March 2012 Archives

Court rejects Migron deal; orders evacuation by August 1

In dramatic ruling, High Court justices reject request to delay voluntary evacuation of outpost built on private Palestinian land until 2015. Petitioners’ attorney: Court showed no one is above the law

The High Court of Justice rejected on Sunday the compromise agreement reached between the State and the residents of the Migron outpost in the West Bank.

The judges, headed by Supreme Court President Asher Grunis, ruled that the outpost must be evacuated by August 1. The annulled compromise deal stated that the outpost’s residents would voluntarily relocate to state-owned land situated on a nearby hill within three-and-a-half years

In its ruling, the court chastised the State for failing to evacuate Migron. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Migron

Israel Warns Neighbors Over March to Jerusalem

Israel warns neighbors that it will forcefully respond to attempted breaches of its borders during the ‘Global March to Jerusalem’.

As activists are planning to lead a Global March to Jerusalem next Friday, Israel has warned neighboring countries that it would forcefully respond to attempted breaches of its borders.

The Global March to Jerusalem initiative aims at getting over one million Arabs and their supporters to attempt to infiltrate Israel’s borders on March 30^th. A spokesman for the march said last week the initiative “demand[s] freedom for Palestine and its capital Jerusalem.”

Jerusalem, Wailing Wall Plaza

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC) has presented information that Iran is behind the initiative and openly supports it. Continue Reading »

Hamas: PA using Gaza fuel crisis to incite

PA denies charges that West Bank leadership had asked the Egyptians to cut off fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian Authority is exploiting the severe fuel crisis in the Gaza Strip to incite Palestinians against Hamas, the Islamist movement charged Saturday.

The allegation is a sign of renewed tensions between the two Palestinian parties in light of their failure to implement the recent Qatari-brokered reconciliation agreement that was signed between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal.

The fuel crisis has forced the only power plant in the Gaza Strip to cut off electricity for several hours every day. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Egypt, hamas, PA

A Jew-free Europe

Op-ed: The ongoing process of Jews leaving European continent is tragic but unavoidable

The Jews of Europe are once again in grave danger, while anti-Semitism has become the common currency of politics in many European countries.

Seventy years after the Holocaust, a pogrom took place in Toulouse, one of the most pleasant French cities. An Israeli rabbi and three Jewish children were executed during a killing spree. Four Jews “returned” to Israelin a coffin.

The question we face at this time is as follows: will the Jews have a place in the New Europe? Or will the remnant of European Jewry flee once again? Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: Europe

Economic distress, not ideological fervor, is behind Sinai’s terror boom

When looking for the motivation behind the 13 explosions that hit the gas line connecting Egypt and Israel, it’s too easy to blame al-Qaida.

Egyptian security forces breathed a sigh of relief twice this week. Once after Bedouin from the Rafah region agreed to lift the siege of the military base used by international peacekeepers in Sinai, and another time after Bedouin from Nuweiba “agreed” to release a Czech woman who was taken hostage while acting as a tour guide to a group of 15 Czech tourists who were on their way to Sharm el-Sheikh.

The three previous abductions, of U.S., Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: Egypt, Egyptian Beduin, gas

FBI — Most Wanted Terrorists

The alleged terrorists on this list have been indicted by sitting Federal Grand Juries in various jurisdictions in the United States for the crimes reflected on their wanted posters. Evidence was gathered and presented to the Grand Juries, which led to their being charged. The indictments currently listed on the posters allow them to be arrested and brought to justice. Future indictments may be handed down as various investigations proceed in connection to other terrorist incidents, for example, the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

The Rewards for Justice program, administered by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security, offers rewards for information leading to the arrest of many of these terrorists.

Category: Jewish News | Tags: terrorists

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Borat anthem played by mistake at medals ceremony

Gold medalist Dmitrienko listens solemnly to fake anthem after Kuwaiti organizers mistakenly download wrong version.

Kazakhstan’s shooting team demanded an apology after a spoof national anthem from the comedy film Borat was played instead of the real one at a medal ceremony in Kuwait, the BBC reported on Friday.

The team’s coach told Kazakh media the organizers of the Kuwait tournament had downloaded the parody from the internet by mistake and had also got the Serbian national anthem wrong.

Footage of Thursday’s original ceremony shows gold medalist Maria Dmitrienko listening solemnly to the anthem before smiling. The ceremony was later rerun. Continue Reading »

Category: Jewish News | Tags: Kuwait

Report: ‘Land Day’ march to reach Beaufort Castle

Sources claim Lebanese branch of ‘Universal Jerusalem March’ planned for Friday will refrain from Israeli border to avoid clashes with Israeli authorities

The Lebanese branch of the “Universal Jerusalem March,” also known as “Land Day,” planned for Friday will only reach Beaufort fortress in southern Lebanon instead of heading to the Israeli-Lebanese border as previously reported, Sources close to the march told “The Daily Star” on Saturday.

