8/27 Links Part 2: Palestinian State in Jordan 'Inevitable', Falk Keynote Speaker at Aust. Hatefest

From Ian:

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An Open Letter From the AJC to Ban Ki-Moon

In fact, you yourself have acknowledged, publicly and privately in the past, that there is discrimination against Israel at the UN. And it is in violation of the noble UN Charter, which assures the equal rights of all member states, big and small.
Mr. Secretary-General, as an organization whose link to the UN began at the founding conference in San Francisco in 1945, we count on your voice, and your moral authority, to be heard in condemning the systemic singling out and unfair treatment of Israel, a UN member state in good standing since 1949.

Back to the future

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have resumed – but over time it will, once again, become clear that a full resolution to the conflict, including Palestinian statehood, is not in the cards. The reasons are plentiful and self-evident; not only is the very concept of separate Palestinian nationhood, (as historians of the Palestinian national movement themselves have admitted) largely contrived and recent Palestinian Arabs are a fundamentally tribal and clannish society whose separate parts often have closer ties with Arab societies and families in other countries than with their supposed compatriots.
Nor has the record since the Oslo agreements 20 years ago relating to Palestinian governance been very encouraging. To be fair, the Palestinian Authority has faced numerous, not easily surmountable obstacles – both from the outside and self-made – but on the whole, it is hard to be very sanguine about the chances of such an artificial, demographically challenged, economically, politically and territorially constrained entity to become anything but another failed Middle East state (especially if it will have to absorb hundreds of thousands of “returning” refugees).

Palestinian State in Jordan 'Inevitable'

Zahran did not pull any punches Sunday afternoon, speaking at a conference entitled "Two States for Two People, on Two Sides of the Jordan River." Deriding the Jordanian ruling elite as "Armani-wearing, English-speaking autocrats" he called on all parties to consider a radically different track to the current peace initiatives based off of a "Two State Solution" which would see a Palestinian Authority-run state in Judea and Samaria.
The conference was held at Jerusalem's Menachem Begin Heritage Center, and organized by Professors for a Strong Israel, with the goal of fostering debate over alternatives to the "Two State Solution" which is currently on the table.
Zahran was the sole Palestinian Arab representative, but claimed to represent the "secular Palestinian majority" in Jordan, where between 60-80% identify as Palestinian, and which he believes hold the key to ending his people's conflict with Israel.

Palestinians don’t care if ‘soldiers felt threatened’

The sense that one gets from this, and from the official denial by the State Department that negotiations were canceled, is that somebody on the Palestinian side wanted to create the impression that the PA called off a session of negotiations that never existed. However, both sides were extremely careful not to divulge any information as to when the next round of talks would take place, while acknowledging that negotiations would, in fact, continue.
The real issue isn’t whether or not the talks will continue. The real issue is that there has been a Palestinian reawakening “on the ground.” The number of current terror alerts from the West Bank attests to this — the figures have recently risen dramatically, after a period of relative quiet. On the one hand, the IDF and Shin Bet have stepped up their efforts to prevent terror attacks from being carried out; on the other hand, it should be noted that when operations take place in areas such as the refugee camps, there is significant risk of a larger-than-usual flare-up.

The Real West Bank Terror War

The prevailing narrative of the incidents alluded to in the preceding paragraph follow this line in which the presence of Israeli forces in Palestinian areas is not merely a provocation but a standing argument for the need to force the Jewish state to pull back to the 1967 lines. But the problem with this narrative is that it is based on a lie. Incidents like the one that occurred today in Qalandia that resulted in three Palestinian deaths and last week’s confrontation in Jenin do illustrate the problem with the peace process, but it is not the one that the liberal mainstream media and the international press think it is. The idea that Israel is staging these attacks to undermine the talks is false. The fact that the IDF is forced to enter built-up areas in order to track down terrorist suspects shows just how unreliable the Palestinian Authority is as a peace partner. Moreover, the willingness of mobs in these towns to rally to defend suspects and attack the IDF with gunfire and rocks is testimony to how deeply rooted support for terror operations is in a Palestinian population that we are told is ready for an end to the conflict.

IDF Backs Soldiers in Kalandiya Incident

The IDF said Monday evening that it was backing the soldiers who were involved in an incident in Kalandiya, north of Jerusalem, on Monday morning, in which three Palestinian Authority Arabs were shot dead.
An investigation into the incident found that during the late night hours on Sunday night, a Border Police force entered Kalanidya for the purpose of arresting a wanted Tanzim terrorist who deals with weapons trading.

Kalandia Rioter Previously Released in Shalit Deal

Yunis Jahjouh, 22, was killed along with Rubeen Abed Fares and Jihad Aslan. He was 19 at the time of the "Shalit Deal," which saw more than 1,000 terrorists released from Israeli prisons.
Border Police had entered Kalandia to an individual for suspected terrorist activities. Over a thousand Palestinian Arabs started rioting, and throwing rocks and stones at the Israeli personnel.

UNWRA reports worker, Rubin Zayed, was one of three Palestinians killed in Kalandiya clashes

It reported that a second UNRWA state member, a sanitation laborer, was shot in the leg during the clashes.

Rioters attack Israeli security forces, BBC reports ‘confrontation’

That “large crowd” apparently numbered around fifteen hundred rioters - as was noted in earlier versions of the BBC report but omitted in later ones. Some idea of the type of “rocks” used to attack the Border Policemen who – as BBC readers only learn in the eighth paragraph – were in the process of trying to arrest a terror suspect, can be gained from this video apparently filmed by onlookers.

The banality of Lisa Goldman’s Israel-bashing

Peter Beinart’s Open Zion website claims to “foster an open and unafraid conversation about Israel, Palestine, and the Jewish future.” The “unafraid” apparently reflects the popular canard that it is somehow dangerous to criticize Israel, but the site’s offerings tend to prove that most Open Zion contributors – among them avowed anti-Zionists like Yousef Munayyer – are indeed “unafraid” to depict the Jewish state in the worst possible light.
There is no doubt that Open Zion’s incoming senior editor Lisa Goldman also qualifies as absolutely “unafraid.” Indeed, her writings prove that she is not only “unafraid” to make a living by criticizing Israel, but that she is also completely “unafraid” to openly promote glaring double standards.

Daphne Anson: Falk Down Under: A Stern Warning

The Israel-bashing crowd Down Under are evidently delighted at the prospect of having the notorious Israel-demonising Richard Falk among them.
As this page shows, Professor Falk is coming to Canberra as a keynote speaker at the "Human Rights in Palestine" conference scheduled for 11-12 September, which is sponsored by the Australian National University and the British Academy.
Also set to address the conference are Professors Hanan Ashrawi and Jeff Halper, and Dr Sara Roy. Master of ceremoniies will be Sydney Morning Herald journalist Paul McGeogh,

British Academy Supporting Racist Lecturer Condemned by UK

Sept. 11 Canberra conference to feature top 9/11 conspiracy theorist, UN Watch urges British Academy to pull support for Richard Falk's Australia event.

