leopard cannot change its spots. The Jews will pose a danger to America, if they are allowed freely in. They will destroy US institutions, and the Americans must deport by the Constitution." These are the words of US President Franklin.

[…]

Egyptian cleric Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sawi: In the Koran, Allah called the Jews "donkeys." Donkeys. They are donkeys. What can you do with a donkey? Allah said: "Those who were charged with the Torah, but failed [in this obligation], are similar to a donkey carrying books." These are the Jews, right? They failed in the obligation to carry the Torah.

We are not talking about the Jews of the days of Moses. They repented. They were tormented until they believed in Moses. We don't mean those Jews. We mean the Jews of today. They are like donkeys carrying books. There is a very symbolic story that really moved me.

A man was sitting in his home, when all of a sudden, in walked a donkey. What was he supposed to do with this donkey? He began screaming: "Donkey, get out! Get out!" But the donkey wouldn't leave. "Don't you understand? Get out," he said, but the donkey wouldn't budge. What was he to do? He grabbed a microphone, and screamed: "People, I have a donkey in my home, and he must leave." But the donkey would not move. He brought all the neighbors, and they all began shouting: "We denounced the donkey for entering your home." But the donkey wouldn't leave.

The man said to the donkey: "The apartment has three bedrooms, a bathroom, and a living room. Take one room, and leave the rest to us." The donkey twitched its ear, but wouldn't leave. The man said: "Donkey, take two rooms," but the donkey wouldn't leave. "Take the room, and we will live in the bathroom." To no avail. Finally, the people began to scream: "The donkey won't leave!"

A little boy heard them, walked in with a small stick, and began beating the donkey until it got out. Beat a donkey, and it will immediately jump. That's what you do with donkeys.

[…]

[The Jews] support all the means of corruption. They support whorehouses. They support satellite dishes in order to air whatever they like. Birth control pills and devices are supported by the Jews. Dr. Shihab quoted President Franklin, who was US president 40-50 years ago. He said that they spread corruption even among the Americans. That is why they were deported from everywhere.

[…]
Egyptian cleric 'Alaa Said: The [Jews] are treacherous. Allah, who created them, told us so. We must be resolute and fill hearts with hatred and loathing. By Allah, the hatred and loathing of Jews is a form of worship. When we make our children loathe the Jews, it is a form of worship of Allah. These are people hated and loathed by Allah.

[…]

Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sawi: I want our children to be raised on this notion. When I give a child a toy, I give him a gun, not a football. Enough with the football. I give him a gun and tell him: Shoot, but don't shoot your brother. Shoot the Jews.

(h/t O)

Islamist terrorist cell discovered - in Lebanese army

From Naharnet:

Prime Minister Najib Miqati confirmed on Monday that the Lebanese army had busted a cell within its ranks planning attacks on military barracks.

In remarks to reporters at the Grand Serail, Miqati said: “The Lebanese army uncovered a terrorist cell that was planning an attack on its barracks and is carrying out the necessary investigation.”

He said the cell is active in northern Lebanon with branches in the Palestinian camps and mainly in Ain al-Hilweh. “But it has nothing to do with the situation in Syria.”

His confirmation came after al-Akhbar daily reported that the army arrested two Salafist soldiers linked to the Abdullah Azzam Brigades allied with the al-Qaida terrorist network.

The men are reportedly part of a larger network consisting of four Lebanese and one Palestinian identified as Abu Mohammed Toufiq Taha who is the Brigades’ ringleader in Ain el-Hilweh and wanted on several charges.

While Taha is on the run, the other six were arrested by the army intelligence, al-Akhbar said.

How much vetting does the Lebanese army do, anyway? "Do you hate Israel? OK, you're in!"

"Moderate" Fatah celebrates anniversary of Coastal Road Massacre

Yesterday was the anniversary of the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, where 38 Israelis - including 13 children - were murdered by a team of bus hijackers that was led by celebrated Palestinian Arab terrorist Dalal Mughrabi.

So Fatah is celebrating this great victory.

Fatah organized a soccer tournament and a poetry festival in the name of Mughrabi. Events were held in Khan Younis and Ramallah. Prominent Fatah members spoke. A special radio show to mark the event was broadcast.

