Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, March 05, 2012

Arabs freak out over UNRWA map that shows Israel

UNRWA began distributing a map of Gaza in schools that shows Israel as, you know, existing:

Al Jazeera reports that the map was leaked to them by an angry UNRWA employee, incensed that a map that was drawn "from the Israeli perspective" would find its way into Gaza.

The map was created by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Palestinian Arab teachers who saw the map were upset that UNRWA, by distributing it, was plunging itself into politics.

A group called UNRWA Watch said that UNRWA again and again disregards the feelings of the Palestinian Arabs, because even though Israel is a fact, it is rejected by the Palestinian people.

UNRWA refused to comment to Al Jazeera.

Israel allows Gaza exports of food to West Bank

From AFP:

Israel on Monday allowed the Palestinians to export two truckloads of date bars from Gaza to the West Bank in what was the first such trade between the territories since 2007, the military and an NGO said.

The rare move was permitted as part of a World Food Programme (WFP) initiative to feed Palestinian school children, Israeli NGO Gisha said in a statement, which hailed the trade as “an important step.”

But the military said it was a “one-off” trade and did not mean its nearly five-year ban on exports between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank was being lifted.

“At the request of the Palestinian Authority, we have allowed the passage from Gaza, through Israel, of two lorries carrying date bars to Judaea and Samaria (the West Bank),” said Guy Inbar, a spokesman for COGAT, the military division in charge of coordinating access to and from Gaza.

“This is a one-off pilot project, and is not a renewal of free exports from Gaza. We want to look into several tax and trade issues,” he said, without elaborating.

Gisha, which campaigns for Palestinian freedom of movement and trade, said the permission was to include 19 trucks in total, in what was “the first exception to a sweeping ban, imposed by Israel in June 2007, on transferring goods from Gaza to markets in Israel and the West Bank.”

Actually, some goods are regularly exported to Israel from Gaza. For example, there were two rockets fired towards Israel last night from Gaza; one of them exploded prematurely.

Israelis plan comedy film on Mabhouh hit

From AFP:

Inspired by the alleged Mossad assassination of a Hamas leader in 2010, an elite team of Israelis are planning their own hit... movie, that is.

A team of Israeli and French filmmakers believe the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh, found dead in his Dubai hotel room in January 2010, will be perfect fodder for a movie, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday.

The incident caused an international uproar, with the Dubai authorities quickly pointing the finger at Israel, and releasing surveillance footage showing a team of alleged Israeli agents they say killed Mabhuh.

But the filmmakers are planning a comedy spoof of the incident, which earned Israel international rebuke following reports that those involved used fake Western passports.

The film’s working title is “Kidon” or “Javelin” − the codename given to the operation in the film, the paper said.

The plot revolves around two senior Mossad agents, played by prominent Israeli actors Shlomo Bar-Abba and Sasson Gabai, who are shocked to hear about the operation, knowing the intelligence agency was not behind it.

They learn the assassination was part of a complex fraud plot involving a motley crew of criminals, among them a student, a fraud expert and a brothel owner.

Filming is expected to begin in April, Haaretz said, though no projected release date has been given yet.

The assassination of Mabhuh, a founder of Hamas’s military wing, has already provided Israeli advertisers with creative inspiration.

In March 2010, an Israeli supermarket chain used actors dressed like the alleged agents seen in the Dubai surveillance footage for an advert saying they would “eliminate the prices.”

Here's the commercial that made fun of the Dubai CCTV footage:

Linkdump: Reactions to Obama's AIPAC speech

The Atlantic: It was all politics.

Ha'aretz: "A strong commitment to Israel? Assuredly. Capitulation to the dictates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Not a chance."

Peres: It was a "determined" speech.

Former Israeli chief of staff Naftali Bennet: "Right now we are seeing big words but a very, very small stick."

Robert Satloff makes many points, including: "One additional item noticeable by its absence was any message to the people of Iran. This was a lost opportunity."

Lenny Ben-Israel: Obama's red line seems to be only at the final building of a nuclear weapon, not any point beforehand.

Barry Rubin: War is inevitable

Yid with Lid slams the speech as "lie-filled."

Erekat: The PA is "disappointed" that the speech gave "unprecedented support" to Israel.

Dan Senor: Why Israel still has doubts about Obama (if paywalled, try looking here)

Hamas continues to pressure Egypt for fuel

A Hamas spokesman said that there were Arab countries like Algeria willing to provide fuel for Gaza, but that Egypt was holding up the process.

