Archive for Mid-East News

| June 15, 2013
No comments

Israeli Defense Minister says Arab League initiative is just another spin

During his visit to Washington, Ya’alon says peace talks should resume immediately and without preconditions, initiative is another dictation.

Defense Minister Ya’alon added how he’s unimpressed with Assad’s victories in Syria

By Yitzhak Benhorin

Washington – Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon slammed the Arab League peace initiative in his speech at the Washington Institute in the US, and called it a ‘spin.’

Defense Cheifs Ya'alon & Hagel - Photo Yaron Brener

Defense Cheifs Ya’alon & Hagel – Photo: Yaron Brener

Ya’alon claimed the initiative is a dictation, and said Israel is always willing to return to the negotiation table, barring preconditions and dictations.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the time has come to end the “squabbling over preconditions” and resume negotiations. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 15, 2013
No comments

Hezbollah condemned by UN Human Rights Council

Resolution brought by Western powers & Arab block, urges all parties to refrain from contributing to a further escalation of the Syrian conflict.

By Reuters

 

 

The UN Human Rights Council on Friday condemned the use of all foreign fighters in Syria‘s civil war, including Lebanese Hezbollah militants backing the government, but stopped short of calling for a halt to the flow of arms.

An image of Syria's President Bashar Assad is seen on a car's windscreen.

An image of Syria’s President Bashar Assad is seen on a car’s windscreen as Hezbollah supporters celebrate, after the Syrian army took control of Qusair from rebel fighters. – Photo: Reuters

The Geneva forum adopted a resolution brought by Arab and Western powers, urging all parties to refrain from contributing to a further escalation of a conflict in which at least 93,000 people had been killed by the end of April. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| June 14, 2013
No comments

Abbas aide: Quiet building freeze will open avenues for talks

 

Senior Palestinian negotiator (in doubletalk rhetoric) Nabil Shaath: “We spend 60% of our expenses on security that is not for our safety but for your protection. I have never seen a convict spend the penny they earn to protect their jailers.”

By Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana, Efrat Forsher and Israel Hayom Staff

 

Senior Palestinian negotiator Nabil Shaath warned on Thursday that “if the status quo remains, we will not be able to prevent another intifada.” Speaking to Israeli media outlets at his office in Ramallah, Shaath told reporters that a “quiet freeze [of settlement construction]” would pave the way to restarting the peace process.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 14, 2013
One comment

Sweden may reduce aid to Palestinians

 

Swedish Report: Sweden’s diplomat Gunilla Carlsson outlines reason for limiting financial support for Palestinians, why it might be lowered.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
 

 

The Swedish government may cut back on financial assistance to the Palestinians following their failure to move forward with peace negotiations with Israel, Swedish news site The Local reported.

Gunilla Carlsson

Gunilla Carlsson – Photo: Wikimedia Commons

The report quoted Development aid minister Gunilla Carlsson as asking: “Is it worth continuing developing the prerequisites for a two-state solution if Israel and the Palestinians themselves do not want to sit down at the negotiating table?”

At the moment, Sweden donates $107 million on a yearly basis to Gaza and the West Bank to aid the Palestinians, a move that Carlsson says has been made to fortify the Palestinian’s position in any future peace talks.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 14, 2013
No comments

Gaza suffers drop in ‘donations’ due to Syrian war

According to Hamas, Iran reduced monthly cash transfers because Gaza’s leaders refuse to side with Assad regime.

 

Hamas political wing ordered to slash operating costs by 50%

By Associated Press

 

A refugee from Syria recently opened a bakery here, drawing long lines of customers eager to taste meat and cheese pastries with the special flavors of Damascus – a rare bright spot in the long shadow that the Syrian civil war is casting over the Gaza Strip.

