Archive for April 28, 2013

Russia Reports: Boston Bombers’ Mom Told Son: ‘Go to Palestine’

Terrorist’s mom denied that her sons were involved in Islamic terrorism, saying her sons are being framed by U.S. security officials.

By JTA

 

The mother of the alleged Boston Marathon bombers spoke with her older son about going to “Palestine.”

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva - Screenshot from The Guardian video

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva – Screenshot from The Guardian video

Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, in a telephone conversation from Russia with her older son Tamerlan, suggested that he go to Palestine during a discussion about jihad, the Associated Press reported. The Russian security service intercepted the phone conversation, according to the news service.

Russian officials told the FBI in early 2011 that they believed Tamerlan, 26, and his mother were religious extremists. Continue Reading »

Seeing the connection: Hezbollah, or Iran’s int’l plots of carnage

Numerous foiled European operations may stand as “tipping point” for EU to finally include Hezbollah on terrorism blacklist.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT

 

 

 

As the European Union grapples with a ban of the Lebanese Shi’ite organization Hezbollah within its territory, reports emerged last week of foiled Iranian and Hezbollah terror and criminal plots against targets spanning Bulgaria, Nepal, Canada and the US.

ZAKA man examines damage in Burgas

ZAKA man examines damage in Burgas – Photo: Avigdor Shatran

Will the mushrooming patchwork of global terrorism push the EU to include Hezbollah in its terror list? An EU designation could deal a one-two punch to the Lebanese group and its chief proxy Iran.

Continue Reading »

Video: Israeli supporters of a Palestinian village

 

Jewish volunteers from Jerusalem help their Arab neighbors from al-Walaja create a better life for themselves.

Resident: It helps our children distinguish between our ‘oppressors’ and allies.

By NTD Television

The Palestinian village of al-Walaja was re-established after the War of Independence in 1948 on a mountain ridge overlooking the remnants of the original village abandoned in Israel.

Construction of West Bank barrier (archives) Photo Reuters

Construction of West Bank barrier (archives) – Photo: Reuters

As attacks on Israel increased, a military embargo followed, making life harder for the villagers. The Israeli West Bank security barrier being built will isolate the village from Jerusalem and separate the residents from their farmland. Continue Reading »

New Israeli banknotes raise Ashkenazi-Sephardi friction

The Bank of Israel presents a new set of bills amid accusations of cultural discrimination, that feature the likenesses of only famous Ashkenazi poets.

 

The cabinet authorized on Sunday the issuance of newly designed paper money for NIS 50 and NIS 200 notes.

A stack of shekel bills.

A stack of shekel bills. – Photo: Moti Kimche

The new bills are to enter circulation at the end of 2013. Their designs feature the likenesses of famous Hebrew poets. Criticism has been aired at the selection of the poets, who are all Ashkenazi Jews.

According to the plan that Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer presented to the cabinet, Shaul Tchernichovsky is to feature on the new NIS 50 note, which will be green. Continue Reading »

Israel Air Force Strikes Terrorist’s Targets in Gaza

IAF aircraft destroy a weapons storage site & a terror facility in southern Gaza.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

IAF aircraft struck a terror facility and a weapons storage site in southern Gaza on Saturday night.

The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said in a statement that direct hits at the targets were identified. All Israeli aircraft returned to their bases safely.

The attack came in response to the recent escalation in rocket attacks from Gaza at southern Israel, said the statement, which stressed that the IDF will not tolerate any attempt to harm Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers and the IDF does not intend to allow a return to the reality that existed before Operation Pillar of Defense. Continue Reading »

Bosnia: 2 Iranian diplomats expelled for violating diplomatic rules

Bosnian Minister of Security declares 2 Iranian embassy secretaries “persona non grata” and must exit country.  

Israeli intelligence officials had tracked  them in Thailand, Georgia & India – all the places where Israeli citizens have been attacked in the past year.

 

 

The government of Bosnia ordered two Iranian diplomats to leave the Balkan country by the end of the month because they violated diplomatic protocol.

Police investigate site of blast in Bangkok

Police investigate site of blast in Bangkok – Photo: REUTERS

A Serbian-language paper in Sarajevo, Voice of Serbia, reported on Friday that Bosnia’s Security Ministry sent a request to the Foreign Ministry to expel the second- and third-ranking diplomats at the Iranian Embassy in Sarajevo. Continue Reading »

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Behind Downed Drone

IDF believes Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah’s patrons, was behind UAV launch  which penetrated Israeli air space Thursday only to be downed by Israel Air Force.

By Yoav Zitun

 

 

Assessments that Iran is behind the launch of the unmanned drone into Israel airspace Thursday is gaining popularity among Israel’s senior military and political echelons.

ספינות חיל הים מחפשות אחר שברי המל"ט בצהריים (צילום: עידו ארז)

Navy vessels search for wreckage near Haifa – Photo: Ido Erez

According to current assessments, the drone, which was downed by an IAF F-16 jet a few kilometers west of Haifa’s shore line, was sent by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, in contradiction to previous assessments that Hezbollah was behind the launch. Continue Reading »

UN a “major disappointment”, Has Inverted Right and Wrong

Human rights scholar Anne Bayefsky, “It’s time to re-think the United Nations, which turns Israel into a villain.”

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

The United Nations has been a “major disappointment” in the 21st Century and has “inverted right and wrong,” human rights scholar and activist Anne Bayefsky tells Arutz Sheva in a special interview.

Anne Bayefsky is a barrister and solicitor of the Ontario Bar & a human rights scholar and activist.

