Archive for May 20, 2014

Egypt’s al-Sisi: Israel also in danger without Egypt’s military presence in Sinai

 

Egyptian presidential candidate says on local satellite channels, ‘If the consequences of terror in Sinai necessitate changing the peace accord, then we will… and Israel will not object to that because it is aware of the gravity of the situation,’

By Roi Kais & Attila Somfalvi

 

Egyptian military chief turned presidential candidate Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has given Israel a clear reminder of the danger its faces from militants in the Sinai Peninsula, against which Egypt provides a vital defense.

Egyptian army deploys forces in El-Arish (Photo: AP)

Egyptian army deploys forces in El-Arish – Photo: AP

“Israel knows that if the lack of presence of the Egyptian military in Sinai poses a danger to it even more than it does to Egypt,” al-Sisi said in an interview aired Monday. Continue Reading »

Cyber warfare unregulated admits IDF Legal adviser

Because there is no convention or international legislation on how a military unit operates in the digital realm, it is still murky legal ground.

 

The field of cyber warfare is unregulated, which makes legal advice in this area particularly important, an Israel Defense Forces legal adviser said Monday.

Cyber defense


An IDF course for cyber-defense in Ramat Gan. Alumni of such units formed startups such as Adollam and Aorato. – Photo: Alon Ron

Speaking at the CyberNight conference at the Shamoon College of Engineering in Be’er Sheva, Maj. A., the Military Intelligence legal adviser, described the role of legal consulting in the era of cybernetic warfare, saying that “Although the field is not regulated – and because the field is not regulated – the legal adviser plays a central role.

Continue Reading »

18 EU Officials Shocked at Rise of Anti-Semitism in Europe

18 EU member-state representatives are urged by European Jewish leaders to wake up & take steps leading the fight against Jew-hatred at a high level meeting in Brussels.

By Arutz Sheva

 

European Jewish Association (EJA) General Director Rabbi Menachem Margolin led a briefing for EU ambassadors and officials at week’s end, following the release of the most comprehensive survey to date on global anti-Semitism by the ADL, which revealed startling levels across the continent.

Neo-Nazis

Neo-Nazis – Reuters

Chairing the high-level meeting at the EJA’s headquarters in Brussels, with attendees including ambassadors and officials from 18 EU Member States, as well representatives from The Simon Wiesenthal Center, The Belgian League Against anti-Semitism, Britain’s Community Security Trust and Jewish communities across Europe, Rabbi Margolin called upon all EU member states to establish central committees, directly accountable to the respective prime ministers, in order to lead the fight against anti-Semitism.

Continue Reading »

Labor joins Likud MKs to allow Jews to pray on Temple Mount

 

Both Labor & Likud Knesset members join effort to push controversial legislation to open up Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount compound that’s currently permitted for Muslims only.

By Akiva Novik

 

Labor and Likud MKs have joined forces on a new bill that proposes to allow Jews to pray at the Temple Mount compound – for the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple, as Jews are currently barred from praying at the site.

Palestinians praying at Temple Mount (Photo: AFP)

Palestinians praying at Temple Mount – Photo: AFP

MK Miri Regev (Likud) and MK Hilik Bar (Labor) are expected to introduce the bill for discussion in the Knesset. Continue Reading »

UN to evaluate UNWRA’s definition & exploitation of Palestinian refugees

 

Continue Reading »

Hitler & mufti of Jerusalem featured in anti-Muslim ads on Washington buses

 

Following the anti-Israel adds on buses in the US capital by American Muslim group, Pamela Geller strikes back with her new adds on 20 Washington D.C. buses headlined: ‘Islamic Jew-hatred: It’s in the Quran’

 

 

Pamela Geller, the popular American anti-Muslim blogger, has escalated her public advertising campaign against Islam by plastering a 15-foot-long message in that spirit on many Washington D.C. buses.

Pamela Geller ad

Pamela Geller’s new ad running on 20 Washington D.C. buses.- Screenshot from Washington Post

Her new offering stars Adolf Hitler and the mufti of Jerusalem, spiritual leader of Palestinian Muslims in the first half of the 20th century, the Washington Post reported.

Continue Reading »

India’s New PM Seen as ‘Israel’s Best Friend’ in Southern Asia

India’s Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi has expressed his desire to ‘deepen & develop’ ties with Israel and his record proves he’s serious.

By Gil Ronen

 

India’s Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi has expressed his desire to “deepen and develop” ties with Israel, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Sunday, and it appears that Netanyahu’s words do not constitute diplomatic flourish but, if anything, understatements.

Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi – Reuters

“On Friday, I spoke with the Prime Minister-elect of India. There, too, there is a clear expression of the desire to deepen and develop economic ties with the State of Israel,” Netanyahu told his cabinet. Continue Reading »

Lieberman: Livni meeting with Abbas not sanctioned by Jerusalem

 

Foreign Minister: ‘Even if Abu Mazen & Livni played checkers, that’s their prerogative’

Lieberman hints at new direction in peace talks.

 

By Ynetnews

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stressed on Saturday that Justice Minister Tzipi Livni’s meetings with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in London last week were unofficial and not sanctioned by the Israeli government.