Richard Falk: Egyptians supporting Sisi are Islamophobes, may even be thinking genocide

Now even Muslims can be Islamphobes!

Israel backers hit by web ‘witch hunt’

Antisemitic abuse aimed at Israel advocates should receive the same level of public scrutiny as high-profile Twitter incidents, experts and victims have said.
The use of email and social media sites to propagate abuse has become so severe that pro-Israel campaigners have feared for their safety and been forced to call police.
One victim this week likened the campaign against pro-Israel voices to a “McCarthyite witch hunt” and said a “network of abusers” operated on social media.
A spokesman for the Community Security Trust, which monitors antisemitism, compared the abuse to the threats to rape and bomb women on Twitter last month. He confirmed that CST had provided a number of victims with specific protection measures and safety advice.

New Oil Field Could Yield Rich Returns for Israel

A newly discovered field off Israel's coast may have a significant amount of light crude oil – the kind of oil that international producers use to make most of the world's gasoline. The Shemen company informed the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange Monday that the Yam 3 field, where drilling has been going on for several months, shows signs of light crude under the sea bed, at a depth of about 5,500 meters.

Israel’s ‘Irreversible’ acquired by ABC

The pilot episode will be developed by series co-creator Segahl Avin, a co-executive producer of the US series, along with Peter Tolan, according to the Deadline Hollywood website. The cast has yet to be announced. “Bilti Hafich,” which has been on since January, was renewed for a second season.
It is about a young couple and the changes that occur after the birth of their first daughter.

IDF Blog: How the IDF Prepares Israeli Schools for Emergencies

The Home Front Command prepares schools and businesses across the country from all of Israel’s communities for emergency situations
Cpl. Nestia Golubovsky finds herself in a different part of Israel every week. This Civil Emergency Instructor travels around the country to teach schoolchildren how to prepare for an emergency, and how to stay safe if they find themselves in an emergency situation. Today, she’s at a local elementary school in Kfar Qara, an Israeli Arab village in the north.

Israeli designer creates 'bomb-proof' backpack for kids

The backpack, according to the Daily Mail, has been designed to act as a basic personal shelter in the event of an emergency or terror strike.
One simply has to pull the side straps and yellow strings from the hood if they hear an air raid siren, and lie flat on the floor.
The backpack, which costs around £300 (1,683 shekels), is then supposed to fully protect the brain, heart, liver and kidneys from the impact and fallout of an explosion, with 19-layer Kevlar fabric at its core.

Promise of psoriasis cure on the horizon

About four million Americans suffer from psoriasis, a chronic autoimmune skin disease that causes patches of inflamed, silvery-white scabs. There is no cure for the condition, but Israeli researchers believe they may be on the road to formulating a groundbreaking drug candidate that could finally do the job.
As described in the journal Chemistry and Biology by the team from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), their study in collaboration with Israel’s Teva Pharmaceutical Industries showed that inhibiting the immune system protein Interleukin 17 (IL-17) could be the key to controlling the skin disease.

Israel ranks 4th globally in health care efficiency

In a new ranking of countries with the most efficient health care, Israel came in fourth, while the US ranked — behind Iran — in 46th position.
The data was compiled by Bloomberg, and countries were ranked based on three criteria: life expectancy; relative per capita cost of health care (percentage of GDP per capita); and the absolute per capita cost of health care.

Syria's wounded treated in Israel

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PA kills bystander in Nablus during arrest (updated)

Ma'an reported this morning:

The Palestinian Authority on Monday called for the formation of an international committee to investigate the killing of three Palestinians in Qalandia refugee camp.

PA spokesman Ihab Bsaiso told Ma'an that the international community has to put more pressure on Israel to stop violating the rights of the Palestinian people.

"The international community should not stay silent about the Israeli crimes against our people, and an inquiry committee should be formatted to investigate what happened in Qalandia refugee camp," the PA official said.

The Israeli government acts in a reckless manner without accountability, and the international community must take a strict position to stop these violations, Bsaiso said.

If killing in a police action warrants an international inquiry, then I suppose the PA will be happy to volunteer for such an inquiry itself:

Palestinian security forces killed a man in a Nablus-area refugee camp late Tuesday, officials and witnesses said.

Amjad Odeh, 37, died in what Palestinian officials described as an exchange of fire between the security forces and a wanted man in Askar refugee camp.

Odeh was taken to Rafidia hospital were he was pronounced dead. There were reports of other injuries.

Witnesses told Ma’an that dozens of Palestinians attacked security forces with rocks after the incident.

In Al-Fara refugee camp, angry residents managed to shut off the main street connecting Nablus and Tubas and set tires on fire to protest the shooting.

Sounds like they acted in a "reckless manner without accountability," doesn't it?

But the PA - the same PA that says Israel acts irresponsibly - claims that they entered the camp to arrest Odeh on suspicion of having illegal arms. They were surprised when they were fired upon, and when stones were thrown at them. They say that they fired shots in the air to disperse the crowd. And they said that they were surprised that anyone was killed by their bullets.

Which means they are saying pretty much what the Israeli Border Police said yesterday - except that they weren't attacked by hundreds of people with Molotov cocktails and 50 lb. boulders being dropped from the roofs nearby.

Residents in Nablus are no happier with the PA than they were with Israel, though.

Here's video of the man after he was fatally shot (warning: graphic)



Here are angry Arabs destroying what is evidently a PA security car:



And here are some fires set by Nablus residents tonight:




UPDATE: I assumed the man killed was the man who was wanted; he wasn't. Headline changed.

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Fatah terrorists dominate Qalandiya funerals

Most media didn't mention this, but this sentence in the Washington Post about the funeral procession in Qalandiya yesterday pretty much says it all:

As members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades fired automatic weapons in the air, a local Muslim cleric told the mourners that “the Israelis don’t want peace. They want to shed our blood.”

In fact, raw video of the procession shows a large masked Al Aqsa Brigades contingent, firing lots of weapons and trying to look tough:



The end of this video shows how reporters love to take romantic shots of the gunmen, with one of the terrorists even doing a sort of pirouette, fashion-model style, to ensure that the footage looks more dramatic:



Remember, this Fatah terror group was supposedly dismantled in 2008.

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8/27 Links Part 1: In Syria, America Loses if Either Side Wins, Iran Increases Enrichment Capacity

From Ian:

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In Syria, America Loses if Either Side Wins

Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that the use of chemical weapons in attacks on civilians in Syria last week was undeniable and that the Obama administration would hold the Syrian government accountable for a “moral obscenity” that has shocked the world’s conscience.
In some of the most aggressive language used yet by the administration, Mr. Kerry accused the Syrian government of the “indiscriminate slaughter of civilians” and of cynical efforts to cover up its responsibility for a “cowardly crime.”
Mr. Kerry’s remarks at the State Department reinforced the administration’s toughening stance on the Syria conflict, which is now well into its third year, and indicated that the White House was moving closer to a military response in consultation with America’s allies.

