Archive for Mid-East News

| September 4, 2013
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Russian President Vladimir Putin warns Obama: Do not attack Syria without UN approval

After comparing recent evidence of Syrian chemical weapons use, to faulty U.S. intel on Iraq in 2003, the Russian president threatens to supply advanced air-defense systems to Assad and elsewhere if America strikes without accepted int’l approval.

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President Vladimir Putin warned the West against taking one-sided action in Syria but also said Russia “doesn’t exclude” supporting a UN resolution on punitive military strikes if it is proved that Damascus used poison gas on its own people.

Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin – Photo: AP

In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press and Russia’s state Channel 1 television, Putin said Moscow has provided some components of the S-300 air defense missile system to Syria but has frozen further shipments. Continue Reading »

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| September 4, 2013
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Abbas’ PA to provide ‘cash rewards’ to murderers released from Israeli Prison

 

Palestinian Authority cash prizes intended to honor prisoners’ “sacrifices & in order to guarantee them a suitable standard of dignified living.”

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

The Palestinian Authority government decided on Tuesday to provide “grants” to Palestinian prisoners who were recently released from Israeli prisons.

Freed Palestinian prisoner prisoner Hosni Sawalha greeted by niece as he arrives Ramallah.

Freed Palestinian prisoner prisoner Hosni Sawalha greeted by niece as he arrives Ramallah. – Photo: Abed Omar Qusini/Reuters

A statement issued by the government following its weekly meeting in Ramallah said that the “grants” were being presented to the prisoners in honor of their “sacrifices and in order to guarantee them a suitable standard of dignified living.”

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| September 4, 2013
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Syria: Frustration & Outright Disgust

 

Whether or not the US or the int’l community ultimately punish Syria, it is evident that the thousands of dead Syrian bodies mean little to the UN, the EU, the BDS people and the like.

By ALAN BAKER

 

 

 

It is questionable whether or not the US and other countries, and the international community will ultimately punish Syria for the indiscriminate and criminal use of chemical weapons against its own civilian population.

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Instagram

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Instagram – Photo: Instagram

Whatever they decide to do, one striking fact nevertheless stands out. Over a thousand innocent civilians were cruelly murdered in Syria, in one fell swoop over a week ago.

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| September 3, 2013
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Egyptian helicopter-gunship kills & wounds dozens of Islamic militants in Sinai strike

The Egyptian official said the 2 Air Force  gunships fired 13 rockets after surprising 2 different Islamic militant gatherings near the Gaza border.

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An Egyptian security official says helicopters have rocketed militant hideouts in the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing and wounding dozens. 

Egyptian Army soldiers patrol in Sinai.

Egyptian Army soldiers patrol in an armored vehicle backed by a helicopter gunship during a sweep through villages in in Sheikh Zuweyid, northern Sinai, Egypt in May. – Photo: AP

The official said the two helicopter gunships fired 13 rockets after surprising militant gatherings on Tuesday in two locations, al-Muqataa and Touma, south of the town of Sheikh Zuweyid near the border with Gaza. Continue Reading »

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| September 3, 2013
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Iranian General Suggests that Israel is Close to Striking It

Lebanese daily newspaper reports senior Iranian military officer visited underground bunker of Hezbollah leader and briefed him on Teheran’s assessment.

By Gil Ronen

 

Iran believes that Israel is close to stiking its nuclear facilities, according to a report in Lebanese newspaper Al Jumhuriya, cited by Maariv/NRG. According to the report, a senior Iranian official recently visited Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in his hideout in the Dahiya section section of Beirut to discuss this assessment.

A senior military source confirmed to the Lebanese newspaper that the meeting had, indeed, taken place, but said that it had not been held inside the Dahiya – a neighborhood controlled by Hezbollah – but outside it. Continue Reading »

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| September 2, 2013
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US & Russia position warships for Syrian confrontation

 

U.S. moves USS Nimitz aircraft carrier into Red Sea to help support possible assault.

Russian reconnaissance ship getting into position in the eastern Mediterranean.

Israel sends home its reserves for the meantime as it dials back its missile defenses.

By Shlomo Cesana, Lilach Shoval, Mati Tuchfeld and Reuters

 

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and other ships in its strike group are heading west toward the Red Sea to help support a limited U.S. strike on Syria, if needed, defense officials said on Sunday.

USS Nimitz – Photo courtesy

Russia, meanwhile, is sending a reconnaissance ship to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, Interfax news agency reported on Monday.

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| September 2, 2013
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Abbas reveals Israel-PA deal made to restart peace process

 

PA president says he agreed to avoid lobbying to int’l institutions after Israel OK’ed prisoner release.

By Roi Kais

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addressed Monday the circumstances of the deal that was made with Israel in order to renew the peace talks between the two sides.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas - Photo Mark Israel Sellem

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Mark Israel Sellem

Speaking to Fatah members in Ramallah, Abbas said that even before negotiations started, the US demanded that the Palestinians avoid lobbying in international intitutions.

Abbas also addressed the subject of Syria and said that he opposes any military strike from the US. “We will not have an Arab state bombed and we condemn the use of chemical weapons on either side. Continue Reading »

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| September 2, 2013
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Israeli Report: U.S. President Discussed Attack Delay with PM Netanyahu

U.S. President Obama informed Israel’s P.M. in advance that he would ask Congress to discuss future US military scenarios in Syria.