Gaza celebrating Hamas' 25 years (Photo: Reuters)

Gaza celebrating Hamas’ 25 years – Photo: Reuters

The conflict in Syria, some 300 kilometers (190 miles) away, is increasingly hurting Hamas-ruled Gaza financially, according to several figures in the Islamic terrorist group and in Islamic charities. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 13, 2013
One comment

World Council of Churches is Returning to Crusader Theology

The World Council of Churches, speaking for half-a-billion Christians worldwide, propagates blatant falsehoods and Crusader-style anti-Jewish theology in attacking Israel & Christian Zionists

By Tsvi Sadan

 

WCC

Last month, the World Council of Churches (WCC) convened in Lebanon and issued the following statement:

Palestine continues to be the central issue in the region … The persistence, after sixty five years, of continuing dispossession of Palestinian people—Christian and Muslim alike—from their land by Israeli occupation, continuing settlement of land inside the 1967 borders … is central to the turmoil in the region …. Jerusalem today is an occupied city with a government which has adopted discriminatory policies against Christians and Muslims alike …

The WCC also took aim at Christians who dare to support Israel, the reviled “Christian Zionists”:

Christians who promote ‘Christian Zionism’ distort the interpretation of the Word of God and the historic connection of Palestinians—Christians and Muslims—to the Holy Land, enable the manipulation of public opinion by Zionist lobbies, and damage intra-Christian relations.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 13, 2013
No comments

Open Mic Catches Egyptian Politician Plotting ‘War’ with ‘Enemies’ Israel & U.S.

This open microphone incident of Egypt’s senior politicians plotting against American interests, admitting the US to be their enemy will be ignored as White House policy continues its support of Morsi & his gov’t.

By

 

Just last month, Secretary of State John Kerry quietly sent Egypt an additional $1.3 billion, even though Egypt has failed to live up to democracy standards. That largesse didn’t stop a prominent Egyptian politician from talking about Egypt’s “enemy” the United States in what some pundits are classifying as a classic and embarrassing “hot mic” moment.

White House

President Mohammed Morsi gathered a group of politicians last week who thought they were speaking privately at a parliamentary meeting. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 13, 2013
No comments

In Gaza summer (terrorist) camp kids play ‘kidnap Israeli soldier’

Gaza’s Islamic Jihad invites 1000’s of young children to carry a real AK-47, fight in activities ranging from shooting practice, soldier kidnapping, & IDF outpost attack.

Elior Levy

In a somewhat unorthodox summer camp in the Gaza Strip, children aged between six and 16 picked up AK-47s and engaged in a series of quasi-military drills, including a lively game of “kidnap an Israeli soldier” in the sand dunes of Rafah.

An AFP correspondent listed some of the activities the Islamic Jihad summer camp offers its enrollees: Weapons use, jumping over fire and crawling under barbed wire, all performed to the tune of exploding charges. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| June 12, 2013
No comments

Hamas to execute two Gazans as “collaborators” with Israel

Both men to hang before month’s end, or as early as next week.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Hamas is planning to execute two Palestinians from the Gaza who were recently convicted of “collaborating” with Israel.

Gaza children

A Hamas official said that the two men, who were not identified, would be executed by hanging before the end of this month, or probably as early as next week.

The official said that the two men had been convicted by a Palestinian court of passing on to Israeli authorities information that led to the killing of Palestinians.

Salah Eddin Abu Sharkh, a senior official with the Hamas-run Ministry of Interior, confirmed that his government was planning to execute convicted “collaborators” in the near future.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 12, 2013
No comments

Austria began withdrawing their peacekeepers from Syrian Golan Heights

Because of the escalating encounters between Syrian rebels & gov’t forces, which left 2 UN soldiers wounded last week, Austria decided to pull out of the region and entered the protection of Israel.

Austrian troops made up the biggest contingent in the 1,000-strong UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).

By Reuters & Israel Hayom Staff

 

Austria has begun withdrawing peacekeepers from the Golan Heights, winding down a four-decade mission due to spillover fighting from the Syrian civil war, the Austrian Defense Ministry said.

