Archive for July 6, 2013

Tel Aviv, and its Traditional Summer Water Fight

In local municipal tradition, young & old alike, are invited to Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, to battle each other in the scorching heat with water pistols & balloons, using square’s fountain as ammunition!

By Gilad Morag

Tel Aviv‘s annual water battle has returned. Like every summer, Friday afternoon saw hundreds of Tel Avivians of all ages swarm to the city’s Rabin Square. They came armed with squirt guns, water balloons, buckets and heavy water canons.
(צילום: מוטי קמחי)

Water war. Rabin Square (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

At 3 pm, when the bell was sounded, all mayhem broke loose. Learning the lesson from years past, those attending where requested to leave their electronic devices at home, less they fall victim to water’s destructive capabilities. Continue Reading »

Britain asks EU to Reconsider and Blacklist Hizbullah

The UK’s push to have Hizbullah blacklisted may have gained support due to the group’s actions in Syria, say diplomats.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

Britain has asked European Union foreign ministers to once again discuss putting Hizbullah’s so-called “military wing” on the EU terror list, diplomats said on Friday.

Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah – Photo: AFP

Several weeks ago, a British drive to reach a unanimous decision to blacklist Hizbullah failed, when the EU expressed fear that such a move would lead to instability in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Austria and the Czech Republic opposed the move to add Hizbullah to the EU terrorist list, which includes several groups such as Hamas and Colombia’s FARC guerrillas, who are subject to an asset freeze. Continue Reading »

Explosions Heard at Regime’s Ammunition Depots in Syria

Explosions rocked several of the army’s ammunition depots just north of Latakia.

Rebels blame the explosions on Israel.

By Elad Benari,

 

 

Explosions rocked several army ammunition depots in the western Syrian province of Latakia on Friday, possibly after they were targeted with rockets, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, according to the AFP news agency.

A Google map image showing Mushayrafet al-Samouk, Syria where the blasts were reportedly heard.

 

Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said there were reports of deaths and injuries in the blasts but he had no further details.

“Explosions around dawn today rocked an area… in the east of Latakia apparently as a result of blasts in ammunitions depots near a brigade of regime forces,” the Observatory said in an email quoted by AFP. Continue Reading »

Muslim Brotherhood claims Egypt’s interim president is a Jew

Wash Post reports: MB website claims Israel & U.S. conspiring to insert ElBaradei as Egyptian President

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

The Muslim Brotherhood claimed in a post on its official website that Egypt’s new interim president Adli Mansour is Jewish, The Washington Post reported on Friday. The article on IkhwanOnline was subsequently removed.

Egyptian interim president Adli Mansour is sworn in, July 4, 2013

Egyptian interim president Adli Mansour is sworn in, July 4, 2013 – Photo: Reuters

Mansour, who previously served as the constitutional court’s chief justice was sworn in as interim president on Thursday after the army removed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi from power.

According to the Post, the article falsely stated that Mansour is “considered to be a Seventh Day Adventist, which is a Jewish sect.”

Continue Reading »

Sinai Jihadi movement claims they fired rockets at Eilat

The Jamaat Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis has claimed responsibility for rocket attacks on Southern Israel in the past and now, boasts its rockets ‘scared Israelis into shelters’ although explosions were heard, no signs of rockets were found.

By Roi Kais

 

The Jamaat Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis group, which operates in the Sinai Peninsula, took responsibility on Friday evening for the alleged launch of two Grad missiles toward Eilat on Thursday.

החיפושים אחר הרקטות, בחמישי באילת (צילום: מאיר אוחיון)

Searching for the rockets – Photo: Meir Ohayon

Though Eilat residents reported hearing two or three loud bangs, security forces have yet to finds any trace of the rockets.

In an internet statement, the group boasted the bangs “frightened Allah’s Jewish enemies” and made them run for shelter. Continue Reading »

IDF’s Druze Herev Battalion Tests New Fighting Techniques for Engaging Hezbollah

Israel’s Druze battalion developed successful techniques for fighting Hezbollah, based on years of experience operating on Israel’s northern border & including the Lebanon War II.

In a battalion-wide exercise last week the battalion’s new methods were tested.

By IDF Spokesperson’s Office

 

The IDF’s Herev Battalion, made up of members of Israel’s Druze community, has gained many years of experience performing unique missions near the Israel-Lebanon border. In the 2006 Second Lebanon War, for instance, Herev was the first force to cross the border and the last to return – exhausted from completing a range of complex missions that earned the unit a citation. Continue Reading »

Egypt seals Rafah crossing – Gaza Closed Indefinitely

Decision comes after Islamist gunmen staged multiple terror attacks on Egypt security forces 2 days after Army Generals forcibly replaced Islamist president Morsi.

By DPA and Reuters

Egypt has indefinitely closed the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip following attacks on security forces in northern Sinai, a security official said Friday.

Palestinians walking toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt

Palestinians walk toward the Egyptian border crossing with Gaza in Rafah, Egypt, Aug. 2012.- Photo: AP

The crossing was opened in 2011 following the ouster of Egyptian president Hosny Mubarak, whose administration opposed the Hamas rulers in Gaza, and helped Israel to enforce a blockade on the enclave.

Early on Friday, Islamist gunmen staged multiple attacks on security forces on Sinai two days after the army overthrew elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi

The security sources said a soldier was killed and two were wounded when a police station in Rafah on the border with the Gaza Strip came under rocket fire. Continue Reading »

6 Gulf States Targeting Hezbollah with Sanctions

Senior Gulf Cooperation Council officials met in the Saudi capital to coordinate sanctions against Hizbullah because of the Shiite terrorist organization’s support for the Syrian regime.