By David Lev

 

U.S. President Barack H. Obama informed Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in advance that he would let Congress decide on the appropriate action the U.S. would take in Syria. Reports in Israeli media quoted senior Israeli officials as saying the Obama called Netanyahu on Saturday, some four hours before he appeared on national TV in the US to announce that he was holding back on taking action against Syria until Congress discussed what the appropriate actions should be. Continue Reading »

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| September 1, 2013
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Hamas furious over Egyptian move at creating buffer zone with Gaza

 

Egyptian families in Sinai protest after their homes were demolished to create a buffer zone with Hamas ruled Gaza.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

The Hamas government said Sunday it was “surprised” to hear that Egypt is planning to create a buffer zone along the border with the Gaza Strip.

Egyptian soldiers keep guard in Sinai

Egyptian soldiers keep guard in Sinai – Photo: REUTERS

Ehab Ghissin, spokesman for the Hamas government, said that there should be no buffer zones “between brothers and friendly countries.”

Ghissin expressed hope that the Egyptian move would not “solidify the blockade” and increase the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip. Continue Reading »

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| September 1, 2013
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Egyptian Security Arrests Duck, as ‘Zionist Spy’

Egypt’s Police arrests water fowl suspected of being an Israeli spy, maybe for the Mossad.

By Maayana Miskin

 

 

Egyptian police have arrested a duck that they fear was sent by Israel as a spy, Egypt’s Al-Ahram news agency reports.

The bird was spotted by a fisherman in the Nile River, in the Qena region, as it swam with other birds. The fisherman noticed that the bird had a device attached to its feathers, which he feared could be used to gather information.

A security official told Al-Ahram that experts are examining the device to see if it could have been used to gather intelligence. Continue Reading »

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| September 1, 2013
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Russian weapons export shipments to Assad increasing

 

REPORT: The number of cargo ships sailing to Syria from a Ukrainian port used by Russia’s arms export monopoly has increased sharply.

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

 

MOSCOW — More than two years into Syria’s civil war, President Bashar Assad is settling his bills for Russian arms orders through the Russian banking system to try to shore up ties with his most powerful ally, according to a Russian arms industry source.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (left) with Syrian President Bashar Assad – Photo: Reuters

The payments, which have increased in recent months, show how Assad has sustained his ties with his main diplomatic defender, a relationship that has come under the spotlight this week as Western countries plan military action to punish him for suspected chemical weapons attacks on civilians.

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| September 1, 2013
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1st Time Ever: 2 Arrested in Lebanon for rocket attacks on Israel

Both arrested Lebanese men confessed to supplying 4 rockets used in August 22 attacks on Israel’s Galilee.

Lebanese Army expects further arrests.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

Lebanese authorities arrested two suspects for involvement in rocket attacks from the country’s territory into northern Israel earlier this month, The Daily Star reported on Saturday.

Katyusha Rocket shot at Galilee (archive) – IsraelandStuff/PP

According to the report, the Lebanese Armed Forces stated that the suspects, Youssef Muhammad Fliti and Omar Abdel-Mawla al-Atrash, confessed to supplying the four rockets used in the attacks.

The suspects said that they transferred the rockets to a man in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre.

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| September 1, 2013
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Lebanese Report: Assad in underground Bunker

 

Syria leader has moved into an underground bunker with his staff, reported by a Lebanese newspaper that’s close to Damascus.

By Gil Ronen

 

Lebanese newspaper Aldiyar, which is considered to be close to Syria’s official leadership, reported Saturday that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is in an undergtound bunker at an unknown location, where he is staying along with his senior staff and other unknown senior officials.

President Bashar al-Assad – AFP photo

The bunker is serving as an operational headquarters in advance of the US attack on Syrian targets that is expected to take place by Monday at the latest.

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| August 31, 2013
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Putin impugns Obama’s veracity: Present evidence at UN of chemical weapons used by Assad

 

UN’s investigative team leaves Syria, indicating American-French attack may be imminent.

Poll shows most French against strike on Syria.

Several nations advise their citizens against traveling to Lebanon.

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The UN experts investigating last week’s alleged chemical weapons strike outside Damascus left Syria early Saturday and crossed into neighboring Lebanon, departing hours after President Barack Obama said he is weighing “limited and narrow” action against a Syrian regime that the administration has bluntly accused of launching the deadly attack.

The convoy of UN experts cross into Lebanon at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa

The convoy of UN experts cross into Lebanon at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa, eastern Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Saturday, Aug.

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| August 31, 2013
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Kerry: Syrian assault won’t be like Afghanistan, Iraq, or Libya

 

US Sec. of St. Kerry promises the American people that the U.S. military action in Syria will be “limited & tailored”.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF, MICHAEL WILNER
 

 

US Secretary of State John Kerry assured the war-weary American people on Friday that any decision the US would make on a military action in Syria would be a “limited and tailored response” and would not in any way resemble the US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, nor its intervention to help topple former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

US Secretary of State John Kerry talking about possible US strike in Syria, August 30, 2013.

US Secretary of State John Kerry talking about possible US strike in Syria, August 30, 2013.

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