Archive for May 13, 2013

IDF tells High Court: Phosphorous shells use only in 2 exceptional cases

Yesh Gvul contends IDF’s  use of phosphorous shells in 2009 Gaza op was ‘illegal & immoral’

 

IDF answers petition to High Court saying will use incendiary munitions in urban areas only in ‘extreme cases.’ 

By Aviel Magnezi

 

The IDF will refrain from using white phosphorous shells in populated areas, the State informed the High Court of Justice on Monday in response to a petition filed by human rights groups asking to ban the incendiary munitions.

White Phosphorus (WP) - YouYube screenshot

White Phosphorus (WP) – YouYube screenshot

However, the army said it would continue to use the shells in two exceptional cases, which were specified to the court behind closed doors. Continue Reading »

‘Typical’ or ‘Crazy’ to have Iran Head of UN Disarmament Panel?

Iran’s upcoming status as head of the UN disarmament body sparked protest Monday from the NGO, UN Watch.

By Arutz 7 Staff

 

Iran’s looming status as head of a UN disarmament body sparked outrage Monday from campaigners who said its nuclear program and arming of Syria and Islamist militias disqualified it from a place at the table. “This is like putting Jack the Ripper in charge of a women’s shelter,” said Hillel Neuer, head of Geneva-based UN Watch, announcing that the organization would organize protest events involving Iranian dissidents.

UN General Assembly

The leadership of the UN Conference on Disarmament rotates automatically in alphabetical order among its 65 member nations, and Iran is scheduled to take the helm on May 27 for a session running until June 23. Continue Reading »

Russian warship docks in Haifa for 1st time

Russian Crew & orchestra to honor Israel with a Victory Day concert.

‘Moscow now sees that Israel is the most stable & reliable ally in the region’

By Yossi Aloni

 

For the first time since the establishment of the State of Israel, a Russian warship docked at the port city of Haifa earlier this month. The “Azov” of Russian’s Black Sea Fleet came to Israel at the request of the Association of Russian War Veterans to help celebrate the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.

Russian warship “Azov” of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, docks in Israel for first time

Jewish veterans of the Red Army who later immigrated to Israel were invited to participate in a ceremony aboard the massive ship. Continue Reading »

1,500 year-old mosaic unearthed near Kibbutz Beit Kama

The 15 century old mosaic, preserved in good condition & traced to between the 4th & 5th centuries C.E., “is unique due to the large number of motifs incorporated together,” says Dr. Yigal Yisrael from the Israel Antiquities Authority.

By Yori Yalon

A splendidly colorful mosaic, some 1,500 years old, was discovered recently in an open field near Kibbutz Beit Kama, located in the Bnei Shimon Region Council in the northern Negev.

Continue Reading »

Syria tells Israel it may enter Golan at any time

Syrian Information Minister: “We have the right to go in and out of it whenever we want and however we please.”

JERUSALEM — A Syrian government official warned that his country can enter the Israeli-held Golan Heights at any time.

UNDOF soldiers watching for rebel fighters who've infiltrated the Golan Heights DMZ - Photo Israel Today

UNDOF soldiers watching for rebel fighters who’ve infiltrated the Golan Heights DMZ – Photo Israel Today

“The Golan is Syrian Arab territory and will remain so, even if the Israeli army is stationed there,” Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Sunday at a news conference in Damascus. “We have the right to go in and out of it whenever we want and however we please.”

Continue Reading »

East Jerusalem building plan delayed for political considerations

Construction bidding for 1,500 housing units for the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood has been delayed for 3 weeks

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Tenders to build 1,500 units in the Ramat Shlomo neighborhood of east Jerusalem have been delayed by at least three weeks, despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s announcement last week that there was no change in policy on settlement building in the area, Army Radio reported Monday.

JERUSALEM’S RAMAT SHLOMO neighborhood.

JERUSALEM’S RAMAT SHLOMO neighborhood.
Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski/The Jerusalem Post

Ramat Shlomo is one of five Jerusalem ring neighborhoods, along with Gilo, Ramot, Pisgat Zev, and East Talpiyot, which are located across the 1967 Green Line. Continue Reading »

Everyone Blames Israel: Rebel leader says Israel wants Assad kept in power

Rebel militia

commander

 claims alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus were aimed at preventing weapons from falling into rebel hands.

 

He went on to says Jerusalem is cooperating with Iran & Hezbollah to keep Assad in power.

By Ynet

 

 

The commander of a Syrian rebel militia is claiming that the alleged Israeli airstrikes in Damascus were meant to prevent rebels from seizing Assad’s weapons caches, Turkey’s Today Zaman reported Sunday.

 SA 17

Abdul Qader Saleh, commander of the Al-Tawhid Brigade, told the Turkish news agency Cihan that Bashar Assad‘s regime has in fact already been defeated and that Iran and Hezbollah , with Israel’s backing, are preventing his downfall. Continue Reading »

Diplomat Says Accepting ‘Arab League Initiative’ is Suicide

Ambassador Ettinger says the Arab “peace plan” is in fact a ‘honey trap’ and  anyone who favors it, has forgotten the lessons of Oslo.

By Gil Ronen

The so-called “Arab initiative” or “Arab League peace plan” that has been gaining currency in recent months is “a recipe for Israel’s suicide,” according to Israel’s former representative in Washington, DC, Yoram Ettinger.