By Elad Benari

 

Senior Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) officials met in Riyadh on Thursday to coordinate sanctions in the six member states against Lebanon’s Shiite Hizbullah terror group over its support for the Syrian regime, AFP reported.

Hizbullah flag – AFP photo

The meeting was “to develop mechanisms to monitor movements, financial transactions and business operations of Hizbullah,” said Bahraini deputy interior minister Khaled al-Absi, according to the news agency.

The GCC monarchies decided on June 10 to impose sanctions on Hizbullah, targeting residency permits and its financial and business activities in reprisal for the group’s armed intervention in Syria. Continue Reading »

Analysis: Kerry & Israel’s struggle over the Jordan Valley

The last two years have proven that the situations in the Mid-East can change dramatically at any given moment, so that defensive strategic planning of Israel’s future borders can not be based on a snapshot of reality in 1995, or in 2005 or even 2013.

By Dore Gold

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has been doing his utmost over the last several months to persuade U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on the merits of his demand that Israel accept the 1967 lines as the basis for a future border before any negotiations can be resumed. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded firmly that he refuses to accept any preconditions for sitting at the table with Palestinian negotiators.

Continue Reading »

Latvian memorial: Celebrating the ’rounding up of Jews’ to protect their village

 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center blasts Latvia nationalists’ plan to commemorate WWII event that facilitated the massacre of town’s entire Jewish population ‘absolutely disgusting & a terrible insult to all Holocaust victims’

By AFP

The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Wednesday condemned plans by Latvian nationalists to mark a World War II event that led to the massacre of a town’s Jewish population.

Latvian nationalists. 'Old-fashioned anti-Semitism' (archives) - Photo: AFP

Latvian nationalists. ‘Old-fashioned anti-Semitism’ (archives) – Photo: AFP

Efraim Zuroff, director of the Nazi-hunting center in Jerusalem, called the commemoration planned Thursday in the northern town of Limbazi “absolutely disgusting and a terrible insult to the victims of the Holocaust in Latvia.” Continue Reading »

Alicia Keys ignores BDS and is on fire in Tel Aviv

Keys concert fills Nokia Arena with strong vocals, and no one could hold back her outpouring of peace and love.

 

 

Alicia Keys set the Tel Aviv on fire Thursday night with her powerful, soulful voice and a message of peace and love, BDS movement be damned.

Alicia Keys performs in Tel Aviv, July 4, 2013. (Lahav Harkov)

Alicia Keys performs in Tel Aviv, July 4, 2013. – Lahav Harkov

The R&B singer-songwriter and pianist was plagued with petitions to stay away from Israel, including one from Nobel laureate Alice Walker, who seems to make it her personal mission to propagate the lie that Israel is an apartheid state.

Continue Reading »

IDF K-9 discovers weapons hidden inside mattress

During special night operation in West Bank, IDF dog succeeds where soldiers fail, runs into bedroom, then reveals hidden arms & munitions.

By Yoav Zitun

The resourcefulness of one IDF’s dogs led to the discovery of a weapon cache: During a military operation conducted Wednesday night in a Palestinian village near Nablus, a soldier in the IDF‘s Oketz Unit discovered – with the aid of her military canine – a firearm and munition concealed in the house of a Palestinian suspected of terrorist activities.

החיילת והכלב. צוות לעניין

IDF dog refused to give up  – Photo Courtesy the IDF

Givati Brigade soldiers, together with the IDF’s Oketz Canine Unit raided the village of Bita Al Fuka, not far from Nablus, early Thursday morning after receiving intelligence information regarding a suspected terrorist. Continue Reading »

Eilat is Given the ‘All Clear’ After Reported Explosions Heard Earlier

Police report to residents of Eilat that they can resume their regular routine after locals reported hearing loud explosions.

By Elad Benari

 

The city of Eilat was given the “all clear” on Thursday night, several hours after residents reported hearing loud explosions in the city.

Security forces were checking to determine whether the explosions were caused by Grad rockets that were fired at the city. After several hours of searching, police and the Home Front Command assessed the situation and announced that life in the city may return to normal.

Police said there is no need for locals to stay in protected areas. Continue Reading »

In wake of Morsi’s fall, the PLO calls on Gazans to overthrow Hamas

The Palestinian Authority rejoices in Morsi’s fall, calling on Gazans to exploit situation and revolt against Hamas.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

Palestinian Authority leaders on Thursday expressed joy over the downfall of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi’s regime, with some calling on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to follow suit and topple the Hamas government.

HAMAS GUNMEN hold a poster depicting Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza City June 2012.

HAMAS GUNMEN hold a poster depicting Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in Gaza City – Photo: Mohammed Salem/Reuters

 

Meanwhile, Palestinian analysts predicted that the collapse of the Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt would undermine Hamas, which in the past year has been emboldened by Morsi’s rise to power.

Continue Reading »

Court Decrees it’s Kosher for Jews to Pray at Gate to Temple Mount

It’s now official:  A faithful Jew has the right to pray regularly at the gateway to the Temple Mount, by court mandate.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

A faithful Jew prays regularly at the gateway to the Temple Mount, and returns when detained by police. Now the court has told the officers to leave him alone to pray in peace.

Visiting the Temple Mount – Temple Institute

A faithful Jew prays regularly at the gateway to the Temple Mount – and now he will be able to pray there for good, thanks to an appeal by Honenu in Jerusalem District Court. Continue Reading »