Tony Blair: military intervention in Syria vital to prevent 'breeding ground for extremism'

''People wince at the thought of intervention. But contemplate the future consequence of inaction and shudder: Syria mired in carnage between the brutality of Assad and various affiliates of al Qaida, a breeding ground of extremism infinitely more dangerous than Afghanistan in the 1990s; Egypt in chaos, with the West, however unfairly, looking as if it is giving succour to those who would turn it into a Sunni version of Iran."
He added: ''Iran still - despite its new president - a theocratic dictatorship, with a nuclear bomb. Our allies dismayed. Our enemies emboldened. Ourselves in confusion. This is a nightmare scenario but it is not far-fetched.''

Barry Rubin: America's Impending Defeat in Syria

The administration has trapped itself with two problems. One is that the rebels who are being supported in Syria are extreme radicals who may set off blood baths and regional instability if they win. The other is that a challenge has been given to very reckless forces: Iran, Syria, and Hizballah. When the United States threatens these three players the response is “make my day!”
So this is the situation. The United States is bluffing, it does not want to exert force and probably won’t. In other words, Iran and Syria would be quite willing to fight a war but the United States and its government doesn’t have the will to do so.

Here’s How Kerry, Hillary and Obama Let Assad Get Away with Murder

Even seven years ago Kerry knew better than President Bush’s advisers and stated that the Bush administration’s refusal to talk to Syria and Iran is “a mistake” and “the kind of policy that’s got us into trouble” in the region.
Anyone living in the Middle East knows that once a leading senator comes for friendly talks with one of the wicked men on earth, that means the United States does not have a strong will to isolate and weaken him.

Expert: US-led attack on Syria may lead to increased Russian cooperation with Iran

Russia warned Western powers on Monday against any military intervention in Syria, saying the use of force without a United Nations mandate would violate international law. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow had no plans to be drawn into a military conflict over the civil war in Syria and that Washington and its allies would be repeating “past mistakes” if they intervened in Syria.
Ariel Cohen, a senior research fellow at the US think tank the Heritage Foundation, told The Jerusalem Post in an interview on Monday that in response to an attack on their Syrian ally, Russia could “expand supply of dual use nuclear technology” to Iran as its nuclear energy company, Rosatom, is anxious to sell more reactors.

US to present evidence Tuesday ahead of Syria strike

Unlike the invasion of Iraq, however, US-led military action in Syria will likely be brief and limited in scope, a punishment for chemical attacks and a deterrent against future use of nonconventional weapons, administration officials told the Washington Post on Monday, stressing that the United States had no desire to become embroiled in the civil war there.
Two administration officials said the US was expected to make public a more formal determination of chemical weapons use on Tuesday, with an announcement of Obama’s response likely to follow quickly.

Israeli intelligence seen as central to US case against Syria

This time, too, Israeli military intelligence has reportedly played a key role in providing evidence of Assad’s chemical weapons use. On Friday, Israel’s Channel 2 reported that the weapons were fired by the 155th Brigade of the 4th Armored Division of the Syrian Army, a division under the command of the Syrian president’s brother, Maher Assad. The nerve gas shells were fired from a military base in a mountain range to the west of Damascus, the TV report said.
The report did not state the source of its information. But subsequently, Germany’s Focus magazine reported that an IDF intelligence unit was listening in on senior Syrian officials when they discussed the chemical attack. According to the Focus report Saturday, a squad specializing in wire-tapping within the IDF’s prestigious 8200 intelligence unit intercepted a conversation between high-ranking regime officials regarding the use of chemical agents at the time of the attack. The report, which cited an ex-Mossad official who insisted on remaining anonymous, said the intercepted conversation proved that Assad’s regime was responsible for the use of nonconventional weapons.

Assad wants Assad dead

In my best estimation, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad wants his brother Maher dead. Also, in my best estimation, it was Maher who unleashed the gas attack without any warnings or orders from anyone, which is why Russia has issued a statement saying a US military intervention will not cause it to start a war. The Russians are happy if this surgical US approach means Bashar can survive.
From day one Maher al-Assad, one of the most violent men in the region, if not the world, has been the ignored elephant in the room. Bashar cannot contain him because Maher trained his 4th army to turn its guns on his own family if necessary. Killing him will ease the tensions all around and may yield a political solution that will stop the deadly spiral of violence.

Israel readies homefront for possible Syrian attack

Patriot anti-missile batteries in Haifa put on alert - Netanyahu convenes security cabinet - IDF announces major drill on Golan Heights - Education Minister Shay Piron: School system ready for any deterioration of security situation.

New Details of Jewish-American Photojournalist Held, Tortured by Syrian Jihadists for Seven Months

Schrier is one of at least 15 Westerners, mostly journalists, abducted so far this year. The New York Times noted that his experience reflects an overall decline in security, and a spike in extremism.
The Times account neglected to comment on Schrier’s Jewishness, or on whether it was relevant to the behavior and motives of his Islamist captors. The Anti-Defamation League has emphasized that anti-Semitism “is intrinsic to Al Qaeda’s ideology and motivation,” and extremist opposition fighters in Syria have threatened to attack Israel.

Syrian FM decries US lies on chemical weapons, says military intervention would serve Israel

The Syrian foreign minister said that a US strike against Syria would serve the interests of Israel and al-Qaida linked groups.
He stated that the Syrian government was "honoring all pledges and commitments" by allowing UN inspectors access to the site of last week's alleged chemical attack in the eastern suburbs of Damascus which reportedly killed more than a thousand people.
Moualem said that the Syrian government was committed to maintaining protection for the UN inspectors and the opposition was behind sniper fire directed at the delegation on Monday.

Syrian FM Threatens 'Surprises' for Western Forces

Muallem said that his country had defenses that would "surprise" the world, and that any such action against it would serve the interests of Israel and Al-Qaeda.
"Syria is not an easy case. We have defenses which will surprise others," he said.
"The war effort lead by the United States and their allies will serve the interests of Israel and secondly Al-Nusra Front," an Al-Qaeda-linked jihadist group in Syria, said Muallem.

Report: Hezbollah Fighters Receive Treatment for Exposure to Chemical Agents

At least four Hezbollah fighters came into contact with chemical agents in Syria and are receiving treatment in Beirut, a security source told Lebanon’s The Daily Star on Monday.
According to the anonymous source, four or five members of the Shiite terror organization came into contact with the chemical toxins in tunnels in and around the Damascus suburb of Jobar over the weekend.

At IDF’s Faux Hezbollah Village, Israeli Troops Prepare for a Third Lebanon War

Israeli officials say Hezbollah has an arsenal of more than 60,000 Iranian-made rockets, some capable of reaching Tel Aviv. In 2006, Hezbollah fired roughly 4,000 rockets at Israel during a month-long war. Next time around, Hezbollah could fire that many missiles every two days. Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, an IDF spokesman, said at least some of the missiles would probably make it past the Iron Dome air-defense systems Israel has had in place since March 2011. “The volume of rockets would challenge the capabilities of the Iron Dome,” Lerner told me. “It would not be able to stop all of them.”
While Hezbollah is currently preoccupied with helping prop up Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, sending thousands of battle-hardened Hezbollah fighters to help Assad reverse rebel gains and regain the upper hand in the bloody civil war there, Lerner and other Israeli officials warn that Israel remains the group’s top target. “Those rockets won’t be used against the Syrian rebels,” Lerner said. “We know where they’ll be aimed if Iran gives the directive.”