Ambassador Ettinger told Arutz Sheva that the plan is no more than “a honey trap” that misguidedly seeks to force reality to fit some people’s imaginings.

The Arab proposal, explained Ettinger, is based on UN Resolution 194, that favors the so called “right of return” of Arab “refugees” to Israel and would have Israel go back to indefensible 1949 Armistice lines. Continue Reading »

Families of those killed on the Mavi Marmara vow to press on with lawsuits

The families said that they would look to an int’l court claiming the Turkish judiciary did not properly perform its duties, if the trials are dropped in Turkey.

By JTA Staff

 

JERUSALEM–- Families of the Turkish nationals injured in Israel’s raid on the Mavi Marmara said they will sue Israeli soldiers and their commanders despite an agreement between Turkey and Israel.

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. – Photo: Reuters

Under the agreement, the families would receive up to 20 times the amount of compensation they are seeking in their civil lawsuits, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınc told the Turkish Daily Zaman, the news service reported Sunday.

Continue Reading »

Fatah accepts Arab League’s peace proposal

Fatah Central Council welcomes both the US & Arab League’s efforts to revive peace process.

But list of unreasonable preconditions demanded on Israel makes any initiative moot. 

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

 

The Fatah Central Council has accepted the Arab League’s latest proposal for land swaps with Israel.

A Palestinian shouts as he holds a Fatah flag at the funeral of terrorist Maissara Abu Hamdiyeh.

A Palestinian shouts as he holds a Fatah flag at the funeral of terrorist Maissara Abu Hamdiyeh. – Photo: Mussa Qawasma/Reuters

Following a meeting in Ramallah late Saturday, members of the council also welcomed US efforts to revive the peace process with Israel.

The announcement is seen as a boost for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has been facing criticism from some Fatah officials for supporting the land swap idea.

Continue Reading »

Abbas Warns Israel Over the Temple Mount

“Eastern Jerusalem is our capital city, Al-Aqsa belongs to us, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre belongs to us, and we will not accept [the Israelis’] harassment.” warns PA Chairman.

By Elad Benari

The Palestinian Authority on Sunday sent a warning to Israel, over what it calls its attempts to harm the  on the Temple Mount.

Mahmoud Abbas -  Photo Reuters

Mahmoud Abbas – Photo Reuters

Speaking during a meeting of the PLO’s Executive Committee, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas that it is impossible to hold back in the wake of what he called the attacks by Israel on the Al-Aqsa Mosque and PA Arabs in Judea and Samaria, in particular by local Jewish residents. Continue Reading »

Mistaken utterance, or did EU’s Ashton give Jews equal rights to pray in Jerusalem

Statement by EU high representative Ashton called for full religious freedom in Jerusalem while defending non-Jews.

Jews wonder if that also means allowing Jews the right to pray at their Most Holy site, the Temple Mount.

By Ryan Jones

 

Israel might have just scored European Union support for finally allowing Jews the right to pray atop Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, the holiest site in the world for Jews and many Christians.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton with Salam Fayyad - Reuters

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton with Salam Fayyad – Reuters

Whether or not it was her intent, EU High Representative Catherine Ashton on Friday issued a call for religious freedom in Jerusalem that by definition must also include Jewish access to the Temple Mount. Continue Reading »

‘Pallywood’ wants everyone to think Muhammad Al-Dura was really killed

Defense Minister Ya’alon convened a secret investigative unit that concluded Al-Dura had not been shot or hurt & that the France 2 video showing him shot at by IDF had been staged.

The committee’s findings will be made public in near future.

By BEN CASPIT

 

 

 

Does anybody remember Muhammad Al-Dura? He was the 12-year-old boy from Gaza who was allegedly killed by IDF fire during the Second Intifada as he crouched behind his father, Jamal, crying. He became the most potent symbol of the Palestinian struggle. His name can still be heard around the world even to this day.

Muhammad Al-Dura and his father in video shown on France 2.

Muhammad Al-Dura and his father in video shown on France 2.

Continue Reading »

Jimmy Carter urging the EU to label settlements products

Former Peanut Farmer calls on EU to condemn settlement expansion and label their products clearly.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

 

Former US president Jimmy Carter is pushing the European Union to implement a law forcing products coming out of the West Bank settlements to be labeled as such, according to a report in the Irish Times.
Former President Jimmy Carter - Photo by AP

Former President Jimmy Carter – Photo by AP

“The EU has repeatedly condemned settlement expansion in the West Bank,” Carter was quoted as saying, “it could therefore introduce a clear labeling of products made in Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law.”

Carter said that European diplomats share his belief that any Israeli building beyond the 1967 lines are an “(illegal) intrusion by Israel into Palestine.”

Continue Reading »

Lebanon objects to IAF jets flying low over their southern skies

Lebanese media is also reporting that Israeli helicopter patrols are observed in the area as well.

Roi Kais

Lebanese media reported Israeli Air Force warplanes were hovering since Sunday noon over southern Lebanon and conducting mock attacks at a low altitude. The report comes one week after Israel allegedly launched a series of airstrikes at military research facilities around Damascus from Lebanese territory.

 F-16i Sufa

According to the report by Lebanese news channel Al-Nashra, four F-16 jets circled low over the Lebanon-controlled territories of the Hermon Mountain, the towns of Marjeyoun and Khiam in southern Lebanon, and the western Beqaa Valley of Lebanon. Continue Reading »