Archive for August 5, 2012

Israel bars five foreign ministers from meeting Abbas in Ramallah

Only the 7 foreign ministers of countries with ties to Israel will be allowed to attend meeting of Non-Aligned Bloc called by PA President Abbas to discuss renewed statehood bid at the UN.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas [file photo]

PA President Mahmoud Abbas
Photo: Luis Galdamez / Reuters

Israel will allow through its gates the foreign ministers of seven countries that have ties with Israel making their way to an emergency meeting Sunday of the ‘Palestine Committee’ of the Non-Aligned Movement in Ramallah, but not those foreign ministers from countries without ties with Israel.

Government officials said a decision was made Sunday to allow the foreign ministers of Egypt, India, Colombia, South Africa, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe to attend the conference.

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Netanyahu: Even if US attacks Iran, Israel won’t be spared

In closed talks, PM says missiles will be fired at Israel even if US strikes Iran, and thinks the likelihood of a US strike is small

Itamar Eichner

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in closed talks over the weekend that a United States strike on Iran will not necessarily minimize the chances of a missile attack on Israel, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Sunday.

“I would prefer that the US attack Iran, but the likelihood of that is small,” he said. “In any case – even if the US attacks, missiles will be fired at Israel.”

This scenario is not as grave as the possibility that Iran obtains a nuclear weapon, he said. Continue Reading »

Isreali Ambassador: Palestinians have ‘guaranteed majority’ for UN membership

Amb. Prosor tells radio stations that PA will likely receive non-member observer status, and says: ‘Nothing will change on the ground’

By Reuters

 

The Palestinians’ bid to upgrade their status at the United Nations would find majority support there but would not bring them closer to statehood and peace with Israel, Israel’s UN envoy said on Sunday.

Prosor - David Bachar - February 2011

Isreali Ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor.- Photo: David Bachar

Citing stalled peacemaking and Israeli settlement-building on occupied West Bank land where they seek sovereign independence, the Palestinians said on Saturday they would renew a bid to win UN.recognition as a state.

Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, accused the Palestinians of trying to recapture international attention that has shifted to crises in Iran, Egypt and Syria. Continue Reading »

As War Looms, Israel Upgrades its Missile Shield

Israel Defense Official: Anticipating an attack by Iran & Syria , Israel is upgrading its US-backed Arrow Missile Shield

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Israel is racing against an attack by Iran and Syria and is upgrading its

An Arrow anti-ballistic defense battery.

An Arrow anti-ballistic defense battery.

US-backed Arrow missile shield in the wake of a possible a chemical weapon attack from Syria, a defense official told Reuters Sunday.

An experiment on the Arrow

An experiment on the Arrow
Israel news photo: IDF spokesman

The new “Block 4” generation of guided interceptor rockets, radars and technologies for synchronizing Arrow with U.S. systems was being installed in deployed Israeli batteries, a process that would take several weeks, the official told the news agency. Continue Reading »

Palestinians to seek UN statehood bid at General Assembly

Palestinian FM Riyad al-Malki says Palestine will seek status of non-member observer state during next UN General Assembly, a move that will allow them to join UN agencies & Int’l Criminal Court

 

By Reuters

 

The Palestinians will next month renew a bid to upgrade their status at the United Nations, their foreign minister said on Saturday, a move which could strengthen their statehood claims after talks with Israel stalled.

Riyad al-Malki Photo: AFP

FM Riyad al-Malki
Photo: AFP

Palestinians are listed as a UN observer “entity” with no voting rights. They will ask to be made a non-member observer state at the UN General Assembly on Sept. Continue Reading »

IDF Stops Syrian Infiltration on Northern Border

IDF soldiers intercept a Syrian man while infiltrating the Golan. Commanders believe infiltrator was planning attack.

By Maayana Miskin

 

A Syrian man attempted to infiltrate northern Israel on Saturday. The man disguised himself as a shepherd in order to get close to the border fence, then attempted to cut through the fence.

Soldiers spotted the man and fired warning shots. When the man did not respond, they fired at his legs.

The would-be infiltrator was hit. He was taken for medical care in Syria, and his condition is not clear.

IDF commanders believe the man planned to either carry out a terrorist attack or gather information in preparation for an attack. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Beilinson Hospital transplants record 30 corneas

Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus report that Cornea transplants take place 3 times more than past monthly average.

 

Thirty people received corneas at the Rabin Medical Center-Beilinson Campus in July to restore or improve their sight – a record three times the monthly average.

Eye examination - Photo: Courtesy Rabin Medical Center

Eye examination – Photo: Courtesy Rabin Medical Center

The corneas came from deceased Israelis who had ADI organ donor cards or whose close relatives had given their permission, or from abroad.

Prof. Irit Bechar, head of the cornea service at the Petah Tikva hospital, said that the number of donations and operations was unprecedented. Continue Reading »

Syrian Rebels report: Iranian snipers in Syria aiding Assad

Syrian rebel leader: Over 3,000 Iranian snipers have arrived in Damascus to join Assad’s regime, & claims army can no longer trust local troops.

By Roi Kais

 

Over the past few weeks more than 3,000 Iranian snipers have arrived in Damascus to aid the forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Al-Arabiya reported, citing a leader of one of the rebel groups operating in the civil war-torn country.