Yousef Rizqa, political adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, said "There are Arab countries including Algeria willing to supply fuel to Gaza, but you need permission from Cairo to pass the fuel through its territory."

He said that there were two sticking points with Egypt.

One is that Egypt wants to supply fuel via the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is controlled by Israel and this has a "political risk" where Israel could turn the fuel off at any time (even though they never have except when crossings are directly attacked.)

He added that Gaza wants to have an independent crossing for trade with Egypt and the Arab States and "the introduction of oil through the Karm Abu Salem eliminates this." In other words, Gaza can get fuel today but Hamas' real aim is to pressure Egypt to build a new Rafah crossing for goods and fuel, and they are willing to sacrifice their own people's needs in the medium term to force Cairo to do what they want. Apparently they are gambling that the new Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt will not publicly tell them to drop dead and popular pressure will force Egypt to do what they are demanding.

The second point that hinders the supply of fuel to Gaza is Cairo's request of charging one dollar per liter of fuel. After taxes this would mean that the cost for Gazans would be 6 shekels a liter ($1.58) which would be "a hardship and crisis for the citizens of Gaza, especially that the sector is going through a state of unemployment and economic weakness."

He said, "we wanted a lower price, but the Egyptian government said it imports petroleum and can not reduce the price."

Of course, Hamas could reduce the tax and help out their citizens, but protecting their own profit is a big part of creating this artificial crisis.

Meanwhile, in black markets in Gaza, people are paying as much as 17 shekels (over $4) per liter for gas.

Israelis pay $2.20 per liter of gasoline. Egypt's subsidized gasoline costs Egyptians about 50 cents a liter, which is what Hamas has been relying on smuggling in for the past year.

The cynicism of Hamas in creating and using this crisis to advance their own agenda is breathtaking, but so far very few people are publicly blaming them for treating their citizens like dirt. Egypt doesn't want to make waves and the PA is officially still trying to "unify" with Hamas so they are keeping pretty quiet.

Should these Palestinian Arab companies be boycotted?

The 22nd annual International Agro-Mashov Exhibition was held in Tel Aviv last week, attracting 20,000.

Including Palestinian Arab attendees and exhibitors.

Over 300 Palestinian agriculturists came to Agro-Mashov to meet potential Israeli and international partners to develop their businesses.

Furthermore, 10 Palestinian companies presented their products to the public. A unique booth was installed to promote their presence. The Civil Administration coordinated their arrival.

Haim Allouche, the Managing Director of the Agro-Mashov said that for 22 years he has been inviting Palestinian agriculturists, and that this is the 2nd year that the Agro-Mashov hosts Palestinian companies: “What we are making here is real peace together, trough cooperation and business”, he added.

We met with different dynamic Palestinian companies, developing and exporting all over the world. Here are two profiles of the participants.

CANAAN FAIR TRADE

This Jenin-based company is a fair trade organization that works with small Palestinian farmers and produces mainly olive oil, but also soaps, couscous and spices.
Created in 2005, the enterprise distributes its products all over the West Bank, particularly the big cities: Jenin, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.
On top of this, Nasser, the CEO, tells us that the company also exports to 16 other countries, mostly Europe and North America, but also South-Korea and Australia.

Canaan Fair Trade produces 500 metric tons of olive oil a year and generates 6 million dollars of revenue per year. All the products are organic and fair trade certified.
Canaan Fair Trade has also attended the Agro-Mashov Exhibition last year. Nasser hopes to find Israeli partners and start selling in the country, which represents a huge market.

TAYBEH BREWING CO.

Taybeh Brewing Co. is the only Palestinian brewery, located next to Ramallah. Madees Khoury, the Operations Manager is serving beers at her stand.
Created by her father in 1994, the Brewery has 5 different kinds of beers: Golden, Amber, Dark, Non-Alcoholic and apple flavor.

Mrs Khoudy, born in the US, studied Business Management in Boston and spent her childhood between Taybeh and America. Smiling, she claims to be the 1st Palestinian female brewer.

Taybeh Brewing Co. is a growing company. It exports to a lot of countries including Japan, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium. The brewery produces 600 000 liters of beers each year and is present in Israel as well. The Taybeh beers are available is various pubs throughout Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv.

“Our goal is to make the Taybeh Beer brand very famous in Israel”, added Madees Khoury.

So these companies must be "collaborators" with the "Zionist enemy" and should, of course, be boycotted for their cooperation with Israel. They are clearly contradicting the supposedly unanimous call from "Palestinian civil society" to boycott Israel. In the interests of supporting Palestinian Arab history of non-violent resistance, they should be firebombed.

