Archive for May 7, 2014

Again: Hamas Executes Palestinians for ‘Collaborating’ with Israel

Hamas kills two ‘collaborators’- shots one, hangs one. Will this become the norm in upcoming unity government?

By AFP and Tova Dvorin

 

 

Authorities in Hamas-run Gaza on Thursday executed two Palestinian Arabs for allegedly collaborating with Israel, the territory’s interior ministry said in a statement.

Paraded - Palestinian gunmen ride motorcycles as they drag the body of a man, who was suspected of working for Israel  20 November 2012

Paraded – Palestinian gunmen ride motorcycles as they drag the body of a man, who was suspected of working for Israel 20 November 2012

“Two collaborators with the Israeli occupation, condemned to death for having given information leading to the martyrdom of two citizens, have been executed,” a spokesman told AFP.

He said one of the men, aged 40 and identified by the initials ZR, was shot and the other, AK, aged 30, was hanged in a different location. Continue Reading »

UN Watch: UN appointment is ‘crass nepotism, in flagrant breach of council rules’

 

The NGO, UN Watch, terms controversial UN appointment of the wife of outgoing & overtly antisemitic UN monitor Richard Falk, ‘crass nepotism’ that will “harm the cause of human rights… and undermine the interests of the United States.”

By i24news

 

An NGO has issued a call for the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power to block the appointment of Turkey’s Hilal Elvar as the new Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Elvar is the wife of outgoing UN monitor for the West Bank and Gaza, Richard Falk. The vote on her appointment is scheduled for Thursday.

Continue Reading »

US Officials: Via Violence or Unilateral Maneuvering, Palestine Will Be a State

American representatives come dangerous close to condoning Palestinian intransigence & violence by playing the blame game & ignoring core issues

By Ryan Jones

 

 

American negotiators connected to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s failed peace initiative warned in an interview with Israeli media last week that the Palestinians will eventually have their state, either through violence or unilateral maneuvering.

John Kerry, meets with Mahmoud Abbas - Photo: Thaer Ghanaim/AFP

John Kerry meets with Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Thaer Ghanaim/AFP

Many Israelis were outraged, saying the remarks came dangerously close to condoning both Palestinian terrorism and the Palestinian leadership’s rejection of Israel’s peace demands.

The negotiators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told leading Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea of Yediot Ahronot that, in their assessment, primary blame for the failure of the peace talks falls to Israel. Continue Reading »

Egypt Interested in Importing Natural Gas From Israel

 

Continue Reading »

U.S. Congress weighs terminating Palestinian aid

 

US Congressional hearings to reconsider terminating Palestinian aid after formation of Hamas-Fatah unity gov’t.

The fundamental requirement in maintaining the aid is recognition of Israel – a step that Hamas adamantly opposed to take.

By MICHAEL WILNER

 

WASHINGTON – Mere days after the Palestinian Authority announced its intention to form a unity government with Hamas, the US Congress is examining the process required to cut off aid to the organization.

hamas

NEGOTIATION COLLAPSE The Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process collapsed after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed a unity pact in Gaza City with its militant rival Hamas on April 23. – Photo: SUHAIB SALEM/REUTERS

A subcommittee on the Middle East in the House of Representatives will hold a hearing on the matter on Thursday, in search of a way forward after peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ended bitterly last week. Continue Reading »

Peres claims PM Netanyahu secretly sunk negotiated peace deal with Abbas

 

Israeli president says PA President Abbas agreed to secretly negotiated peace deal draft back in 2011, but PM Netanyahu stopped last meetings in Jordan.

By AFP

 

Israeli President Shimon Peres said Tuesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blocked a 2011 peace agreement he had secretly negotiated with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) stands next to President Shimon Peres (R) on May 5, 2014 at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem - AFP PhotoJim Hollander

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) stands next to President Shimon Peres (R) on May 5, 2014 in Jerusalem – Photo: AFP /Jim Hollander

Peres said he and Abbas had finalized a draft agreement in a series of secret meetings in neighboring Jordan but the draft was rejected by Netanyahu’s right-leaning government. Continue Reading »

Haifa University: Salt helps stave off depression

Feeling blue? New Israeli research shows people may crave salt because it helps avert depression.

By Andrew Tobin

 

 

Humans consume more sodium than any other animal. Scarcely a meal is eaten without salt, anywhere in the world. But unlike the other basic tastes – sweetness, sourness and savoriness – we seek out saltiness at a level that doesn’t come close to being explained by the mineral’s known benefits.

The link between salt and the blues: The hormone system that regulates salt appetite also regulates depression.

The link between salt and the blues: The hormone system that regulates salt appetite also regulates depression. – Photo: Alex Levac

Now, researchers at the University of Haifa’s Department of Psychology say that people may crave salt party because its main component, sodium, helps fight depression. Continue Reading »

Turkish report: Ankara discussed Naval Invasion into Israeli Waters

Turkish newspaper article reveals details of secret high-ranking meeting hours before the Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza incident, where the possibility of war with Israel was considered.