Israel's supposed peace partners celebrate the murder of these Jewish children every year, and indeed all year, as this PA video from January shows:

Islamic Jihad refuses cease fire - because they think they are winning

Islamic Jihad put out an announcement saying that they refuse to consider a cease-fire from their rocket attacks. And the reason seems to be that they think that they are winning.

The Al-Quds Brigades military wing of Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine, Saraya ...announced its responsibility for the bombing of targets with missiles named "Locusts" and "Jerusalem" and "107" and mortars. The number of rockets and missiles launched by Saraya since the start of the aggression is now more than 180.

The Al-Quds Brigades in several separate military communications, said the harvest of jihad in the ongoing battle with the enemy for a fourth day in a row came as follows:
- Q 2:50 dawn: the bombing of the city of Ashkelon with a Jerusalem rocket.
- 3:10 am Q: the bombing of the city of Beersheba Grad rocket.
- 3:20 am Q: Beersheba bombing Grad rocket.
- Q 4:00: the bombing of a gathering of the mechanisms of Zionism within the site Kissufim mortar with 3 120 mm.
- Q 7:30: the bombing of the Sufa crossing a missile 107.
- Q 9:30: the bombing of the city of Beersheba, occupied by 3 Grad rockets.
- Q 9:40: the bombing of military site Kerem Shalom with 3 mortars.
- 10:15 Q: the bombing of the occupied city of Ashdod with a Grad rocket.
- 10:30 Q: the bombing of a military post east of Beit Hanoun by two mortars.
- 11:20 Q: bombing a missile complex in Eshkol with a 107.
- 12:30 Q: bombing site Nahal Oz with 3 missiles, "107."
- 12:40 Q: occupied Beersheba bombing by 3 Grad rockets.
- 1:15 pm: City of Gan Yavne bombing with a Grad.

Al-Quds Brigades confirmed that there is no truce with the Zionist enemy, and that the battle is still open and ongoing. It stressed to move forward on the approach of the martyrs and the resistance until the liberation of the entire territory of Palestine from the sea to the river.

The "Al-Quds Brigades" military wing of Islamic Jihad still leads the field of resistance and confrontation, and made enormous sacrifices of the finest Mujahideen and fighters, and managed thanks to God to shoot to the occupation more than 170 rockets and shells since the start of the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip.

On the other hand the life in cities and Zionist settlements is now non-existent, and millions of Zionist usurpers are still inside the shelters, for the fourth consecutive day, out of fear and horror of the blessed rockets of the Quds Brigades, that have turned their nights into day, and towns into ghost towns, amid the continuing enemy leaders begging for calm demanding the return of calm and cease missiles, and this is what Al-Quds Brigades rejects out of hand, to not allow the enemy to pay themselves with the blood of the Mujahideen and their leaders and heroes of the resistance, whenever he pleases.

For its part, the leadership of "Al-Quds Brigades" military wing of Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine will continue its jihad at all costs, in light of the Zionist escalation of the Gaza Strip, and will not talk about calm at all.

The command said in a statement to Al Saraya yesterday that the bombing would be met by bombing and to step up the escalation will be met, and will continue to respond to crimes of the occupation against the Mujahideen and their leaders and heroes of the Palestinian resistance. She added that the morale of the hero fighters are at the highest levels.

Islamic Jihad stresses that she has the means to survive and continue, warning the occupation against going too far in his crimes against the militants in the Gaza Strip. And at the same time it denied the rumors of the news of a calm that was to enter into force at 12 last night.

The Islamic Jihad websites are filled with contradictory articles about how the Zionists are being forced to run to shelters and stay away from school, while at the same time they are performing war crimes on the citizens of Gaza.

Here are the brave mujahadeen who are too afraid to show their faces at a press conference:

PRC terrorists admit Hamas is not discouraging rocket fire

Hamas apologists love to say that any rocket fire from Gaza is done despite Hamas efforts for calm. While this may be true sometimes, the current attacks - some 180 rockets since Friday - are being done without any Hamas interference whatsoever.