Too bad, Electronic Intifada - no more Taybeh beer for you.

UPDATE: For some reason, some people think I am advocating boycotting Palestinian Arab companies who want to do business in Israel. As I thought I made clear, I am saying that he BDSers would want to boycott these companies because they "collaborate" - just as the advocate boycotting Palestinian Arab produce that is exported by Israeli companies.

Report of Iranian nuclear test, plus Khamanei's support for nukes

From Spengler at PJ Media:

The Sunday morning edition of Germany’s Die Welt reports that Western intelligence agencies detected two nuclear weapons tests in North Korea in 2010, and that one or both of them might have been conducted for Iran. Die Welt sets the reported nuclear tests in the context of new documentation showing that the Iranian regime began its drive for nuclear weapons as early as 1984, under the direct orders of the late Ayatollah Khomeini. The author is the respected German analyst Hans Rühle, whose evaluation of Israel’s capacity to cripple the Iranian nuclear program created a stir last month.

The Die Welt report reads like a line-by-line refutation of the reported U.S. intelligence evaluation that there is no “hard evidence” that Iran is building nuclear weapons. That is a noteworthy reversal: the Obama administration’s intelligence chiefs claim that Iran is not an imminent threat, while a former top German official warns of immediate danger to the Jewish state. The fact is that there are some Germans who do not want to be responsible for a second Holocaust.

Rühle, who headed the German Defense Ministry’s policy planning staff during the peak of the Cold War in the 1980s, deplores the “credulousness of Western experts” who accept Iran’s protests that its nuclear program is peaceful.

Many Western experts still give credence to these representations. Despite numerous indications to the contrary, they give Iran the presumption of innocence, arguing that a nation’s intent to weaponize nuclear power is not proven until it has carried out a nuclear test. But what if Iran had already tested a nuclear weapon, and not on Iranian territory, but in a place where nuclear tests are conducted without regard for world opinion, and where nuclear expertise and technology have long been exported in exchange for hard currency payments–in North Korea?

Evidence of the 2010 nuclear tests in North Korea was published Feb. 3 in Nature magazine, citing the work of the Swedish nuclear physicist Lars-Erik de Geer. The Swedish scientist analyzed data showing the presence of radioisotopes that betrayed a uranium bomb explosion. De Geer took the radioisotope data and compared them with the South Korean reports, as well as meteorological records. Nature reports, “After a year of work, he has concluded that North Korea carried out two small nuclear tests in April and May 2010 that caused explosions in the range of 50–200 tonnes of TNT equivalent. The types and ratios of isotopes detected, he says, suggest that North Korea was testing materials and techniques intended to boost the yield of its weapons.”

But why should North Korea keep the nuclear tests secret? asks Rühle. North Korea proudly advertised its previous nuclear tests. But the North Korean tests of 2006 and 2009 used bombs with a plutonium core. The 2010 tests, according to Lars-Erik de Geer’s calculation, employed enriched uranium. North Korea might have secretly enriched uranium on a sufficient scale to produce sufficient explosive material for two test bombs. But the more likely explanation is this, Rühle concludes:

The second explanation would be that North Korea conducted a nuclear test for a foreign entity, in this case, an Iranian explosive. That would be a sensation, although not quite a surprise, to be sure. Intelligence services have observed a close degree of cooperation between North Korean and Iranian experts over a period of years for the preparation of a nuclear test, although the previous assumptions centered on the prospect of an underground nuclear test in Iranian territory.

Rühle observes:

It became known a few days ago that the International Atomic Energy Agency has a document showing that it was the religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini himself who decided in 1984 to resume the nuclear weapons program suspended by the overthrow of the Shah. As his successor Ayatollah Khamenei declared, an Iranian nuclear weapon is viewed as the only way to protect the Islamic revolution and to prepare the way for the arrival of the Imam Mahdi. In Khamenei’s words, an Iranian nuclear arsenal is a deterrent in the hands of the holy warriors. With this sensational report from Tehran’s inner leadership circle it becomes clear that Khomeini’s often-cited fatwa that nuclear weapons are not compatible with Islam was a purely deceptive maneuver. Iran has been totally committed to becoming a nuclear power for decades.

