Archive for September 17, 2013

Egyptian Muslims Impose ‘tribute’ on Local Christian Copts

Thanks to Western intervention, in this case, U.S. support for the Muslim Brotherhood and its jihadi offshoots, the renewal of centuries-old anti-Christian persecution has returned with impunity.

By  Raymond Ibrahim

 

 

Now that the attacks on Egypt’s Christian churches have subsided, stage two of the jihad — profiting from the fear and terror caused by stage one — is setting in: reports are arriving that the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters are forcing the roughly 15,000 Christian Copts of Dalga village in south Minya province to pay jizya — the money, or tribute, that conquered non-Muslims historically had to pay to their Islamic overlords “with willing submission and while feeling themselves subdued” to safeguard their existence, as indicated in Koran 9:29. Continue Reading »

Israel & Azerbaijan intensify ties as chaos envelops region

The partnership between Israel & Azerbaijan is complicated by political factors, but ultimately Azerbaijan is a reliable supplier of oil for Israel, & Israel reciprocates as a reliable supplier of high-tech & arms.

 

 

BAKU, Azerbaijan (JTA) — With less than a month to go until presidential elections, the moustachioed smile of Ilham Aliyev stares down at his countrymen from giant posters scattered around this bustling metropolis on the Caspian Sea.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Azeri President Ilham Heydar meet at the presidential palace in Baku, June 28, 2009. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO via Getty Images)

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, left, meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres at the presidential palace in Baku, June 28, 2009. – Amos Ben Gershom/GPO via Getty Images

The Azerbaijani president has been in office since 2003 and is widely expected to be re-elected, extending the leadership of the Aliyev clan into its third decade.

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Palestinian Worshipers Throw out Fatah Official from Temple Mount

Protesters vocally abused Azzam Ahmed, who was accompanying a Jordanian delegation, to leave the Temple Mount for coordinating his visit with Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Angry Muslim worshipers on Tuesday expelled a senior Fatah official from the Temple Mount compound.

Azzam Ahmed.

Azzam Ahmed – Photo: REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

The official, Azzam Ahmed, was accompanying a Jordanian delegation on a tour of the compound when some worshipers began hurling abuse at him.

Eyewitnesses said that the worshipers called on Ahmed to leave the area after accusing him of failing to coordinate his visit with the Fatah leadership in east Jerusalem.

 

A Fatah activist in the city told The Jerusalem Post that Ahmed and the Jordanian delegation notified only the Israeli authorities of their intention to visit the site.

Continue Reading »

Eritrean woman released as result of High Court ruling

After Israel’s High Court of Justice strikes down law allowing State to detain illegal infiltrators for up to 3 years without trial, Justice Ministry review panel asks for immediate release of Eritrean woman jailed since 2012

By Omri Efraim

The Justice Ministry’s Custody Reviews Court has ordered the release of an Eritrean woman held in detention in wake of the High Court’s ruling that the amendment to the Prevention of Infiltration Law that allows the detention of infiltrators for up to three years without trial is unconstitutional.

Saharonim detention facility – Archive photo: Hain Hornstein

The woman is the first person to be released as a result of the ruling. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Ambassador to U.S. Oren: Israel wanted Assad out since Syrian war started

Ambassador Oren: Jerusalem prefers ‘bad guys who aren’t backed by Iran’, adding, ‘Assad’s overthrow could also weaken Hezbollah.’

By Reuters

 

Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, says Israel has wanted to see Syrian President Bashar Assad removed from power since before the outbreak of war there – a shift from its publicly-stated position.

Michael Oren.

Michael Oren – Photo: Bloomberg

It sees his defeat by rebels who include Al Qaida-linked Islamists as preferable to his current alliance with Iran, Oren said.

His comments in an interview with the Jerusalem Post marked a move in Israel’s public position on the civil war in Syria. Continue Reading »

Palestinian Woman Hangs Her Pregnant Daughter in Hebron

This is the 20th Suspected ‘honor killing’ this year in Abbas’ Palestinian Authority-controlled area.

PA law caps sentencing for ‘honor’ murders at a mere 6 months in prison.

By Ari Soffer

 

 

A woman turned herself in to Palestinian Authority police on Sunday and confessed to brutally murdering her mentally-challenged daughter in an apparent “honor killing.”

(Illustration) The 20th Murder this year – Photo: Reuters

Gulf News reported that the woman admitted to beating her unmarried daughter, and then hanging her, after finding out that she was pregnant.

The shocking crime occurred in the Arab town of Yata, near Hevron. Continue Reading »

IDF withdraws soldiers from guarding communities on Gaza, Lebanon & Syrian borders

 

IDF command determined that its enhanced border security measures make IDF soldiers’ presence in guarding civilian communities near country’s border redundant.

 

 

The IDF has pulled soldiers out of front line communities near the northern and southern borders, a senior army source said Tuesday, after senior commanders concluded that the arrangement was no longer necessary for security.

IDF soldiers from Cherev unit protecting Kibbutz on Lebanese border - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

IDF soldiers from Cherev unit protecting Kibbutz on Lebanese border – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

In the past, the IDF’s Southern Command placed soldiers at the entrance to nine towns and villages near the Gaza and Egypt borders, while the Northern Command secured 13 frontier communities in this way. Continue Reading »

Jericho: 112 Palestinians graduate from West Bank security studies program

112 newly graduated Palestinian officers from security studies program in Jericho were congratulated by Palestinian President Abbas & foreign diplomats who attended the program’s first graduation ceremony.

