Archive for Mid-East News

| August 11, 2013
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Is Hezbollah waging terror campaign against UNIFIL over EU blacklist?

EU’s blacklisting of Hezbollah casts a new light on the friction between the UNIFIL and Nasrallah’s armed Shi’ite movement.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL
 

 

The European Union’s designation of Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization has cast a new light on the tussles between the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the armed Shi’ite movement.

Supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah

Supporters of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah – Photo: Reuters

A Hezbollah official told the Financial Times last week, “People are not going to accept you living among them and calling them terrorists.”

Gerald Steinberg, a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and the head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday, “The reports of increased friction in southern Lebanon are not surprising after the European Union belatedly added Hezbollah to the list of terror organizations.”

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| August 11, 2013
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Car bomb detonated near Iran, Hezbollah compound in Damascus

Israel Radio reports that Syrian rebels claim responsibility for an attack at a compound in Damascus, which killed 40 Hezbollah & Iranian fighters.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
 

 

Syrian rebel forces claim they killed at least 40 Hezbollah and Iranian fighters in Damascus, according to Israel Radio.

Flags of Hezbollah, Assad's Syria

Flags of Hezbollah, Assad’s Syria – Photo: REUTERS/Ali Hashisho

The rebels say they detonated a car bomb near a compound where the operatives from Iran and Hezbollah gathered for a meeting, Israel Radio reported. These claims could not be independently corroborated.

Last month, the UN Security Council called on Lebanese Hezbollah militants to end any involvement in the conflict in neighboring Syria, while Lebanon’s UN envoy pledged that his country would keep its borders open to Syrians fleeing the violence.

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| August 11, 2013
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Muslims behind acid attack of two Jewish British teens

 

 

 

Zanzibar police have issued arrest warrant for Muslim Cleric after 2 young volunteers burned with acid in street. Religious figures point finger at fanatic Muslim sect.

Girls were dressed modestly & hid their Jewish background, say relatives. 

By Ynet

 

“Of course this attack on the tourists was Uamsho,” said Sheikh Fadhil Soraga, a moderate Muslim cleric who suffered extensive burns to his face and hands in an acid attack in November that he blames on the radical group.

British media revealed new details of the incident in which two 18-year-old British women were attacked with acid in the island of Zanzibar, off the African coast, some of which pointing at followers of a fanatic Muslim sect as the perpetrators of the attack. Continue Reading »

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| August 10, 2013
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Sinai Terrorists say their group was target of Israeli drone strike

Sinai Al-Qaida-linked terrorist group Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, says 4 of its members were killed while preparing to fire rocket into Israel (cities).

Egyptian army reports no drone attack ever occurred.

By and

 

 

An Al-Qaida-linked group active in the Sinai Peninsula said Saturday that its fighters were the target of a reported Israeli drone strike into Egyptian territory, a rare operation that could indicate increased Egyptian-Israeli security cooperation against militants in the lawless border zone.

Archive photo of Israeli Heron TP drone, also known locally as the Eitan.

Archive photo of Israeli Heron TP drone, also known locally as the Eitan. – Photo: AP

Ansar Bayt Al-Maqdis, in a statement posted on a militant website, said that a Israel Defense Forces drone that crossed into Egyptian airspace killed four fighters as they were preparing a cross-border rocket strike into Israel. Continue Reading »

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| August 10, 2013
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Egypt:There Was NO Israeli Airstrike in Sinai

Spokesman for the Egyptian army: ‘There is no truth whatsoever that Israel attacked in the Sinai.’

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

Egypt denied on Friday evening that Israel had carried out an airstrike in the Sinai.

At least five Egyptian terrorists were reportedly killed as they prepared to launch a rocket into Israel.

Some sources spoke of an Israeli air strike conducted from Israeli air space, but the Egyptian military denied this.