Keep in mind that Hamas has complete control over the tunnels into Gaza, so it knows about every rocket being smuggled in. And that means that every Grad rocket being shot by terror groups like Islamic Jihad were acquired with the full knowledge and approval of Hamas.

(h/t Ian)

Terrorists attack trucks bringing aid to Gaza

From the IDF:

This morning, Palestinian terrorists fired three mortars on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing. The mortars struck a truck and a van on their way to deliver goods to the people of Gaza. Following the shooting, activity at the crossing was suspended for just a few minutes. After evaluating the situation, it was decided to continue operations at the crossing, where goods continue to be transferred from Israel into the Gaza Strip.

Yesterday, over 180 trucks of goods were transferred from Israel to Gaza.

COGAT adds:

The mortars hit the Palestinian side of the crossing and hit a Palestinian truck that transfers goods from Israel to Gaza Strip, also the Palestinian crossing manager car was hit.

Israel continues to send aid to Gaza even when the aid trucks themselves are being shelled by Gazans!

Will anyone in Gaza condemn the firing of mortars aimed at aid trucks - even when those mortars land on the Arab side of the crossing?

Palestinian Arabs lie about teenager death (updated x2)

Ma'an reports:

Israeli airstrikes killed two Islamic Jihad militants and a 15-year-old boy on Monday, bringing the death toll since Friday to 21 people.

Nayif Shaaban Qarmout, 15, was killed in Beit Lahiya, north Gaza, Ma'an's correspondent said.

Witnesses said that the 15-year-old was playing with friends in a play ground near his school when an Israeli missile hit the area.

But AFP reports:

The Israeli army on Monday denied it had carried out an air strike on northern Gaza which killed a teenager, with an AFP correspondent confirming there was no sign of an air raid.

Fifteen-year-old Nayef Qarmut was killed and six other teenagers injured as they were on their way to school near the northern town of Beit Lahiya, with a spokesman for the Palestinian medical services blaming an Israeli drone strike.

"A drone strike hit a group of students who were walking by empty land on their way to school," said spokesman Adham Abu Selmiya, describing an incident which occurred at around 9:30am (0730 GMT).

But the Israeli military, after looking into the claim, denied it had conducted any air strikes in northern Gaza then, saying the last time it had struck the area was in the early hours of Monday.

"From an initial check, there were no air strikes in the northern Gaza Strip since the early hours of the morning," a military spokesman told AFP.

According to an AFP correspondent at the scene, there were no signs of any impact on the ground which could have been caused by a missile, with the most likely cause of his death being some kind of explosive device he was carrying.

The victim lost his legs in the blast and his body was covered with shrapnel wounds, he said.

Six other school children were injured, two of whom were in critical condition, while four sustained moderate wounds, medics said.

Once again, when both sides make contradictory claims, and the facts are checked out, it is found that that the Palestinian Arabs lie, repeatedly.

Yet many journalists, and especially "advocacy journalists," will unquestioningly believe any statements given out by Palestinian Arab officials and supposed "eyewitnesses."

UPDATE: PCHR also mindlessly repeats the lie, showing that it does not investigate allegations the way it pretends to.

UPDATE 2: Challah Hu Akbar found photos of the scene, and it sure doesn't look like an airstrike. Yet it is still being considered as such by Western media who are counting this death as one that was from Israel.

(h/t T34)

Videos of IDF attacking terrorist weapons depots

Yesterday, a spectacular set of explosions at a Hamas weapons depot:

An Islamic Jihad weapons depot tht was targeted today:

Report: US ambassador to Egypt flees country after violent protests

On Friday, there were violent protests in front of the US Embassy in Cairo.

It appears that they were enough to prompt the US ambassador to flee Egypt, according to Bikya Masr:

Anger toward the United States is growing in Egypt, and on Friday, some 100 angry demonstrators took to the US Embassy in Cairo to voice their concern, clashing with security forces in the area.

As a result of the rising tension and anger toward the US, the country’s ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson reportedly has fled the country to Germany en route back to the United States.

On Friday, the protesters called for an end to military rule over Egypt, which they argue is a result of American support and backing, both financially and politically.