By Ege Berk Korkut

 

A Turkish newspaper has released details of a high-level meeting of the country’s military leaders, in which the Turkish government had considered sending warships into Israel as a military escort for the Mavi Marmara flotilla – and the possibility of triggering a war with the Jewish state as a result.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Reuters

On May 31 2010, nine Turkish Islamists were killed on the flotilla after violently attacking IDF soldiers, during an attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade on the terrorist group Hamas-enclave Gaza. Continue Reading »

Israel calls allegations of massive spying against US, absurd

 

Israel slams a Newsweek report based on unnamed sources, claiming Jerusalem is involved in attempts to steal US ‘industry & technical secrets’.

A senior diplomatic source in Jerusalem said the report has a ‘whiff of anti-Semitism’.

By Attila Somfalvi

 

Israel on Tuesday hit back at a Newsweek report claiming American officials believe Israeli intelligence-gathering efforts in the US have “crossed red lines.”

US Entry Visa

US Entry Visa

The Israeli embassy in Washington issued a denial, saying that “Israel does not conduct any spying activities (against the US), and condemns any attempt to tarnish Israel with false allegations.”

A senior diplomatic source in Jerusalem said Israel would send the US a strong message over the report, even going so far as to argue that parts of it were “tainted with a whiff of anti-Semitism.” Continue Reading »

California school asks students: Was Holocaust real?

 

8th-graders were asked to write for a homework assignment, an essay on if the Holocaust was an actual historical event or a political scheme designed to influence public emotion.

By Reuters

 

A California school district is under fire after eighth-graders were given an assignment to write an essay explaining whether they believed the Holocaust was a real historical event or a political scheme to influence public emotion and gain.

Auschwitz: Essay on whether it really happened.

A new program for Holocaust studies at the University of Haifa is allowing students to shine a light on their families’ own personal histories. – Photo: AP

“It was an error,” Syeda Jafri, spokesperson of the Rialto Unified School District near Los Angeles, said on Monday.

Continue Reading »

Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox community quietly joins the IDF

“There is a ‘Haredi Spring’ taking place as the Internet & smartphones develop. You can’t avoid it…..What the rabbis are afraid of is [their] culture changing. Incrementally, it is seeping through,” says Moshe Prigan, 30, a captain who recruits other ultra-Orthodox Jewish men to enlist into the IDF.

The Associated Press & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Continue Reading »

Hamas’ Meshaal & PA’s Abbas hold 1st talks since unity deal

 

Hamas leaders in Gaza release 6 imprisoned members of Abbas’ Fatah party as goodwill gesture to form Palestinian unity gov’t.

By i24news

 

The Hamas government in Gaza announced late Monday it released six imprisoned members of the West Bank-based Fatah party. A statement by the interior ministry of the coastal enclave also said Hamas hopes the goodwill gesture will be reciprocated by Ramallah.

لقاء عباس ومشعل في الدوحة ( ثائر غنيم (اف ب) )Abbas and Meshaal hold first talks in Gaza since unity deal

The announcement came after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas convened with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Doha in the first meeting since their rival movements signed a surprise unity deal last month.

Continue Reading »

Liberman: ‘We offer our hand in peace – but we’ll cut off the hand that threatens us’

 

Israel’s Foreign Minister Liberman spoke at Remembrance Day ceremony Monday, emphasized Israel’s commitment to peace and security.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman addressed the Remembrance Day ceremony in Kiryat Gat on Monday where he stated that the Jewish people are “a peace-seeking nation” but also said that, “We extend our hands in peace, but we will cut off every hand that threatens us.”

Liberman

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman – Photo: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST

The foreign minister told listeners that regarding recent peace efforts with the Palestinians, “Special efforts were made by successive Israeli governments who were willing to make concessions to attain this goal, but when there is no willingness on the other side this becomes a virtually impossible task.”

Continue Reading »

Putin signs law outlawing denial of Nazi crimes

Opponents of the new law say Russia’s aim is to silence historians & journalists who dispute the glorification of the ex-USSR’s actions during World War II.

By Reuters

 

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday making the denial of Nazi crimes and distortion of the Soviet Union’s role in the World War Two a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in jail.

Russian military vehicles rehearsing for Victory Day parade, Red Square, Moscow, May 5, 2014.

Russian military vehicles rehearsing for Victory Day parade, Red Square, Moscow, May 5, 2014. – Photo: AP

The law, described by critics as an attempt to curb freedom of expression to appease conservative Russians, the ex-KGB spy’s main support base, also criminalizes the public desecration of war memorials. Continue Reading »

Israel’s Prime Objective: To Make the World a Better Place

Minister Bennett releases heartfelt, if quirky, address of ‘Tikkun Olam’ for Independence Day – bridging ancient heritage & modern marvels.

By Tova Dvorin

 

Economics Minister and Jewish Home (Bayit Yehudi) Chairman Naftali Bennett released a special video address in honor of Israel’s Independence Day on Monday, noting Israel’s synthesis between ancient heritage and modern miracle.

“Today we are celebrating Israel’s sixty-sixth birthday,” he stated, in a video posted on Facebook. “This is a young country, but our people is a very ancient one. We’ve been around for 3,800 years – you and I, our forefathers.”

Bennett illustrated this with a vivid – if unconventional – example. Continue Reading »