Elements of Rühle’s story can be challenged by experts, to be sure. But the German analyst is making a point that has been lost in the fog of spin in Washington: It is outrageously wrong to proceed against an opponent like Iran in the presumption that intelligence agencies can accurately assess the precise degree of progress towards a nuclear device so that the U.S. government can fine-tune a response. Yet that is precisely whatPresident Obama told Jeffrey Goldberg on March 2nd: “Our assessment, which is shared by the Israelis, is that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is not yet in a position to obtain a nuclear weapon without us having a pretty long lead time in which we will know that they are making that attempt.”

No intelligence professional could support that sweeping, and entirely indefensible, assertion from the president. American intelligence failures regarding nuclear weapons proliferation have been numerous and notorious. The CIA famously failed to give any advance warning of India’s first nuclear test, and was raked over the coals for this lapse at the time. Jeffrey Goldberg’s failure to challenge Obama’s statement turned the exchange into a public relations exercise rather than a news interview. A cub reporter for a college newspaper would have known enough to ask, “How can you be sure that we will detect an Iranian nuclear bomb before it’s ready? What’s our track record of detecting nuclear bombs elsewhere?”

When intelligence agencies use the term “evidence,” what they mean is incontrovertible proof. “Hard evidence” of Iranian nuclear intentions in intel-speak, as Rühle points out, means specifically that a nuclear test already has been conducted. When intelligence officials use this terminology, they are saying in plain English that their political masters are giving Iran the presumption of innocence, as Rühle wrote. The intelligence chiefs did not say that there was no “information” and no “reliable reports” that Iran is trying to get hold of nuclear weapons as fast as it possibly can, only that there is no “hard evidence.” By definition, one obtains this kind of “hard evidence” only when it is too late.

There have been a number of reports out of Iran claiming that Ayatollah Khamenei issued a fatwa banning the development of nuclear weapons. This is being wholeheartedly believed by many pro-Iranian analysts such as Juan Cole.

However, as reported in this piece, the IAEA reported that current Supreme Leader of Iran pushed for nuclear weapons as early as 1984. His exact quote is "A nuclear arsenal would serve Iran as a deterrent in the hands of God's soldiers." This contradicts the wishful thinking of those who prefer to believe his politically expedient fatwas of today.

It is especially unlikely that Khamenei's reported anti-nuclear fatwa is legitimate because it is highly unlikely that Khamenei would contradict Ayatollah Khomeini's own words urging such development. Khamenei is not considered a brilliant Islamic scholar, and his importance comes from his position - he didn't gain his position because of his credentials in Islamic jurisprudence. The source for Ayatollah Khomeini's support for Iran's development of nuclear weapons is here, where he writes that he unfortunately must agree to a cease fire with Iraq in order for Iran to move forward in coming years to develop weapons such as an atomic bomb to be able to gain military superiority.

Why is it so unbelievable that the leader of a nation would engage in deception under a religious guise?

Also, other Iranian religious leaders have issued fatwas supporting the development of nuclear weapons.

Beyond that, if you read Khamenei's statements against nuclear weapons, you can see some hypocrisy:

Iran is not after a nuclear bomb. Why would Iran want a nuclear bomb? Moreover, when an atomic bomb is detonated, it does not just kill enemies. Rather, it kills innocent people as well, and this goes against Islamic beliefs and the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran. An atomic bomb does not discriminate between good and bad people, and it is not something that the Islamic Republic would use.

Given that Iran supported Hezbollah's shooting rockets in Haifa in 2006, killing innocent people, this is more propaganda than truth.

Or, more likely, he believes that there is no such thing as an innocent Israeli citizen.

The giant blue UN chair in Ramallah bites the dust

Remember that ridiculous giant blue chair that was built in Ramallah to symbolize the PLO's bid to become a member state at the UN? The one that shows that Palestinian Arabs care far more about symbolism than substance, and more about stunts than real life?

From tweeter @JalalAK_jojo:

The original chair:

After some rain and wind:

And now...dismantled and discarded:

Since the PLO is so crazy about symbolism, what do you think this symbolizes?

Jerusalem declared "capital of Palestine, Arabs and Muslims"

How delightfully original!

From Iran's ABNA:

Supporting the Resistance in Palestine Committee organized a forum on Al-Quds (Jerusalem) in Resalat Hall, Beirut on Sunday in the presence of political parties and national factions from Lebanon and Palestine.

Speeches at the forum, under the title “Declaration of Al-Quds as the capital of Palestine, the Arabs and Muslims,” stressed the importance of Al-Quds as the inevitable capital of Palestine in the face of Zionist aggressions and schemes to Judaize it.