The demonstrators clashed briefly with soldiers stationed near the US embassy in downtown Cairo.

Shouting “Down with military power!” the protesters lobbed stones at the soldiers, who responded by throwing them back and trying to disperse the crowd.

The US Embassy in Cairo would not reveal to Bikyamasr.com when the ambassador would be returning to Cairo, saying the security situation at the embassy is “under control.”

No confirmation of this report yet from any other source.

Fatah is also shooting at Jews - from Gaza and in the West Bank

Ma'an reports that the Ayman Juda group within the Al-Aqsa Brigades took responsibility for some of the rockets that slammed into Israel on Saturday.

The Al Aqsa Brigades are part of Fatah. You know, the "moderate" terrorist group that Mahmoud Abbas and Saeb Erekat belong to.

But that's not all this peace-loving terror group did this weekend.

Today they claimed responsibility for shooting at a civilian bus on Highway 60 near Ariel at the Givat-Assaf junction. No one was injured.

This must be another of those "non-violent popular protests" we hear so much about.

A'jad to lead Iranian effort to censor Internet use

From Al Arabiya:

The Iranian minister of communication and technology accused Western nations of using the internet as a tool for spying and spreading corruption, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

“Unfortunately, the Western states, the U.S. on top of them, are using the internet for spying and spreading corruption on Earth, but Iran has started a movement in administering internet use and will definitely limit such (Western) misuses through the aid and assistance of (the world) free circles,” Reza Taqipour was quoted by Fars news agency as saying at a meeting with the Iraqi minister of Communication Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi.

“The Internet should be at all states’ service and not for Western economic misuses and demonization of other states,” Taqipour added.

Taqhipour announced that Iran will within weeks launch a “halal” network that will provide Iranians with a safe environment to surf the web as it will be “clean” of “immoral” sites.

Iranian officials have said in the past that the Internet could open the nation to a cultural invasion from the West and make it vulnerable to computer viruses, such as the Stuxnet worm that attacked its nuclear facilities. Many believe the malware was created by Israel or the United States to block Iran’s nuclear progress.

In January, Iran’s head of police, Esmail Ahmadi Moghaddam, stated that Google is not a search engine but rather an instrument for spying.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday ordered the creation of a new government agency to monitor cyberspace in an aggressive step in the ongoing crackdown on online activities by ordinary Iranians.

Khamenei issued a decree calling for a Supreme Council of Cyberspace, an entity that would be headed by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and would include other top Iranian officials, including the intelligence chief and the head of the Revolutionary Guards.

“Planning and constant coordination” of the Internet are needed “to prevent its damages and consequences,” the decree said. The council should have “a constant and comprehensive monitoring over the domestic and international cyberspace,” it added.

Iranians have grappled with increased obstacles to using the Internet since opposition supporters used social networking sites to organize widespread protests after the disputed 2009 re-election of Ahmadinejad.

It's a neat trick to impose censorship and spy on local activists' Internet usage in the name of "morality."

It is unclear if this "halal" network is completely self-contained or just heavily censored. If it is really an Iranian intranet, with no connectivity to the world, then any viruses that do happen to get introduced (by USB or CD-ROM, for example) would spread far faster since every anti-virus program relies on updates over the Internet.

And I thought from reading that world-renowned Iran ~~expert~~ apologist Juan Cole that Khamenei hated Ahmadinejad. Why is he entrusting him with leading the nation's cyber-police?

Jordan Press Association tells members they must be biased against Israel

From Jordan Times December 21 (h/t Zvi):

When Israel is involved, patriotism should take precedence over all other considerations, Jordan Press Association (JPA) President Tareq Momani emphasised.

The 950-member JPA opposes contact between its members and Israelis, he noted, adding that the case is different with respect to the state-run media.

“We are totally against any contact with Israelis. The issue here is not just about journalism. Israel for us is still an enemy occupying Arab land and oppressing Arab people. We will not accept giving their views platform,” Momani told The Jordan Times yesterday.

Last Thursday, Al Ghad daily reported that a Jordanian woman was suing the Israeli embassy for holding her against her will for 24 hours. The article had only the statement by the woman, who was employed by the embassy, and that of her lawyers, but lacked any response from the Israeli side.