 

“There is no truth whatsoever to any Israeli strikes inside Egyptian territory and the claims that there is Egyptian and Israeli coordination on the matter is utterly baseless,” military spokesman Colonel Ahmed Aly said in a statement quoted by AFP. Continue Reading »

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| August 9, 2013
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Why has Egyptian Blockade of Gaza Produced No Flotillas?

The Egyptians, like most Arabs, simply don’t care about the Palestinians. They want the Palestinians to be Israel’s problem & to continue being a burden by relying on handouts from Western countries.

The Arabs don’t care if the Gazans starve to death as long as Israel will be blamed.

By Khaled Abu Toameh

 

Hamas has finally admitted that it is the Egyptians, and not Israel, who have turned the Gaza Strip into a “big prison.”

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, January 2009. – Photo Source: International Transport Workers’ Federation

 

Ghazi Hamad, a senior official with the Hamas-controlled foreign ministry, was quoted this week as saying that the Gaza Strip has been turned into a “big prison as a result of the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing by the Egyptian authorities since June 30.” Continue Reading »

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| August 9, 2013
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Kerry tells US Jewish leaders: Palestinian-Israeli peace a ‘strategic imperative’


U.S. Sec of St. Kerry asks American Jews to endorse negotiations between Israel & the Palestinians.

By

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice briefed Jewish leaders on resumed Palestinian-Israeli peace talks.

Kerry and Indyk.

Kerry and Indyk at the State Department in Washington. – Photo: Reuters

The meeting Thursday evening in the White House lasted 90 minutes, participants said, and was characterized mostly by Kerry’s enthusiasm for the resumed talks, and the serious commitment he said saw from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Kerry appeared bullish about talks he has worked assiduously to revive since becoming secretary of state in February, but also nervous about the potential for failure, warning of circumstances – for instance, pressures on Netanyahu – that could undermine the talks. Continue Reading »

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| August 8, 2013
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PA to US official: PA books not perfect, but working on teaching mutual respect

 

Democratic Whip says the US will not want to fund Palestinian schools after PLO representative admits there’s unfair portrayal of Jews in PA curriculum.

By HERB KEINON

 

 

 

No group on earth has been subjected to more discrimination and hate than the Jews, and the US will not fund curriculum in the Palestinian Authority that does not teach tolerance and mutual respect, US Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Maryland) said on Wednesday.

East Jerusalem Classroom

East Jerusalem Classroom – Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

Hoyer, leading a massive delegation of 36 Democratic US congressman, said this issue was the first one he broached during a meeting Wednesday in Ramallah with PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat.

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| August 7, 2013
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Irish EU Parliamentarian Calls for Arab Violence Against Israel

 

Irish EU representative faces criticism after suggesting that PA Arabs should resort to violence by starting a 3rd “Intifada” against Israel.

By Maayana Miskin

 

 

An Irish politician has caused outrage by urging Arabs to “rise up” against Israel in another “Intifada.”

European Union parliamentarian Paul Murphy said he does not believe that Israel is serious about the newly renewed diplomatic talks with the PA, and that what the PA needs is “a mass struggle from below.”

“There are many positive examples from the first intifada of mass protests, strikes and marches and checkpoints that I think would be ideal tactics to redevelop now,” he explained in an interview with Russia Today. Continue Reading »

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| August 6, 2013
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Caught Hezbollah terrorists in Nigeria tell court Mossad agents interrogated them

Two Lebanese nationals charged in Nigerian court for plotting attacks against Israeli targets in western African countries say their interrogators were Mossad agents who used sleep deprivation & other harsh techniques in questioning.

By

 

Two Lebanese nationals charged with plotting terror attacks in western Africa told a court in Nigeria on Monday they were interrogated by Mossad agents, AFP reported.

Cache of weapons.