The head of the Joint Military Council, one of the groups fighting to maintain control of the city of Aleppo, told the Dubai-based television network that the Syrian army no longer trusts its local troops, who are now considered potential defectors. Continue Reading »

21 dead in Damascus’ Palestinian refugee camp after being hit by mortar shells

Unclear if Palestinians were fired on by Assad’s forces or opposition, says Syrian activists.

 

 

Mortar shells rained down on a crowded marketplace in a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital, killing 21 people as regime forces and rebels clashed on the southern outskirts of Damascus, activists said Friday.

Shelling in Homs, Syria.

Shelling in Homs, Syria. – Photo by AP

The Britain-based Syria Observatory for Human Rights, which reported the deaths, said the shells hit Yarmouk camp Thursday as shoppers were buying food for the evening meal. The activists would not speculate on who was firing.

“We don’t know where the mortars came from, whether they were from the Syrian regime or not the Syrian regime,” said Rami Abdul Rahman, director of the Observatory. Continue Reading »

Prosor Impugns Syria’s Veracity in Fiery UN Speech

Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the UN,  fiercely attacks Syria and its ambassador’s truthfulness in a speech to the General Assembly.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, fiercely attacked Syria and the Syrian ambassador to the UN during a speech to the General Assembly on Friday.

Prosor accused Syrian President Bashar Assad’s ambassador of spreading lies and hiding the reality that takes place in Syria.

Referring to the issue of the chemical weapons being held by the Syrian regime, Prosor said, “A leader who brutally slaughters children today will not hesitate to use chemical weapons against them tomorrow.” Continue Reading »

As some Israeli cities demonstrate, all that glitters is not always green

Some ‘Green Cities’ make it on to the good list because of their parks, but the residents’ high standard of living demonstrate they consume a great deal of resources.

 

 

Europe did it this summer, and so did Israel.

But just because cities are regularly ranked based on how environmentally friendly they are, that doesn’t mean the chosen cities are always quite as green as they may seem.

Park Hayarkon

Park Hayarkon from above. – Photo by Tal Cohen

Environmental experts say that while some of these cities make it on to the good list because of their parks and public transportation, their residents’ high standard of living means they continue to exploit and consume a great deal of resources and create a lot of waste.

Continue Reading »

Defense Report: America’s Attack Plans for Iran

An Israeli newspaper says American officials shared their country’s military plans for hitting Iran’s nuclear program.

By Maayana Miskin

 

United States Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was in Israel this week to talk with Israeli leaders about Iran’s nuclear program. Now the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot is reporting that Panetta shared America’s contingency plan in case talks with Iran fail to halt its nuclear program.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta

Panetta may have shared the plan to assuage Israeli leaders’ concerns that the United States is putting undue confidence in the efficacy of sanctions.

The plan would reportedly be put into effect only in one and a half years. Continue Reading »

IOC President Rogge faces ridicule at upcoming memorial service for murdered Israelis

Int’l Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge faces being blasted at a memorial service by community leaders & the families of the 11 Israelis butchered by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Olympics.

By Marcus Dysch and Anshel Pfeffer

 

 

Rogge is due to speak at the Guildhall event in central London on Monday evening, but his refusal to grant a minute’s silence in memory of the murdered athletes at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony has enraged the victims’ widows.

IOC President Jacques Rogge

IOC President Jacques Rogge

The Anglo-Jewish co-organizers of the event also admitted they faced a “dilemma”. Mr Rogge was invited to the ceremony earlier this year by the Israeli Olympic Committee, but his stance over the 1972 massacre has since infuriated Jewish communities worldwide. Continue Reading »

Jerusalem ‘angry’ at Mahmoud Abbas’ failure to reciprocate any goodwill

Internal government memo says PA President Abbas “unable to enter into negotiations that will require concessions.” Continues at ‘Israel-bashing’.

By HERB KEINON

 

The Palestinian failure to respond positively to a series of recent Israeli goodwill gestures shows that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is “unable to enter into negotiations that will require concessions,” according to an internal government memo made known to The Jerusalem Post.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas - Photo: Luis Galdamez/Reuters

PA President Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Luis Galdamez/Reuters

The memo, according to senior government officials, reflects “anger in Jerusalem” over the PA’s recent behavior.

“It appears that despite a series of steps taken by Israel, the Palestinian Authority nevertheless continues in a very negative pattern of behavior,” one official said.

Continue Reading »

Here’s How Obama’s Jewish margin in Florida could be decisive

According to Florida polls, Obama is losing support from Jewish voters; may even lose state to Romney in 2012 election. Romney campaign advisor says, ‘Jewish voters, like all voters, have been impacted by still-struggling economy,’

By Reuters

 

Selma and Kenneth Furst were among the hundreds of thousands of Florida’s Jewish voters who helped put Barack Obama in the White House four years ago.

This time out, the Fursts are still solidly behind the president, but they aren’t so sure about some of their Jewish neighbors and friends.

“It’s a hard decision, for people to make up their minds,” said Selma Furst, 91, who lives in a condo community in Tamarac, a city of 60,000 near Fort Lauderdale, with her husband, Kenneth, 94. Continue Reading »