Gaza in a state of shock after Egypt upheaval

"For Hamas, Morsi's ouster has been like a political tsunami," says Palestinian political expert Omar Shaban, who lives in Gaza City. "For the past year, they've had every imaginable support - both economic and political - and suddenly, it's all changed," he explains.
While some allies in the region distanced themselves from Hamas, the Morsi-led government in Egypt provided ideological support. Qatar had promised millions in financial aid.
The change of leadership in Egypt has forced Hamas to rethink their situation. Many believe it will crack down even harder to be able to control the Gaza strip and its residents.

Why is Crushing the Muslim Brotherhood a Bad Thing?

Here’s a wacky, outside-the-envelope idea that we just might want to give a shot – let’s try defeating our enemies. It’s bound to work out better than protecting and empowering them.
The Egyptian Army is taking tough stand against the Muslim Brotherhood. It is backed up by an Egyptian people who rapidly tired of the Islamofascist freak show a minority of them elected. The Army, while losing many of their own, killed a lot of the insurgent Brothers. For some reason we’re supposed to be upset.
I just can’t work up a lot of caring because a pack of murderous subversives whose declared goal is returning the globe to a permanent state of Seventh Century Bedouin theocracy tried to fight it out with a tough, well-armed and patriotic Egyptian military and got their teeth kicked in.

Washington Post lobby locked down during Egyptian anti-Morsi protest

The protest appeared to include, among others, a large number of Coptic Christians, who make up about one-tenth of Egypt’s population and many of whom live in the District and neighboring suburbs. Some complained that the Post had not sufficiently covered the rash of mob violence against churches and Christian-owned businesses in Egypt since the July 3 military coup that removed President Mohamed Morsi.
“You have very skewed coverage of the news in Egypt. You have not been covering all that is happening,” said Iris Soliman of Bethesda. She objected to the Post referring to Morsi’s ouster as a coup and said it should instead recognize that it was the “second wave of the revolution.” She chided the paper for not covering what she said were Muslim Brotherhood supporters stockpiling mosques with guns.

UN report: Iran increasing enrichment capacity

In its upcoming report, the UN nuclear watchdog is expected to reveal that Iran is continuing to move forward with its nuclear program, Reuters reported on Monday. The International Atomic Energy Agency will cite diplomats who said that Tehran has increased its capacity to enrich uranium, and has begun to produce fuel for a plutonium reactor in Arak, the report said.
At the same time, the IAEA inspectors are expected to confirm that Iran maintains limited production of uranium gas.

Sentenced to death for a sip of water

...though I’m kept in a tiny, windowless cell, I want my voice and my anger to be heard. I want the whole world to know that I’m going to be hanged for helping my neighbor. I’m guilty of having shown someone sympathy. What did I do wrong? I drank water from a well belonging to Muslim women, using “their” cup, in the burning heat of the midday sun.
I, Asia Bibi, have been sentenced to death because I was thirsty. I’m a prisoner because I used the same cup as those Muslim women, because water served by a Christian woman was regarded as unclean by my stupid fellow fruit-pickers.

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What part of "Iran's Supreme Leader" doesn't the NYT understand?

Today the New York Times has its latest of a series of articles fawning over Iran's supposed new direction. This one concentrates on its new foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Until this summer, Mohammad Javad Zarif, one of Iran’s most accomplished diplomats, was an outcast, exiled from the government by ultraconservatives for working too closely with the West. Rather than presenting the Iranian case to the world, as he had done so effectively throughout a 35-year diplomatic career, he was spending his days teaching at the Foreign Ministry’s training center on a quiet, leafy campus in North Tehran.

That changed with the election of the moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, in June. Now, Mr. Zarif is the country’s new foreign minister and seems virtually certain to lead Iran’s delegation in nuclear negotiations with the West — further indications, analysts say, that Mr. Rouhani is serious about reducing tensions with the United States and other Western countries.

“Mr. Zarif is the new face of a new policy,” said Davoud Hermidas-Bavand, a professor of international relations at Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran, who knows Mr. Zarif personally. “Our former foreign policy obviously did not yield any results and was clearly doomed. We need to revise our former methods and soften our stances in order to find a solution to the nuclear problem and reduce the sanctions.”

..His English is fluent, and both Western diplomats and journalists laud him as one of the rare Iranian officials who actually talk clearly to them.

Maybe Zarif is a wonderful person. Maybe he secretly eats turkey on Thanksgiving and watches Real Housewives of Atlanta.

But Zarif, like the new "moderate" Iranian president Rouhani, cannot make any real decisions on policy.

Because Iran is a dictatorship under Ayatollah Khamanei. Khamanei is not just a mere dictator, but also the religious leader of the nation. His word is divine law. 

His freaking title is "Supreme Leader."

Literally nothing can be done in Iran's government or official media without Khamanei's tacit approval. The person that allows Rouhani and Zarif to put a moderate face on Iran in the New York Times is the same person that allows the most crazed antisemitic and anti-Western conspiracy theories to be published in Iran's official media.

Yet the New York Times, and other newspapers, barely mention Khamanei any more as they fall over themselves praising Iran's new, supposedly moderate leadership.

Rouhani and Zarif are nothing more than smiling faces on an autocratic regime that supports terrorism, seeks to become a world power using nuclear weapons and is dedicated to destroying Israel. They are doing their jobs under Khamanei's hardline control, not in spite of it.

Remember, Rouhani was hand-picked as one of the candidates of the Iranian election - by Khamanei. This seemingly new "policy" is nothing more than Iran's implementation of "good cop, bad cop."

How can any serious article by a mainstream newspaper ignore these facts? How can the Times report that a puppet of a dictator, one who cannot do anything without his approval, will change anything in reality?

Now, I'm not saying anything that the NYT doesn't already know. Which means that, effectively, to the Times, style is more important than substance.

Iran's nuclear program isn't the problem - the problem is that the West is alarmed by it. If only an Iranian diplomat can ease those tensions, and let Iran cross the nuclear threshold without interference, then the NYT will be happy.

This is not journalism. This is advocacy. And it is not just wrong, but dangerous.

(h/t EBoZ)

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Clashes between Islamic Jihad and Hamas on Sunday

According to Arabic media, on Sunday there were clashes between Islamic Jihad Al Quds Brigades terrorists and Hamas Al Qassam Brigades terrorist forces in Gaza.

Residents of the Bureij camp woke up to the sounds of fighting as the two groups exchanged fire.

Reports say that Islamic Jihad wanted to fire rockets into Israel, but the Hamas forces stopped them. The fighting moved then inside the camp.