Cache of weapons discovered at home of suspected Hezbollah operatives in Kona, – Nigeria. Photo:AFP

Mustapha Fawaz, Abdallah Thahini and Talal Ahmad Roda, allegedly Hezbollah members, were arrested in May after Nigerian police discovered they had amassed a secret weapons stock. Continue Reading »

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| August 5, 2013
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Syria’s civil war fragments country into 3 new nations

 

 

 

Analyst: Syria no longer exists as a distinct single sovereign.

Assad controls area running from southern border with Jordan to the Mediterranean coast. Kurdish minority holds northeast section while the rebels control area spanning from Idlib to Aleppo in the north.

By The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

More than two years into Syria’s civil war, the once highly-centralized authoritarian state has effectively split into three distinct parts, each boasting its own flags, security agencies and judicial system.

Syrian rebel fighter Tawfiq Hassan, 23, a former butcher, poses for a picture, after returning from fighting against Syrian army force.

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| August 5, 2013
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Cold breeze from Cairo is sending Hamas for cover

 

1000’s of Palestinian workers in already wounded Gaza have been laid off because Egypt has closed the border & sealed most smuggling tunnels while some of the 10’s of thousands of Palestinians living in Egypt are already keeping a low profile for fear of being targeted in an anti-Hamas backlash.

The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

 

The coup in Egypt has cost Gaza’s Hamas its most important foreign ally, while more and more ordinary Palestinians are getting caught up in the growing animosity between Egypt’s new government and Gaza’s Islamic militant rulers.

Palestinians make their way toward the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt [Archive] – Photo: AP

Thousands of workers in already blighted Gaza have been laid off because Egypt has closed the border, while some of the tens of thousands of Palestinians studying and working in Egypt are keeping a low profile for fear being targeted in an anti-Hamas backlash.

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| August 5, 2013
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U.S. Keeps Embassies Closed

 

U.S. Embassies in the Middle East will remain closed due to ‘caution’ & not because of ‘new threat.‘

By Reuters and DPA

 

 

The United States extended the closures of some embassies and consulates in the Middle East – which had been closed Sunday due to an Al-Qaida threat – through Aug. 10 due to “caution” but not the emergence of a “new threat stream,” the State Department said.

U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv

U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv – Photo: Ariel Schalit

 

The expansion through to next Saturday in some cases also was in keeping with local custom during the Eid celebrations of the final week of Ramadan, which had already been planned before the terrorist warnings, the State Department sai

Other U.S. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| August 3, 2013
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Five Serious Flaws to Kerry’s Mideast Peace Plans

Kerry’s new Palestinian-Israeli talks are  far from being a fresh chance for peace. Lacking in any Palestinian reciprocity,  good faith or eagerness for peace, the results will only prove be a grave threat to the Jewish State.

By  Noah Beck

 

Here is a list of reasons why Secretary Kerry’s Mideast peace process is unfairly flawed in ways that endanger Israel.

The Five Flaws of Kerry's Mideast Peace Process

Three Blind Mice – Israel Today

 

1) No Palestinian reciprocity at the outset. Israel agreed to release 104 convicted terrorists just to get the Palestinians to talk peace. Would the U.S. agree to release 104 Guantanamo prisoners for talks with anyone? Continue Reading »

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| August 3, 2013
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Jailed Palestinian prisoner smuggled out sperm to become father

 

 

Lida al-Rimawi says her baby’s birth was the result of artificial insemination from her imprisoned husband’s smuggled sperm.

Palestinian agency claims 16 other births from smuggled sperm have been documented.

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

A Palestinian woman claims she has given birth to a baby boy who was conceived by sperm from her Israeli-held husband, the Palestinian news agency Maan reported Friday.

An inconceivable method of conceiving? A Palestinian woman claims she used smuggled sperm to become pregnant – Photo: GettyImages

Abdul Kareem al-Rimawi, a Palestinian prisoner serving a 25-year sentence, successfully transferred his sperm to the Razan Medical Center in Nablus, where his wife, Lida became pregnant through artificial means, the agency said.

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