According to the sources, the route was changed to avoid any clashes with Israeli authorities along the border. The organizers said they estimate some 30,000 protesters will participate in the march on Friday. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Lebanon

Report: Iran planned to bomb Israeli ship in Suez Canal

Egyptian paper Al-Ahram reports that two Egyptian citizens received instructions from Iranian agents to attack an Israeli ship, and offered a third man 50 million Egyptian pounds to carry out the act.

Iran had planned to bomb an Israeli ship while it crossed the Suez Canal, the prosecution in Egypt’s state security court said, the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram reported on Saturday.

According to the report, two Egyptians were recently arrested and investigated for allegedly planning an attack on an Israeli ship in the Suez Canal.

The investigation of the two found that they had received their instructions from Iranian agents, and that the two asked a third person, by the name of Mohamed Zakri, to carry out the act in exchange for 50 million Egyptian pounds.

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: Egypt, Gaza, Hezbollah, Iran

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US Blames Israel for Endangered Americans in PA

The US blamed Israel for endangered American citizens in the PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria in a travel warning issued Friday.

The United States bluntly told its citizens it is risky to travel to “Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip,” citing “threats to themselves and the U.S. interests in those locations.”

Although the U.S. trained and equipped the Palestinian Authority’s military police force several years ago – which “resulted in a marked decrease in violence in recent years” – the State Department nevertheless warned that Americans would still not be safe there.

One year ago, PA police gunned down a group of Israelis who were visiting the Tomb of the Prophet Joseph near Shechem, killing one and wounding four others. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Palestinian Authority Police, State Department, US Embassy

Is desalination the solution for Israel’s water problems? Depends who you ask

Desalination systems account for a fifth of the freshwater used in Israel and, according to existing plans, by the end of the decade that amount will be doubled.

Increasing desalination can improve water quality and save the economy some NIS 500 million a year, according to a new survey commissioned by the Israel Water Authority. Experts from the Environmental Protection Ministry, however, believe desalination plants’ costs outweigh their benefits.

Desalination systems account for a fifth of the freshwater used in Israel and, according to existing plans, by the end of the decade that amount will be doubled. Recently the Water Authority commissioned an economical value survey through Adan Technical & Economic Services.

Category: Innovations & Discoveries, Israel News | Tags: water technology

Tunisia’s Secular Opposition Uniting Against Islamists

Five months after an Islamist-led coalition came to power in Tunisia, the country’s fractious opposition is working to unite and fight for a secular state.

Tunisia

The numerous opposition parties in Tunisia’s parliament are merging into bigger blocs in hopes of mounting a challenge to the ruling Islamist party, Ennahda.

Ennahda and its coalition partners – the Congress for the Republic and Ettakatol – won up most of the votes in the October 23 election that followed nine months after dictator Zine el Abidine Ben Ali’s ouster.

Several leftist and liberal groups have already announced they were planning to merge, such as the Ettajdid movement, the Labour Party and the Democratic Modernist Pole. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Tunisia

Fuel crosses from Israel to ease Gaza fuel crisis

Delivery of around 450,000 liters of diesel is the first to Gaza’s only power station coming via Israel in almost a year, due to Hamas resistance; energy crisis triggered by Hamas-Egypt dispute.

Israel allowed nine fuel tankers to cross into the Gaza Strip on Friday to ease a severe power shortage triggered by a dispute over supplies between Egypt and Hamas.

The delivery of around 450,000 liters of industrial diesel was the first to Gaza’s only power station coming via Israel in almost a year after Hamas softened on its resistance to accepting supplies from its Jewish neighbor.

The fuel is enough to power the plant, which serves two thirds of Gaza’s population, for one day, an official from Gaza’s energy authority said.

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: fuel, Gaza, hamas

Madonna adds second ‘Concert for Peace’ in Tel Aviv

Queen of pop sets additional concert date in Israel to kick off her international tour; says concert will ‘honor peace efforts in Middle East, help people come together’

The timeless queen of pop announced Wednesday that she would be giving a second show in Israel on May 31 for a special cause. Madonna has dubbed this new show a “Concert for Peace,” and has invited several organizations that are working for peace in the Middle East to attend.

Madonna

“Music is so universal and if there’s any chance that through my performance I can bring further attention and enlightenment to honor the peace efforts in the Middle East and help people come together, it would be an honor for me,” Madonna said in a statement posted on her fan club website. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: Madonna