One Islamic Jihad terrorist was arrested by Hamas, but he was released quickly to avoid an escalation.

Two weeks ago, when the prisoners released by Israel went to Gaza, another skirmish between the two groups erupted with small arms fire.

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Tamarod Gaza notes that Israel-PLO talks have been more successful than Hamas-Fatah

The Tamarod Gaza movement, meant to topple Hamas, now has 45,000 Facebook fans and has been getting more media coverage lately.

A message they released today is refreshing in its honesty.

The PLO has negotiated with the Zionist enemy at some length (twenty years) and the negotiations did not reach the desired goal, but it has made ​​some achievements in the political field and there are those who see it and there are those who do not want to see ... a piece of land called Gaza and more the West Bank [are under Palestinian control] and [many countries and the UN] recognize the State of Palestine on paper, etc....

Here, a question arises: over seven years now of the obnoxious division between Fatah and Hamas, they have been negotiating to end the division and they did not achieve anything tangible! How many years they need to negotiate to end the division???

While Tamarod is as anti-Israel as anyone, this is the first time I have seen any Arab, let alone a Palestinian, admit that the Oslo process has helped the PLO achieve enormous gains both politically and in concrete terms. Even the Western media portrays the "peace process" as something that has been at a deadlock forever with Israel often being the party blamed for no progress - but here, in Arabic, at least one group acknowledges (in a backhanded manner) that the PLO has gained a great deal through the process.

Which means that Israel has conceded a great deal during the process.

The PLO? They have given up nothing tangible. Their major party Fatah still says, today, that they have not abandoned "armed struggle" and terror - and it is still part of their platform.

It is interesting that it takes an Arab group to point out what so few Westerners are willing to admit as they continue to blame Israel for everything.

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Syria has a twist on 9/11 conspiracy theories

The Syrian Radio and TV site has an article that asks a very simple question: Why are all these revolutions happening in the Arab world but not in the West? Why are only Arabs suffering from all this infighting and regime changes?

The answer, of course, is that it's a vast conspiracy.

All of the Arab world's problems started with the invasion of Iraq. Up until then the Arab world was a place of "safety and security." Yes, the article really says that.

Then came 9/11, a CIA-led attack to provide an excuse to attack the Arab world and to fragment it and cause infighting in the heretofore peaceful area.

Jews were involved as well, of course, because most of them didn't come to work on 9/11, proving foreknowledge.

The execution of Saddam Hussein was orchestrated to humiliate Arab leaders so they would be obedient to the wishes of the US.

The US attacked Iraq because of Israel, naturally, since Saddam was the only Arab leader willing to challenge Israel. (Does this mean that Syrian Radio and TV considers the Assad family to be wimps?)

So going back to the original question, of why there is no uprising in the US or France or whatever, it is because Western countries are the sponsors and manufacturers of terrorism in the Arab world to keep the Arab countries fragmented and weak so they cannot threaten Western nations and Israel.

See? It all makes perfect sense!

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Off-topic: Rhomboid beach patterns

I took a mini-break Sunday and went to the beach.

I noticed something I had never seen before, and it was driving me crazy. When the ocean waves retreated (backwash), they left consistent diamond-shaped patterns in the sand behind. The lines were never perpendicular to the shore, but rather perhaps at 80 degree and 100 degree angles facing the shoreline.

Here is the pattern being left behind on dry sand as the water (upper left) retreats:

Here is it while the sand is still wet from the backwash, contrast added to make it more obvious:

So I did a little Internet sleuthing. While I couldn't find many photos of similar patterns, apparently they are common. Here is an abstract from an article in the The Encyclopedia of Beaches and Coastal Environments:

Rhombohedral ripples are so common on the lower foreshore of a beach that Johnson (1919) called them backwash marks . The flow of the backwash down a beach often results in diamond-shaped rhombohedral ripples of low height that are best recognized by the criss-crossed pattern of intersecting lines of the lee slopes of the ripples. Generally there is a well-developed scour on the seaward side of the ripple rhombs, whereas the landward side of the diamond shape is more gentle.

Rhombohedral ripples seem to have been first described by Williamson (1887), who viewed them as resembling "the overlapping scale leaves of some cycadean stems." Observations by Woodford (1935) and Demarest (1947) show that rhomboid ripples form as a lee wave, radiating seaward from coarser than usual grains or more compact sand or from centers of escaping interstitial water. Rhomboid ripples form only in the water-saturated lower part of beaches that slope between 2 and 10 degrees (Emery, 1960). ...

I found a couple of other papers which went into math that is way beyond me. Also some claim that these patterns come from things like seashells sticking out of the sand, but the pattern was way too regular.

Apparently, there is no definitive answer as to why these patterns get generated, although there are some people who have worked very hard at figuring this out. (My initial guess was resonance patterns from the sound of the surf, but then the slope of the beach shouldn't matter.)

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New PalArab cultural magazine won't allow criticism of PA

Palestine Press Agency reports that Al Kalima, a defunct Palestinian Arab literary magazine, is being resurrected, to address the lack of a specifically Palestinian Arab voice.

The announcement, by the General Union of Palestinian Writers, states that the new quarterly magazine will "welcome all submissions that are consistent with the Palestinian National Line" and adhere to contemporary literary standards.

In most countries, artists are the ones in the forefront of criticism of the leadership. In the Palestinian Arab territories, the artists are the first ones to say that the major purpose of their writings is to support their rulers and to quash any criticism.

This small unimportant announcement shows how little freedom of expression really exists under Mahmoud Abbas.

Yesterday, Abbas said how important freedom of expression is to some handpicked journalists who agree with him, even as others protested how the PA doesn't let journalists do their jobs.

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8/26 Links Part 2: Poll-Only 21% Believe PA State is a Real Soln, Guardian-Haifa a “Historic Palestinian City”

From Ian:

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Palestinian official: Peace talks meeting canceled after IDF kills 3 in West Bank clashes

The Palestinian Authority has canceled a meeting with Israeli peace negotiators scheduled to take place Monday in response to the killing of three Palestinians by Israeli security forces at the Kalandiya refugee camp in the West Bank earlier in the day, AFP quoted a Palestinian official as saying.
Security forces who arrived in Kalandiya near Ramallah to arrest a security suspect came under a large scale attack by hundreds of Palestinians on Monday morning, resulting in deadly clashes in which three rioters were reportedly killed.

Poll: Only 21% Believe in PA State as Real Solution

The most popular answer in both cases was simply to maintain the status quo. Currently Judea and Samaria is split into three areas, called A, B, and C. The PA has full control over Area A, Israel controls Area C, and in Area B the IDF is tasked with oversight of security, while the PA has legal power over other aspects of daily life.
Forty-one percent of respondents said the status quo is their preferred solution, and 51% said it is the most realistic solution. In comparison, just 21% said the creation of a new PA state is the solution with the best chance to take place.