The Al-Quds forum began with the singing of the Lebanese and the Palestinian anthems followed by a speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in which he warned against the Israeli enemy’s attempts to declare Al-Quds as the capital of the Jewish people, indicating that regional changes demonstrate the near achievement of Al-Quds liberation.

Head of the Orthodox Church Archbishop Atallah Hanna, in turn, hailed Sayyed Nasrallah's stances and told the participants in the forum that Palestinians are "strong with your solidarity with us because you are entrusted to the issue of Al-Quds as the cause of the Muslims, Christians and Arabs since it is the holy city which hosts the most important holy sites in Islam and Christianity.”

“Our holy city is going through tragic circumstances since its occupation in 1984 through the weakening of the Palestinian and Arab presence and violation of Al Aqsa Mosque and other sanctities, however, these attempts are doomed to fail,” Archbishop Hanna said in a live video link from Al-Quds stressing the importance of unity among Muslims and Christians for the sake of Al-Quds’ liberation.

Liberation from whom, I wonder?

I'm surprised they didn't declare Jerusalem the capital of "every non-Jew on Earth." Because that is what they are trying to say, after all.

Screw Mecca and Medina and Rome! Jerusalem's importance increases directly in proportion to the amount of hate you have for Jews.

Israelis taking Gulf airlines via Jordan

Firas Press quotes Mako saying that many Israelis are saving money by taking Arab flights via Jordan, especially to Southeast Asia.

According to the story, Israelis travel to Queen Alia Airport in Amman, and from there take Arab flights to their destination. Gulf airlines will usually stop in their home countries, such as the UAE, Qatar or Bahrain, but while the Israelis must disembark to change planes, they don't need to go through security again.

An Israeli travel agency, "Fly East," specializes in arranging these trips, saying it can save hundreds of dollars per trip. According to Globes, some one third of Israeli backpackers going to the Far East - some 40,000 people this year - are using Arab airlines like Royal Jordanian Airlines or Qatar Airways, mostly to save money.

One reason for the uptick in Arab airline use is because Israelis don't want to use Turkish airlines anymore.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry is unhappy with this idea, stressing that the Gulf countries are just as much enemy states as Iran or Syria, and it is equally forbidden for Israelis to enter. Apparently, this advice is being roundly ignored.

(ht Yoel for Mako link)

Gaza fuel crisis continues; factories may shut down, Hamas refuses blame

From Ma'an:

The leader of the business community in the Gaza Strip warned on Sunday that dozens of factories are at risk of closure due to Gaza's fuel crisis.

Ali al-Hayik, the head of Gaza's Federation of Industries and the Palestinian Businessmen Association, called on the Hamas-led government to provide fuel to factories to avert an impending catastrophe for local industry.

The government must take responsibility for the crisis and is tasked with supporting the private sector, al-Hayik said in a press statement.

Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Friday blamed Egypt for not resolving the fuel shortage. The Hamas authorities and Egypt cannot agree on an official channel for fuel deliveries, after Egypt sought to cut off the tunnel network.

As I've been reporting for weeks, this is all because Hamas refuses to accept fuel that goes through Israel.

There is a fuel siege of Gaza, but not from Israel. Hamas is actively promoting it in order to push a political agenda. And Hamas has no qualms about causing every Gazan under its control to suffer in order to "win." The head of Gaza's energy authority confirmed this by saying that Egypt wanted to transfer fuel via Kerem Shalom and he personally refused to allow it to go through the "Zionist entity" and insisting that Egypt transfer the fuel through Rafah, which is not equipped to handle the half-million liters needed a day.

Hamas, trying to deflect anger about the fuel crisis, organized some "youths" to protest - at the (closed) Egyptian consulate in Gaza.

Iran increasing support for Syrian massacres

From the Washington Post:

U.S. officials say they see Iran’s hand in the increasingly brutal crackdown on opposition strongholds in Syria, including evidence of Iranian military and intelligence support for government troops accused of mass executions and other atrocities in the past week.

Three U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports from the region described a spike in Iranian-supplied arms and other aid for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a time when the regime is mounting an unprecedented offensive to crush resistance in the key city of Homs

“The aid from Iran is increasing, and is increasingly focused on lethal assistance,” said one of the officials, insisting on anonymity to discuss intelligence reports from the region.

The expanded Iranian role in the conflict has been underscored by reports — supported by U.S. intelligence findings — that an Iranian operative was recently wounded while working with Syrian security forces inside the country.

But Iran will act rationally when it builds a nuclear weapon, right?