The reporter, Mwaffaq Kamal, told The Jordan Times that his decision not to get a comment from the Israelis was in line with his institution’s editorial policy, but is also within his personal convictions.

“I agree that professionalism requires balanced reporting, but for me this is a case that involves an enemy,” Kamal told The Jordan Times on Saturday, adding that he complied with the JPA regulations.

“Professionalism requires giving space to all parties to give their side of the story, and it is the readers’ decision to make up their minds,” Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism Executive Director Rana Sabbagh told The Jordan Times yesterday.

She underlined the sensitivity of issues related to Israel, but stressed that in news coverage, professionalism should be above all considerations.

“Jordan has signed a peace treaty with Israel. Therefore, there is so much integration and collaboration between the two sides. For example, when reporting about water issues, Israelis should be contacted for a comment,” she said, adding, however, that this is an individual decision and editors cannot force journalists to do something that contradicts their principles.

The JPA Law does not contain penalties against journalists who contact Israelis in the course of their reporting, but the head of the association’s disciplinary committee, Fayez Mubaydeen, told The Jordan Times that there can be a price to pay, which goes as far as revoking or suspending membership in the association.

“When such a case is reported to the association, the disciplinary committee looks into it and raises its recommendation to the JPA council to take action accordingly,” he said.

Tareq Hmeidi, an Al Rai reporter, told The Jordan Times that earlier this year, he was invited to a science conference in Qatar but decided to forego it when he heard that Israelis were also taking part in the event.

“Regardless of my personal views, I cannot go against public opinion. The conference was purely scientific and had nothing to do with politics, but I decided to boycott it, in compliance with the regulations of the JPA,” said Hmeidi, adding that he was criticised by the US-based Science magazine for not attending.

And this is from a state that is at peace with Israel!

Western media relies on Arab reporting, especially English-language Arab reporting. Western journalists who see an article in a Jordanian or Kuwaiti newspaper will naturally trust that their fellow journalist is unbiased and fair, and will use the information relatively uncritically. Journalists generally feel they are all on the same side, the side of "truth."

As a result, when a significant number of Arab reporters freely admit that they have no intention to report fairly about Israel, this affects Western coverage of Israel as well.

Do journalists have any ethics on Twitter? (updated)

When journalists tweet, do they have the same ethical responsibilities as they do when writing articles?

Apparently, pro-Palestinian journalists don't believe so.

George Hale from Ma'an tweeted yesterday:

4 people injured after Israeli forces open fire toward mourners near the eastern cemetery -#Gaza medical official

Never mind that Gaza medical officials have been known to, um, how should I put it? - lie. A piece of information gets released, and it gets tweeted without verification.

Joseph Dana retweeted the same information adding, "Classy."

Only one problem: It never happened.

It was reported in Gulf Today/AFP this way:

Palestinian security officials said that at one funeral, east of Gaza City and close to the Israeli border fence, Israeli troops opened fire at a crowd of mourners, wounding four people, one in the head.

But PCHR, which is reporting every single attack by Israel, is silent on the topic. You can be sure if it happened they would have noted it. Similarly, Ma'an never reported on any gunfire at a funeral, even though their editor was the first to tweet the information. Why not?

But step back for a second. Does the story make any sense at all? Israeli troops aren't in Gaza, so how could they shoot mourners at a funeral? With rockets? Helicopter gunships? Really long range machine guns?

In other words, how much do you have to hate Israel to believe that the IDF is shooting at funerals?

So what really happened?

From AP:

Tens of thousands of Palestinian mourners marched through the streets in funeral processions. They carried slain militants in coffins, their bodies too torn up to be wrapped in cloth, as Muslim tradition dictates. Masked militants sprayed machine gun fire above the mourners' heads in angry grief.

Ah, so the only gunfire in Gaza at funerals is coming from the terrorists. If anyone was injured by gunfire, it came from terrorists shooting their own weapons.

But the tweets live on, get retweeted, and people who read tweets from journalists give them the same credibility that they give articles that were edited and vetted (not that they are so much better, as we see from AFP.) They rarely get retracted or corrected, because, hey, its only Twitter, right? (And if pushed, they'll just fall back on saying that they were quoting "officials" who they know quite well routinely lie.)