Poll: One-fifth of Jewish Israelis prefer Palestinian state in Jordan, rather than the West Bank

Some 19 percent of Jewish Israelis prefer to see a Palestinian state in Jordan rather than in the West Bank, but only 7% really think it could happen, according to a Maagar Mochot poll commissioned by Professors for a Stronger Israel.
“There are alternatives; we are not sitting with a gun to our heads,” said former National Union MK Arye Eldad, as he addressed a daylong conference on Sunday that debated all aspects of the question of two states for two peoples on two banks of the Jordan River.
There are more options than the standard equation of “Either we will have a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, or we will have a bi-national state,” Eldad said.

Fatah Stresses: We're Not Giving Up 'Right of Return'

Members of Meretz said that Abbas told them a “fair agreement” will end the conflict with Israel and that a “peace agreement with Israel will be final and binding." He did not, however, specify what is meant by a fair peace agreement and did not commit to the fact that the PA would give up its demand for the “right of return”, which would see millions of Arabs who fled Israel in 1948 and their descendants flood Israel.
On Sunday, Abbas chaired a meeting of the Central Committee of the Fatah movement, at the conclusion of which Fatah spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement that "the main goal of the negotiations with Israel is to establish an independent Palestinian state within the [pre-]1967 borders with its capital Al-Quds (Jerusalem -ed.), and the return of refugees in accordance with resolutions by international legitimate institutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.”

Guardian: Mahmoud Abbas gives up claims on “historic Palestinian city” of Haifa

For those attempting to figure out how cities which are within Israel’s 1949 boundaries can be characterized by Sherwood as “historically Palestinian”, you have to understand that Palestinian propaganda frequently refers to their people’s longing to “reclaim” such cities, part of a broader narrative which rejects Israel’s right to exist within any borders.
By referring to even those cities which have always been Israeli as “historically Palestinian”, Sherwood is not only parroting Palestinian anti-Zionist propaganda, but in effect imputing ‘moderation’ to Abbas for the mere act of relinquishing territorial claims for which there is absolutely no moral or legal basis.

Fabius: EU Guidelines May Need to be Re-examined

Speaking at a press conference in Jerusalem, Fabius said that the EU could consider somewhat changing the boycotting guidelines.
"We need to check whether the guidelines created things that were unintended,” he said, adding that the new guidelines are not intended to change and influence the situation but rather "draw lessons from things that happened in the past."
The new guidelines, drafted in July, state that the EU will no longer be party to any economic, social or academic ventures involving Israeli institutions based in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem or even the Golan Heights.

European nations: Don't do business in settlements

The countries mentioned by Israeli ambassadors include Britain, Germany, Denmark, Holland and Sweden, according to Yedioth Ahronoth.
According to one report, one country's foreign office told a company involved in trade beyond the Green Line that its actions are in violation of local law and international law which stipulates that settlements are illegal. The company is now considering dropping out of the project but is also under pressure from Israel to stay on board.

Ariel: We Won't be Confined to the Auschwitz Borders

The Housing Minister added that the two-state solution to end the Arab-Israeli conflict is unrealistic and will never happen.
"Anyone who thinks that we can be forced to build only within the Auschwitz borders is wrong,” he said, referring to the pre-1967 borders, which are indefensible and were termed “Auschwitz borders” by former Foreign Minister Abba Eban.
“I suggest to such a person that he look for the big criminals against humanity elsewhere. They are not here, they are elsewhere in the Middle East,” said Ariel.

Likud MKs: Jewish Construction Must Go On Despite Peace Talks

Likud MKs told Arutz Sheva on Sunday that building Jewish homes in Judea and Samaria is not an obstacle to peace and that Israeli construction must go on in these regions despite the peace process.
The MKs participated in a dedication ceremony for a new neighborhood called Leshem in the community of Aley Zahav.
“I think that it is important to deliver the message that Jewish settlements will not be uprooted,” said Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely. “We’re here to stay and we’re here to extend the Jewish settlements and I think this is one of the most exciting things to see before Rosh Hashanah.”

Jews Down Under: Kevin Rudd & Bob Carr have gone underground

Australia’s Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Foreign Affairs Minister Senator Bob Carr have gone underground since Carr announced on 8 August at the Lakemba Mosque in Sydney that Rudd personally as well as the Labor Party had adopted as policy that Jews had no right to legally live in the West Bank.
Attempts to elicit whether Rudd personally and the Labor Party had adopted this policy prior to Carr’s announcement have ended in total confusion.

Aussie opposition head looks to ‘rebuild’ Canberra-Jerusalem ties

The head of Australia’s opposition said Monday that he will seek to improve ties with Israel, as his conservative bloc geared up for a national election next month.
Liberal party leader Tony Abbott told reporters Monday that the last two governments had not maintained Australia’s strong relationship with the Jewish state, a fact he would attempt to fix, according to the Australian Associated Press.
“There’s been a bit of wobbling under the current government but I would expect our standard rock-solid friendship with Israel to resume should the coalition win the election,” he said, referring to the bloc of opposition parties seeking to unseat current Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

BBC blurs Iranian regime role in 2012 attacks

The BBC then adds: “Israel has accused Iran of orchestrating the attacks, a charge which Iran denies.”
The BBC neglects to inform its readers that the police investigation into the attack in New Delhi – in which the wife of an Israeli diplomat, her driver and two bystanders were injured – resulted in India’s police concluding that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were behind the attack or that US counter-terrorism officials have reached the same conclusion as their Israeli counterparts.

Six great food apps from Israel

Israelis are passionate about food and phones. So it’s no surprise that among the plentiful Israeli-made smartphone applications are shortcuts for locating restaurants, finding recipes, ordering takeout and deciphering nutrition information on packaged goods.
Many of these apps are, at least for now, available only in Hebrew (such as App-to-Eat, ZapRest, CupsTelAviv and LikeEat). Here are six that are already available in English. Check them out in Israel and/or abroad.

Turning IV failures into successes

For many hospital patients, intravenous tubes, which supply nutrition or medications, are actual lifelines. Unable to eat normally because of their conditions, or in constant need of medication, the tube is the only way they can receive life-sustaining nutrients or drugs.
In many cases, however, interfacing a tube with the body – by hooking it up to a blood vessel – is a major hurdle for medical staff. Over 40% of IV insertions are “failures,” the term applied to an IV insertion that “misses” the first time, said Dr. Yaakov Nahmias, the director of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Center for Bioengineering.

Torah hidden by Polish priests since WWII returned

A Torah scroll that since 1942 has been hidden in a Tuchow monastery was returned to the synagogue in Dabrowa Tarnowska in southern Poland.
The Torah was returned earlier this month but reported for the first time on Saturday.
It had been brought to the monastery in Tuchow, approximately 60 miles from Krakow, by an anonymous person who asked the Redemptorist priests to hold the scrolls until the synagogue in Dabrowa again became a place of prayer, according to Father Kazimierz Piotrowski of the Redemptorist monastery in Warsaw.

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Google's Palestinian page "hacked"

A few hours ago, people surfing to Google.ps saw this:

According to TechCrunch, this was not a hack of any pages owned by Google, but it was a domain registry hack. The hackers compromised the .ps domain and redirected Google queries to their own server.