“I assume that she (Livni) was in London privately and met whoever she wanted to meet,” Lieberman told Channel 2. “I’m sure that this wasn’t a meeting for peace talks. Even if they played checkers, that’s their prerogative.”

Sources in Netanyahu’s office said the prime minister had clarified to Livni that “in this kind of meeting, she only represents herself and not the Israeli government.” Continue Reading »

Former Palestinian Intelligence Chief: Only solution now is single Palestinian state

The ex-chief of Palestinian intelligence Tawfik Tirawi suggests the president of Palestine will be a Palestinian Muslim & the vice president can be a Palestinian Jew, adding that those are just details.

 

 

Israel ruined the two-state solution, says Tawfik Tirawi, who headed the Palestinian General Intelligence Service for 14 years.

Tawfik Tirawi, chief Palestinian investigator into the 2004 death of Yasser Arafat

Tawfik Tirawi – Photo: AP

Tirawi does not miss being the head of the Palestinian General Intelligence Service in the West Bank (from 1994 until late 2008). He says he prefers not issuing orders and instructions. The only orders that bind him, he says, are the feelings and desires of the Palestinian people. Continue Reading »

Hamas Claims IDF Wounded 2 Gazans in Separate Clashes

Israeli army spokesperson unit confirms IDF troops fired at a man in Gaza approaching the security fence with Israel, but not aware of other incident.

By Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Hamas officials say two men were wounded in separate clashes with the IDF Saturday.

Gaza’s healthy ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra claimed a 16-year-old youth was shot near the security barrier with Israel in Khan Yunis, according to AFP.

He also claimed a 36-year-old fisherman was shot while he was aboard his boat in the Mediterranean off Gaza City.  

The IDF said it was not aware of the two incidents in question, but did say troops had opened fire at a Palestinian man who was approaching the security barrier on foot. Continue Reading »

Jerusalem Barrs Russian Missile Ship from Israeli Port Over Ukraine Crisis

Gov’t official said Israel is striving to maintain its neutrality in mists of the big powers’ confrontation over the Ukraine.

By  

 

Israel denied a request by Moscow to let a Russian missile boat anchor at Haifa a month ago, making the decision against the backdrop of the crisis in Ukraine, said a senior official in Jerusalem involved in the matter.

 Russian warship, Crimea

Russian warship, Crimea, March 14, 2014. – Photo: Reuters

Israeli officials were worried that allowing a Russian naval vessel to visit Haifa would worsen tensions with the United States. There were also concerns about possible espionage.

The request was handled by the national security adviser, Yossi Cohen.

Continue Reading »

Britain Grants Livni Temporary ‘War Crimes’ Immunity

Special immunity from ‘ideological legal stunts’ ahead of Livni’s London visit has been guaranteed, whereas Abbas visits freely despite Hamas unity.

By Ari Yashar

 

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (Hatnua) has been given temporary diplomatic immunity by the British government ahead of her visit to London later in the week, in an attempt to shield her from “war crimes” prosecution.

Despite her push for peace talks, opposition to “settlers,” and opposition to a Basic Law enshrining Israel legally as the Jewish state, Livni has been threatened with British arrest warrants over her role as Foreign Minister during the counter-terror Operation Cast Lead. Continue Reading »

Former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert sentenced to 6 years for corruption

 

For 1st time in Israel’s history, a former Prime Minister is sentenced to jail: Judge sentences former PM Ehud Olmert to 6 years in jail for his role in real-estate development corruption affair.

By Naama Cohen-Friedman

 

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was sentenced to six years in prison and fined NIS 1 million in court in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning for his role in the ‘Holyland Affair’, the real estate corruption case considered the largest of its kind in Israeli history.

Photo: Yotam Ronen

Six years in prison for former PM – Photo: Yotam Ronen

The case marks the first time a prime minister was convicted of a felony and now, with his sentencing, the first time a former prime minister has ever been sentenced to jail time. Continue Reading »

IDF closes Golan border crossing after armed conflict on Syrian side

Since Islamic Rebel forces in Syria have managed in the past to take over the Quneitra crossing, Israel closes the area.

By and Reuters

 

 

The Israel Defense Forces declared the area around the Golan Heights’ Quneitra crossing a closed military zone, in the wake of fighting in Syria.

Quneitra

Smoke billowing from an explosion during clashes between rebels and Syrian pro-government forces in the Syrian town of al-Kahtaniyya, May 11, 2014. – Photo: AFP

IDF officials expressed concern that the fighting could spill over into Israel. The rebels in Syria have managed to take over the crossing for several hours in past.

Continue Reading »

Netanyahu commits Israel To Aid Nigeria With Hostages

Prime Minister Netanyahu promises the Nigerian president that Israel is willing to help with the return of 300 schoolgirls kidnapped by Al Qaeda linked Boko Haram terror group.

By Ari Yashar

 

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu offered on Sunday to help Nigeria in trying to recover roughly 300 Christian schoolgirls, who were kidnapped by the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Boko Haram.

“Israel expresses its deep shock at the crime against the girls,” Netanyahu reportedly said by phone to Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, while on an official visit to Japan.

“We are prepared to help in locating the girls and to fight the cruel terror which has struck you,” pledged Netanyahu. Continue Reading »