The UN “was founded in the middle of the 20th Century to offer a new world order based on peace and security and protection of human rights, and it has inverted right and wrong so that Israel becomes the villain and the victims become those who are some of the most intolerant people in the region,” said Bayefsky. Continue Reading »

No criminal charges against Israelis as Flotilla deal becomes Turkish law

Israel-Turkey agreement will become binding int’l treaty once approved by the Turkish gov’t & parliament.

Turkish paper reports Israel also to compensate 70 Turkish citizens injured aboard the Marmara.

 

The agreement between Israel and Turkey over reparations to the Gaza flotilla victims’ families is slated to be brought before Turkey’s parliament in Ankara for approval. According to senior Israeli officials, once it passes, the agreement will be legislated into a law that will prevent Turkish citizens from filing of criminal charges against Israel Defense Forces soldiers and officers involved in the Gaza flotilla incident.

Pro-Palestinian activists wave Turkish and Palestinian flags welcoming the Marmara.

Pro-Palestinian activists wave Turkish and Palestinian flags during the welcoming ceremony for cruise liner Mavi Marmara at the Sarayburnu port of Istanbul December 26, 2010.

Continue Reading »

Israel Aerospace Industries to Produce F-35 Wings

Israel is once again taking part in assembling some of the most advanced aircraft in the world.

By IAI

 

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed a contract with Lockheed Martin to produce wings for the F-35 fighter. IAI will begin delivering the F-35 wings in 2015. The contract’s duration is for about 10-15 years, with potential sales reaching $2.5 billion.

Mr. Yosef Melamed and Mr. Yung Le at the foundation stone laying ceremony held at IAI

The contract marks a key milestone in the existing F-35 cooperation between IAI and Lockheed Martin. Both companies recently began assembling an F-35 wing production line, with IAI investing in the required advanced systems and technologies. Continue Reading »

Bulgarian gov’t conducts reenactment of Burgas terrorist bombing

Bulgarian authorities hope to acquire some answers from the execution of the Hezbollah terror attack that claimed the lives of 5 Israelis last July.

By Ynet

Sappers and teams of the fire department examined the area, so as to ascertain whether the damages are identical to those of the bombing attack at the Sarafovo Airport. Bulgarian authorities conducted a reenactment of the Burgas bus bombing which claimed the lives of five Israelis and a Bulgarian bus driver last July, Bulgaria‘s state radio reported Friday. The two suspects, Hezbollah operatives, are still at large.

הציבו בובות כדי לדמות את הנפגעים. השחזור, הבוקר (צילום: AFP)

Reenactment of bombing – Photo: AFP

Dummies were placed inside and around the buses with maximum precision, following thorough examinations of security cameras and witness accounts, it was reported. Continue Reading »

U.S. President: Syrian gov’t use of chemical weapons a ‘game changer’

In a White House meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Obama says ‘We cannot stand by and permit the systematic use of weapons like chemical weapons on civilian populations.’

By Reuters

 

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday that the deployment of chemical weapons by the Syrian government was a “game changer” while noting that intelligence assessments proving that such weapons had been used were still preliminary.

 

Obama and King Abdullah - AP - April 26, 2013

U.S. President Barack Obama listens to Jordan’s King Abdullah II during their meeting – Photo: AP

 

“Horrific as it is when mortars are being fired on civilians and people are being indiscriminately killed, to use potential weapons of mass destruction on civilian populations crosses another line with respect to international norms and international law,” Obama told reporters at the White House. Continue Reading »

Lebanese Army Strengthens its Presence on Lebanon-Israel border

The day after Israel shot down a UAV, the Lebanese gov’t increases its military presence along their border with Israel.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

The Lebanese army has increased its presence along the Lebanon-Israel border, the official Lebanese National News Agency reported on Friday.

A Lebanese soldier looks at an Israeli army patrol across the border - Photo AP

A Lebanese soldier looks at an Israeli army patrol across the border – Photo: AP

 

According to the report, the IDF increased its presence along the border as well, and IAF aircraft were seen flying over Lebanese territory.

The news comes a day after an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) penetrated Israeli air space from Lebanon. Continue Reading »

Arabs’ Standard of living in Israel is in a ‘different league’

Article carried by Arab media, Al Arabiya, highlighted Bedouin soldiers of the Jewish state.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Continuing with the theme of debunking accusations that Israel imposes institutional racism and apartheid on the Arabs of the region is a story by the AFP on a senior Bedouin tracker in the Israeli army.

Standard of living for Arabs in Israel in a 'different league'

IDF training – Photo courtesy IDF Spokesperson’s Office

 

Lt.-Col. Magdi Mazarib, the highest ranking Israeli Bedouin army tracker, is featured in the story. He tells the news agency that compared with neighboring countries, the status and position of Arabs in Israel “is better…It’s a different league.” Continue Reading »

Hezbollah’s Media Machine

The media has not paid attention to credible political attacks on Hezbollah by Sunni elements in Lebanon. Questions are being asked about Hezbollah’s military force and whether the group is more loyal to outside entities than it is to Lebanon.

By Yoav Limor

The conventional wisdom in the Israeli defense establishment on Thursday night was that Hezbollah’s launch of a drone into Israel earlier in the day was a sign of the group’s distress. Hezbollah has been facing growing criticism for its military involvement in the Syrian civil war and the drone launch was meant to divert attention from that and serve as a reminder to those who have forgotten that Hezbollah is “Lebanon’s shield.”

Continue Reading »