It is not too surprising that the .ps domain is not very secure.

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Iranian court rules Christian evangelical activities amount to "Zionism"

From the Christian Post:

A Revolutionary Court in Tehran has sentenced an Iranian Christian convert to 10 years in prison for his Christian work, according to an Iranian Christian news agency.

Mohammad-Hadi Bordbar, who was arrested on Dec. 27, 2012, was sentenced by Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court in Tehran, according to Mohabat News. The judgment was delivered by Judge Pir-Abassi, a judge notorious for his harsh sentences.

Bordbar, aka Mostafa, was given five years for his membership in an "anti-security organization" and an additional five-year term for being part of a gathering with alleged intent to "commit crimes against national security."

The verdict states that Christian evangelical activities amount to "Zionism," to fight the Islamic regime of Iran by establishing evangelical ministries and organizations and holding underground worship meetings.

The charges include apostasy, belief that evangelism is a duty, distributing 12,000 Gospel tracts, possession of Christian material, attendance in house churches run by a Korean lady, involvement with other house churches and translation of Christian films for dissemination.

But Iran is also on the lookout for the next big Zionist religion:

Extremist far-right groups have been trying to spread freemasonry and Zionist principles in order to remove Islam from Europe.

This is according to French university scholar and international affairs expert Pierre Dortiguier, who also told IQNA that by spreading Islamophobia, these groups seek to implement their plot to create a new religion based on freemasonry and Zionist principles and replace Islam with this new cult.

Elaborating on the France’s stance vis-à-vis religious symbols like Islamic Hijab, he said like other leftist governments, the French government is very much interested in removing all religious symbols. This is not about eliminating the Islamic culture only, because it was used against Christianity in the 19th century as well.

He said in the past years, as some Western philosophers say, Christianity is no longer in people’s mind and heart and the only religion that continues to live is Islam. “Therefore, in order to eliminate Islam from Europe and implement their plot to bring a new religion based on freemasonry and Zionist principles, they started to spread Islamophobia.”

The university scholar said the growth of Islamophobia in Europe is not a coincidence, but there are special foundations, methods and goals in play and different groups involved.

“In fact, Islamophobia is the second phase of a bigger plan to fight against the spread of Islam among Europeans. The first phase was presenting theories and writing books and articles to spread doubts about Islamic teachings.”

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A brand-new Palestinian Arab lie

What is the fourth holiest spot in Sunni Islam?

We all know that the top three are the mosques Mecca, Medina and the one that was built on top of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. But what is number 4?

According to Wikipedia, many Muslims consider the Ummayad Mosque in Damascus to be the fourth holiest site.

Others consider Kairouan, in Tunisia, to have the honor.

Still others consider it to be the Eyup Sultan Mosque in Turkey, a site that attracts many pilgrims.

Harar in Ethiopia is yet another city that has made this claim, and UNESCO agrees.

However, our "peace partners" in Fatah have made up a new 4th holiest mosque in Islam, one that no one else on the planet ever designated as such, as far as I can tell. Not surprisingly, it is at the second holiest place of Judaism.

The caption the Tomb of the Patriarchs on their Facebook page as "The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, which is the fourth holiest mosque for the world's Muslims."

That would be news to most Muslims.

Obviously, this is being done to push Jews out of Hebron. Just like Mecca and Medina are off-limits to non-Muslims, our "peace partners" are trying to elevate the holiness of Jerusalem and Hebron so they can kick the Jews out - in the name of Islam. (They are trying something similar at Rachel's Tomb, pretending that it is the ancient "Bilal bin Rabah Mosque," something that was made up in the 1990s.)

See also this previous post.

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8/26 Links Part 1: Doomsday scenario in Syria, Netanyahu - Syria is Iran’s ‘testing ground’

From Ian:

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‘Doomsday scenario in Syria’

Syrian opposition groups, for their part, may be already making the Saudi paper’s prediction a reality. Also accused of committing vast human atrocities, they have already vowed to bomb Alawite villages along the Syrian coast with thousands of rockets as retaliation for the chemical attack, according to the Dubai-based media channel Al-Arabiya.
The leading editorial in Al-Quds Al-Arabi states that, at this point, it is no longer important who carried out the chemical weapons attack. In a piece entitled “Doomsday scenario in Syria,” the paper argues that nothing other than military action can prevent Assad from continuing to subject his people to genocide.

JPost Editorial: Attention on Syria

It remains to be seen if the more aggressive tone will have any effect on the Syrian leader. With inspectors having arrived in the country just days before, why would Assad risk crossing such a redline? One interpretation is that he has become more brazen. With thousands of Hezbollah fighters entering the country last month to bolster the regime and his having pushed the rebels out of numerous areas along the Aleppo-Damascus axis, perhaps he thought it was time to deal a death blow to the rebels in the capital.
Has Assad come to view the international community as incapable of action, especially with his Russian and Chinese backers at the Security Council? If so, that is the challenge the West faces as it gathers its forces and contemplates action.

Netanyahu: Syria is Iran’s ‘testing ground’

“Now the whole world is watching,” Netanyahu said Sunday. “Iran is watching and it wants to see what will be the reaction to the use of chemical weapons.”
The prime minister went on to compare the Syria use of chemical weapons to Iran’s alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons: “What is happening in Syria, simply demonstrates what will happen if Iran gets even deadlier weapons.”

Israel’s interest: That Assad not be victorious

Asked whether a US strike could trigger a retaliation against Israel, as happened during the first Gulf War, and whether the nature of the US strike might dictate the severity of Assad’s response, both Brom and Inbar were cautious yet dubious of Assad’s willingness to attack Israel.
“There was a broad Arab coalition against Saddam,” Inbar claimed, asserting that the point of Saddam Hussein’s missile launches in January 1991 was to drag Israel into the fray and thereby fracture the Arab unity. “Here there’s hardly any Arab coalition at all.”
Brom said Assad’s bottom line was “survivability” — a goal that clashed with a major strike against Israel. “Syria is right on our border,” he said. “We can be very effective there… actually, more so than the Americans.”

Israeli President Peres Calls for Removal of ‘All Chemical Weapons From Syria’

“The use of chemical weapons to kill hundreds of women and children and the cries of the girl begging her father to come and save her is a cry to which we cannot remain indifferent,” Peres said. “I can understand the problems and the doubts, but the moral call is superior to any strategic considerations. The time has come for a joint effort to remove all the chemical weapons from Syria. They cannot remain there either in the hands of Assad or of others. In addition to everything else needed to stop this massacre there must be an international attempt to take out the weapons. It is very complicated and it is very expensive but it is more dangerous and more expensive to leave it there. It must be done.”

Ariel: As Jews, We Must Protest the Genocide in Syria

“On this day, although it is a day of great joy, I cannot refrain from mentioning what is happening in the north in our neighbor, Syria,” said Ariel, referring to the reports of a deadly chemical attack by regime troops outside of Damascus.
“Of all people, we, who cried out, and have been asking to this day, 'how could the world have been silent?' – We, as people; we, as Jews, cannot remain silent in the face of genocide, no matter who it is and where it is. And I say to ourselves – first of all, to ourselves, as Jews; as citizens of Israel; as a minister in the government of Israel, there will not be another genocide. We will not allow it,” he said.