And the truth gets lost in the sea of hate and bias.

UPDATE: PCHR does describe the incident:

At approximately 14:00 also on Saturday, Israeli soldiers stationed at observation towers at the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel to the east of the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalya opened fire at a number of Palestinian civilians who got close to the border and threw stones, during the funeral procession of a number of victims of Israeli air strikes. Five civilians were wounded by gunshots, including two ones who were in serious conditions.

It is doubtful that the funeral procession came within 300 meters of the border, so the Gazans deliberately went over to the border that the IDF keeps clear to avoid terror attacks. (h/t Bruan)

UPDATE 2: See Israellycool on some other lies flying around Twitter.

J-Street calls Gaza terrorists "civilians"

From J Street:

J Street is deeply concerned about the most recent spate of violence between the Israel Defense Forces and militants in Gaza, which, in three days, has already resulted in over one hundred rockets fired on Israeli cities and towns and airstrikes on Gaza that have killed over a dozen Palestinian civilians.

So far, there have been 16 terrorists killed and two civilians (one farmer was in the vicinity of terrorists, who were injured.)

J-Street automatically condemns Israel for killing civilians without the slightest checking of facts. That is not how someone who is "pro-Israel" acts, to put it mildly.

See also Challah Hu Akbar.

(h/t Emet)

UPDATE: They revised it.

Despite rocket barrage, Israel keeps Gaza crossings open

From COGAT:

Despite the continuous firring of more than 120 missiles and mortar shells towards civilian targets in southern Israel, the stoppage of studies and the disruption in the daily lives of more then million Israelis, the state of Israel has decided to open the land crossings to Gaza regularly.

Today, 200 aid trucks are entering Gaza from Kerem Shalom, including 11 trucks loaded with building materials and gravel and 40 trucks for UNRWA projects, in addition to cooking gas being pumped in.

Also three trucks are leaving Gaza filled with flowers for export to Europe.

Dutch newspaper captions Iron Dome as "firing rockets into Gaza" (updated x2)

If you think that media bias against Israel is bad in English-language media, check this out from the Dutch Volkskrant.nl site:

The caption translates to "A rocket fired from Israel to the Gaza Strip."

This is the Iron Dome system, where rockets are fired to destroy incoming Grad rockets from the Gaza Strip!

(h/t Barry)

UPDATE: The caption was corrected to "An Israeli Iron Dome rocket is fired to intercept an incoming rocket from Gaza."

UPDATE 2: The Times of London did the exact same thing.

BBC, Sky News silent over Hamas beating their reporters

From the International Press Institute, in a story I noted Thursday:

The Palestinian Journalists’ Syndicate has reported that three journalists reporting on a mass wedding of 500 couples in Gaza City were attacked. The mass wedding was organised by local charities in conjunction with Hamas, according to Ramallah-based Maan News.

According to the Palestine Press Agency and the Wafa news agency, the journalists who were attacked were: Mohammed Mashharawi, who works for Sky News, Adnan al-Dorosh, who works for the BBC Arabic Service, and Amer Abu Omar. Sources said that Mashharawi was briefly detained by Hamas.

Earlier IPI spoke to Sami Sahmoud, a correspondent for Sky News Arabia and colleague of Mohammed Mashharawi, who said that the incidents were due to tension between the journalists and the Hamas security forces. IPI research indicates that Hamas had laid out strict guidelines on where the journalists were allowed to be in the stadium as they covered the mass wedding. Sahmoud told IPI that one security official allegedly began to violently push the journalists; Mashharawi tried to resolve the situation by talking to the security forces. According to Sahmoud, the issue appeared to have been resolved by the media co-ordinator but a few minutes later the guard came back with more security guards, and tried to arrest Mohammed, who asked to see his security information. A scuffle reportedly broke out and the other journalists tried to help Mashharawi. Sources said that Mashharawi, al-Dorosh, and Abu Omar were allegedly taken out of the stadium and beaten.