Austrian U.N. peacekeepers withdrawing from Syria carry their belongings as they cross border between Israel and Syria at Quneitra on Wednesday – Photo: AP

A Reuters journalist stationed in the Golan Heights said Austrian troops had already moved from the Quneitra crossing point to a United Nations base inside the Israeli-held part of the heights on Tuesday.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| June 12, 2013
No comments

Abbas declares to Colombian President: Palestinians want peace

Abbas tells President Juan Manuel Santos of Columbia, Palestinians committed to peace process based on pre-1967 lines.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday reiterated the Palestinians’ commitment to the peace process with Israel on the basis of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines, with Jerusalem as its capital.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos. Photo Reuters

PA President Mahmoud Abbas shakes hands with his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos.

Abbas’s statement came during a meeting in Ramallah with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

The PA’s official news agency Wafa reported that Abbas briefed his guest on the latest developments surrounding the peace process and international efforts to resume talks between the Palestinians and Israel.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| June 12, 2013
No comments

Turkish News reports: Mossad chief made secret visit to meet Erdogan

Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News reports that Tamir Pardo met Turkish counterpart to discuss Iran’s nuclear program, the situation in Syria & the current protests against Erdogan. 

By  

Mossad director Tamir Pardo secretly visited Ankara several days ago and met with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. According to a report in the Hurriyet Daily News, Pardo asked Fidan to arrange a meeting for him with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

mossad - Moti Milrod - December 30 2010

Mossad chief Tamir Pardo – Photo: Moti Milrod

According to the newspaper report, the secret meeting took place in Ankara on Monday, June 10. During the meeting, Pardo and Fidan discussed the situation in Syria, the Iranian nuclear program and the demonstrations and protests against Erdogan in Turkey. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| June 11, 2013
No comments

Israeli PM says rumors of IDF forces operating in Syria is ‘nonsense’

According to PM Netanyahu, Iran is seeking an escalation in the area by ordering Syria to provide Hezbollah with advanced weapons.

Netanyahu affirms that Israel will do all in its power to stop this transfer of weapons.

By

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports in the media on Monday of alleged Israeli forces operating in Syria.

Netanyahu addressing the Knesset April 24, 2013.

Netanyahu addressing the Knesset – Photo: Emil Salman

“Any talk of undercover Israeli forces operating in Syria is nonsense,” Netanyahu said.

According to the prime minister, “Syria is in the midst of a long process of breaking apart that is seeping into our area. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| June 10, 2013
No comments

Liberman: Stop ‘pointless’ dialog with the EU. Time to cut them off

Former FM Liberman called the EU decision not to add Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations “hypocrisy incarnate”. The EU makes demands of Israel in relation to peace talks, but does nothing in return.

By LAHAV HARKOV, HERB KEINON

 

 

Israel should not continue to let the European Union get involved in diplomatic affairs, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman Avigdor Liberman said Monday after sending a sharply-worded letter to EU Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton urging her to include Hezbollah in the EU list of terrorist groups.

Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman - Photo Marc Israel Sellem,The Jerusalem Post

Former foreign minister Avigdor Liberman – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem,The Jerusalem Post

Speaking at a Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee meeting, Liberman called the EU decision not to add Hezbollah to its list of terrorist organizations “hypocrisy incarnate,” which would “make the EU irrelevant, as far as we’re concerned, when it comes to dealing with the region.”

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| June 10, 2013
No comments

Senior Israeli Minister: With Iran & Hezbollah’s help, Assad may win Syrian war

To win, Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Steinitz says: “It is in his (Assad’s) interest not to provoke us, so that we get involved.”

Steinitz’s assessment was quickly disavowed by others in PM Netanyahu’s coalition gov’t.

 

By Reuters

Syrian President Bashar Assad, backed by Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, may prevail in the more than two-year-old uprising against him, Israel’s intelligence minister said on Monday.

Free Syrian Army fighters eat Kibbeh

Free Syrian Army fighters eat Kibbeh, a traditional Allepian food, in Aleppo’s Karm al-Jabal district, June 8, 2013. – Photo: Reuters

Though the assessment was quickly disavowed by others in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government, it reflected the difficulties facing Israel and Western countries in predicting Syria‘s destiny and weighing intervention. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
« Older Entries   Recent Entries »