Top US official to 'Post': UN probe in Syria 'too late to be credible'

“If the Syrian government had nothing to hide and wanted to prove to the world that it had not used chemical weapons in this incident, it would have ceased its attacks on the area and granted immediate access to the UN – five days ago,” the official said.
“At this juncture, the belated decision by the regime to grant access to the UN team is too late to be credible, including because the evidence available has been significantly corrupted as a result of the regime’s persistent shelling and other intentional actions over the last five days,” the official continued.
Extensive evidence indicates that sarin gas was used against civilians in Ghouta on Wednesday, killing upwards of 1,000

UN team probing Syria gas attack comes under sniper fire

The UN team that is supposed to investigate an alleged chemical weapons strike near the Syrian capital Damascus came under sniper fire on Monday as it traveled to the scene of the attack. A vehicle was damaged but there were no reports of injuries.
A United Nations spokesperson tweeted that the team had turned back to replace the vehicle after which the investigators intended to head out again. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said the investigators were ”deliberately shot at multiple times” by unidentified snipers in the buffer zone area between rebel- and government-controlled territory in Damascus

31 Palestinians among victims of alleged chemical attack

At least 31 Palestinians were among the victims of an alleged chemical attack said to have killed hundreds in Damascus on Wednesday, relatives said Saturday.
Opponents of Bashar Assad said the Syrian president's forces used chemical weapons east and southwest of Damascus in attacks Wednesday that killed hundreds. The regime has strongly denied the accusations.
Eleven members of the al-Hurani family, from Jenin in the northern West Bank, were killed in "the massacre in Ghouta," including six children, family member Abu Zeid al-Hurani told Ma'an.

Analysis: The international law president vs the Damascus regime

A former top legal adviser to the British government and another to the US State Department recently wrote that intervention could be justified on several grounds: Syrian attacks on Turkey could trigger collective selfdefense obligations by other NATO states, Syrian chemical weapons use could accidentally cross Syrian borders impacting other states, potential transfer of chemical weapons to Hezbollah could lead to further national security threats, recognizing the Friends of Syria group as the sole representative of the Syrian people as France has could sidestep any violation of sovereignty issue, the humanitarian situation is sufficiently dire and extreme (which has some veil of UN legitimacy under a similar 2005 doctrine endorsed by parts of the UN called “R2P” or responsibility to protect) as the Kosovo case.

Analysis: How will the US and its allies strike Syria?

International law bans the use of chemical weapons on any battlefield under any circumstances. And R2P – a norm agreed upon by global powers at the United Nations 2005 World Summit – compels the international community to respond if a country fails to protect its citizens from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity.
Russia agreed to the principles of R2P at the summit, and cited R2P during its campaign in Georgia in 2008.

Cameron reportedly pushing Obama toward Syria strike

The report by The Times of London, which was unsourced, came as US and Western leaders have increasingly placed blame on the regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad for a devastating alleged chemical attack that killed hundreds near Damascus last week.
According to the paper, Cameron wants to act while outrage over the chemical attack is still fresh.

UK: Action over Syria possible without UN unity

Hague accused the Security Council of “not shouldering its responsibilities” over the Syria crisis, saying disagreements among the five members have prevented any action over Syria for too long.
“Is it possible to respond to chemical weapons without complete unity in the UN Security Council? I would argue yes it is,” Hague said an interview with the BBC.

Turkey says it would join coalition against Syria

“We always prioritize acting together with the international community, with United Nations decisions,” Davutoglu told the Turkish daily Milliyet, Reuters reported. “If such a decision doesn’t emerge from the UN Security Council, other alternatives… would come onto the agenda.”
Davutoglu said that dozens of countries are currently discussing possibles responses. “If a coalition is formed against Syria in this process, Turkey would take its place in this coalition,” he said.

Western military intervention doomed, Assad vows

Western military intervention into Syria would only end in failure, Syrian President Bashar Assad said on Monday in an extensive interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia, in which he dismissed allegations of chemical weapons use by his government.
If America decided to intervene the Syrian civil war, it would meet “what it has been confronted with in every war since Vietnam… failure,” Assad said, according to a translation provided by the Syria state news agency.

Lebanese mufti: Hezbollah destroys Syria, Lebanon for Israel

Mufti of the Lebanese Mountain Sheikh Muhammad Ali al-Juzo addressed the double attack in Tripoli over the past weekend, in which more than 40 people were killed, and fiercely criticized Hezbollah.
"Hassan Nasrallah insists on taking on his adventures at the expense of the Lebanese people," the Sunni Sheikh said, and added that "Israel can rest since Hezbollah is destroying Lebanon and Syria for her with its involvement in the (Syrian) civil war."

Hezbollah-Hamas Relationship Strained

According to a report published on the Iran-based Tabnak news site, Hezbollah and the Lebanese intelligence are accusing Hamas members of taking part in a string of recent attacks in the country. These include the Aug. 15 car bomb explosion in southern Beirut that killed 22 people and injured hundreds more, as well as the firing of Grad missiles towards Lebanon.

Among many Egyptians, a dramatic shift in favor of the military

Like many Egyptians, [Hassan] Hosny blames the Brotherhood for the violence that has convulsed his country since the coup. “Most of the people believe the police and military are standing by the people’s side,” he said.
The military has portrayed its takeover as a bold stroke to save the country from terrorism. But the public’s rejection of Morsi is rooted in the wildly high hopes that ordinary Egyptians had for the Arab Spring — and their bitterness at how democracy failed to deliver jobs or social justice.

Israel an obstacle to Arab democracy, Egyptian strongman wrote

According to Sissi, “The fact that Israel reflects a Western interest raises suspicion among Arabs about the true nature of democracy.” The Egyptian general did not explain how Israel’s existence cast doubt on the notion of democracy, but asserted that it would “slow the emergence of democracy in the Middle East.”
Conflicts in areas such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel must be resolved before democracy can be “fully accepted” by people in the region, he added.
Democracy, Sissi claimed in 2006, was closely related in the minds of Arabs to the economic interests of the United States, and was therefore ill-received. For democracy to take root in the Middle East, it must reflect local culture and show more respect for local values, namely Islam, he said.

Muslim Brotherhood leader Gomaa Amin is in hiding in London

Gomaa Amin is understood to have been made head of the Islamist organisation last week following the arrest of his predecessor in Cairo by Egypt’s military rulers.
Mr Amin, 79, had flown to London about two months ago for medical treatment and as a result escaped detention when the army seized power in a bloody coup.
He is now residing at an undisclosed address from which he is trying to orchestrate the Muslim Brotherhood’s response to the coup.
The presence of Mr Amin in London is a potential headache for British authorities who may be obliged to provide protection for such a senior and controversial figure.

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