The Media Line

JERICHO – In a first event of its kind, Independence University celebrated the graduation of 112 officers at the Academy for Security Studies’ campus in the West Bank city of Jericho this week.

Academy for Security Studies, Jericho - Photo: AP

Academy for Security Studies, Jericho – Photo: AP

Amid their parents’ cheers, graduates marched to the stage in green uniforms while Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stood to honor them. In the official ceremony, also attended by foreign diplomats, President Abbas called upon the graduates to protect the state of law and the security of the citizens. Continue Reading »

Did Israeli Archaeologists discover God’s wife?

Although, Israel is touted as the birthplace of monotheism, there exists evidence suggesting the Israelites & later the Judahites, much like their neighbors – worshiped a pantheon.

 

“You shall not plant any tree as an Asherah beside the altar of the Lord your God that you shall make.” Deuteronomy 16:21.

 

The Old Testament is rife with the admonishment of errant kings and queens worshiping ‘false gods’, with the much of the blame falling on the Kingdom of Israel and that of Ahab and his infamous queen Jezebel.

Neolithic female figurine, Yarmukian Culture.

Female worship goes back millennia: A female figurine from Neolithic times, about 9,000 years ago, found in the present-day Golan Heights.

Continue Reading »

Palestinian Terrorist Shot Dead in Jenin Firefight

Israel’s Security forces were attacked with grenades and improvised explosives during arrest of major suspect, who later died of his injuries.

By Ari Soffer

 

One man has been killed in the PA Arab town of Jenin, after Israeli security forces came under fierce attack during an operation to arrest a major terror suspect.

Terrorists hurled hand-grenades and firebombs at the arresting forces, who responded with live fire, lightly injuring one of the attackers, who was subsequently apprehended and taken to an Israel hospital for treatment.

During the operation security forces identified the terror suspect they had been searching for, who attempted to flee. Continue Reading »

Der Spiegel: Rohani ready to close Iran nuclear plant if U.S. halt sanctions

 

Iran’s new atomic energy chief Ali Akbar Salehi, says Tehran is optimistic about the outcome of negotiations with U.S. & Europe.

By and Reuters

 

Iranian president Hassan Rohani is reportedly prepared to shutter the Fordow uranium enrichment facility, as part of a possible deal with the United States and Europe.

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi. – Photo: AP

In exchange, Rohani would seek the removal the harsh economic sanctions facing the Islamic Republic, according to Der Spiegel, the German weekly news magazine.

According to the Der Spiegel report, Rohani plans to announce his offer before the United Nations General Assembly, scheduled for the end of September. Continue Reading »

Jewish Driver Escapes Ambush in High-Speed Getaway

An attempted ambush by Arabs on a West Bank highway ended with quick thinking &  a high-speed chase through the hills of Binyamin.

By Maayana Miskin

 

An Israeli couple’s routine drive home last week nearly ended in disaster when an Arab gang targeted them in a late-night ambush.

Yair Weiss and his wife were relaxed and happy as they set out from the town of Ofra, in the Binyamin region, to their home in the nearby town of Ateret. At around 11:30 p.m., as they approached Ateret, they noticed a car at the side of the road, but thought nothing of it. Continue Reading »

TV series ‘Homeland’ stops filming in Israel, cites Syrian unrest

‘Homeland’ filming locations were switched to Morocco due to concerns over the uncertain situation in Syria.

A scene from "Homeland" showing Claire Danes as a CIA agent walking around in "Beirut," which was shot in Tel Aviv, as some Hebrew artifacts can be seen on the right side of the photo. (Showtime)

A scene from “Homeland” showing Claire Danes as a CIA agent walking around in “Beirut,” which was shot in Tel Aviv, as some Hebrew artifacts can be seen on the right side of the photo. (Showtime)

The filming was switched to Morocco due to concerns over the uncertain situation in Syria, according to Ynet. The show’s producers in Israel were told of the decision over the weekend, the news site reported, citing an unnamed source.

Continue Reading »

Israeli NGO threatens to sue Facebook for providing new Iranian ministers’ pages

Shurat Hadin Chief: There is no person or organization in the US who is not bound by the American sanctions against Iran; letter sent to Facebook CEO Zuckerberg.

 

 

Shurat Hadin – Legal Action Center on Monday threatened to sue Facebook if it does not immediately and permanently take down a social media site recently provided to “15 Ministers of Iran.”
Facebook screenshot: IsraelandStuff/PP

Facebook screenshot: IsraelandStuff/PP

A letter from Shurat Hadin to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and General Counsel Colin Stretch noted that the State and Government of Iran is under “numerous sanctions by the United States government.”

Continue Reading »

152 smuggling tunnels to Gaza destroyed since July by Egyptian Army

An Egyptian Army Spokesman said that the Egyptian army was closing Gaza’s smuggling tunnels on the Egypt-Gaza border because of Hamas’ military support for Sinai jihadists.

 

 

 

The Egyptian army has destroyed 152 tunnels on the Egypt–Gaza border since the end of July, an army spokesman said Sunday.

Egyptian soldiers on Sinai border.

Egyptian soldiers stand guard on at the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip, July 5, 2013.- Photo: Reuters

Ahmed Ali, the spokesman, said the Egyptian army demolished buildings constituting a security threat up to a kilometer from the border. He added that Gaza-based groups were carrying out operations together with armed Islamists in the Sinai Peninsula. Continue Reading »