According to Sahmoud, Mashharawi was taken to prison, where he was reportedly told to remove his shoes, belt and shirt and he was allegedly detained for an hour in a dark cell. During the journey to the detention centre, Mashharawi was allegedly punched in the face and the chest, and one official even threatened to shoot him, IPI research revealed. No formal charges were made against any of the journalists. The Government Information Bureau contacted the journalists following the case, Sahmoud revealed. The Ministry of Interior in the Gaza Strip condemned the “unacceptable” attack and said a full investigation would be launched, according to Maan News.

Sky News and the BBC have been completely silent on the assault on their own reporters, as has all of the mainstream media.

Which is pretty much all you need to know if you are expecting even Western news agencies to report fairly and in an unbiased manner from Gaza. The fear for the safety of their reporters, while understandable, is far more important to the media than reporting the truth about Hamas.

This is why so many college students and casual media consumers have such a skewed view of the Middle East. Palestinian Arab crimes are minimized, but perceived Israeli violations of human rights are amplified, because the environment in Israel is so much more tolerant towards reporting anti-Israel news and Israel is filled with international reporters and NGOs eagerly filling their quotas of anti-Israel "research."

Egyptian army hurls rocks at anti-military protesters (video)

From OfficialWire:

Protesters outside the U.S. Embassy in Cairo supporting the Egyptian military's crackdown on international pro-democracy groups clashed Friday with demonstrators rallying against the country's military leadership. Dozens of people were injured.

The issue of the pro-democracy groups has been at the center of one of the most divisive chapters of U.S.-Egyptian relations in recent decades.

Egyptian officials alleged the groups were using foreign funding to foment unrest in Egypt and were pursuing a legal case against dozens of defendants, including 16 Americans. Relations improved somewhat when Egypt allowed the American defendants to leave the country, effectively letting them avoid trial.

But the decision to lift the travel ban incited a backlash among many Egyptians who accused the country's ruling generals of bowing to U.S. pressure and meddling in what is supposed to be an independent judiciary.

The pro-military protest was led by Tawfiq Okasha, a staunch loyalist to the military leadership and a well-known TV presenter whose daily show has been banned for airing insults against pro-democracy activists. Okasha has repeatedly accused activists of receiving foreign funds to destabilize the country.

Witnesses said the clashes began when pro-military supporters began throwing rocks at anti-military protesters who were marching to the nearby Tahrir Square. Dozens wounded in the clashes, according to Egypt's Middle East News Agency.

As people ran from the scene, Egyptian troops first tried to separate the stone-throwers but also threw rocks at the protesters, witnesses said.

Essentially, the Egyptian army joined the riots on the side of the pro-military protesters.

Here's video from Daily News Egypt:

Professional.

(h/t Yoel)

CNN: Israel kills people, US and Yemen target militants

From CNN yesterday:

And a few minutes ago:

The US and Yemen targets militants; Israel targets a million and a half Gazans.

Disgusting.

(h/t Dan)

Gaza power plant shuts down for third time

From Egypt Independent:

The Gaza Strip's sole power plant shut down on Saturday for the third time in a month due to a shortage of fuel, the territory's energy authority said.

The plant, which supplies close to a third of the electricity in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, shut down on February 14 because of an interruption in the supply of fuel to the territory. Operations resumed partially on February 21.

"Means must be found to ensure that enough fuel supplies reach the power station in order to ease the hardships of the Palestinian people," the energy authority statement read.

In February, the Hamas rulers of Gaza announced they had reached a "comprehensive agreement" with Egypt to permanently end the electricity crisis in Gaza, in a three-stage deal that would include increased fuel and electricity deliveries. Before the deal was announced, Egypt had already said it would provide an extra 22 megawatts of electricity to the Gaza Strip.

I reported on Friday that Egypt is still insisting to transfer fuel through existing pipelines in Kerem Shalom, but Hamas is refusing because it would miss out on tax revenue.

The question is, how long will it be before Egypt publicly calls out Hamas for creating and prolonging this crisis? Hamas is betting that the new Egyptian government will not criticize it and appear to support Israel, but Hamas' continued emotional blackmail of Egypt has got to be wearing thin.