Archive for Mid-East News

| March 26, 2013
No comments

Kidnapped in the Sinai, Israeli & Norwegian hostages are released

Israeli Arab, Amir Omar Hassan, 23 & a Norwegian tourist were released by their captors.
Hassan, in interview to Egyptian press: ‘There were hard days, but they didn’t harm us’

By Hassan Shaalan

 

The family of the kidnapped Israeli-Arab from Nazareth and MK Ahmad Tibi have reported that both he and the Norwegian tourist who where kidnapped last Friday in the Sinai Peninsula have been released into the custody of Egyptian authorities.

Hassan, Phillip, after release - Photo ONA

Hassan & Phillip, after their release – Photo: ONA

Before dawn, Amir Omar Hasan, 23, who was captured together with a Norwegian national by a group of armed Bedouins while vacationing in Sinai, called his family to inform them of his release. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 26, 2013
No comments

Compensation discussions over IDF raid have begun between Israel & Turkey

AFP quotes Turkey’s deputy Prime Minister as saying countries began talks over compensation for families of victims of the 2010 Mavi Marmara raid.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister on Monday said Turkey has entered into talks with Israel regarding compensation for the families of the victims of the deadly 2010 Gaza flotilla raid, AFP reported.

“Officials delegated by the two sides will work on the compensation issue. We gave the kick-start for it today,” AFP quoted Bulent Arinc as telling reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.

“This is a big success of Turkish foreign policy,” Arinc said.

He added that Turkey’s foreign minister “held talks with the other party and expressed the necessity to swiftly solve the issue,” AFP quoted the deputy prime minister as saying. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 25, 2013
One comment

Hamas Condemns Gazan to Death by Strangulation for Spying for Israel

A man from Gaza was sentenced to death by strangulation by Hamas after he was convicted of spying for “an enemy entity”.

By Elad Benari

 

Gaza’s Hamas terrorist rulers have sentenced a man to death for collaborating with Israel.

A statement on Sunday by Gaza’s Interior Ministry, translated by Arab affairs expert Dalit Halevi, had said that a military court had sentenced the man to death by strangulation. He was, according to the statement, convicted of providing information to “hostile elements” in Israel.

Badr al-Din Badr, head of the communications department of the Interior Ministry, said in the statement that the agent who was sentenced to death was arrested quite some time ago by security forces, and had failed to turn himself in as part of two previous campaigns that allowed agents to turn themselves into the government and be pardoned under certain conditions. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 25, 2013
No comments

Fellow Alawites call for rebellion in Syrian army

For the 1st time, fellow Alawites who support the rebellion call for unity among Syrians.

By Reuters

Opposition activists from Syrian’s President Bashar Assad‘s Alawite sect called for his overthrow on Sunday and urged their co-religionists in the army to rebel.

A woman and a child walk by graffiti praising Allah and the Syrian revolution in Aleppo. – Photo by AFP

In the first meeting of its kind by Alawites who support the revolt, delegates distanced themselves from Assad’s crackdown against an uprising in which 70,000 people have been killed.

“We call on our brothers in the Syrian army, specifically members of our sect, not to take up arms against their people and to refuse to join the army,” the delegates said in a statement after two days of meeting in the Egyptian capital. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 25, 2013
No comments

Int’l Law Group: Erdoğan should be charged for deaths of activists

Shurat HaDin’s Nitzana Darshan Leitne says, “Turkey’s Tayyip Erdoğan should be tried for (facilitating) the deaths of the activists on the Marmara”.

By Arutz Sheva staff

 

“Israel’s decision to apologize to Turkey is pathetic pandering to an Islamic extremist who compared Zionism to fascism and is still trying to indict Israeli officers for war crimes,” said Nitzana Darshan Leitner,director of Shurat HaDin Israel Law Center.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan - Reuters

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Reuters

The comments come in response to reports Friday that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart, voiced regret for the 2010 Marmara flotilla incident in which nine Turkish citizens were killed after they attacked Israeli soldiers enforcing the Gaza blockade. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 24, 2013
No comments

Syria’s Jihadist Rebels Seize the Jordan-Israeli DMZ Buffer Zone

Jihadist rebel militias in Syria have seized a 25-km (15 mile) demilitarized buffer zone from the Jordanian border to the Golan Heights.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

Syrian rebel forces have seized a 25-kilometer (15 mile) buffer zone stretching from the Jordanian border to the Golan Heights.

Syrian rebelsAccording to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights watchdog agency, “Fighters loyal to Al Nusra Front, Al Yarmuk Brigade, Al Mutaz Billah Brigade and others took control of Al Rai military checkpoint” east of Sahem al-Golan, in the Dara’a province.

“The fighters seized the site after regime forces retreated,” the statement continued. “The 25-kilometer area located between the towns of Muzrib (near the Jordanian border) and Abdin (in the Golan Heights) is now out of regime control,” AFP reported. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 24, 2013
No comments

IDF destroyed Syrian military post that shot at IDF

Tensions continue to escalate in the Golan Heights as IDF fires Tamuz missile at military post after Syrians fire bullets at IDF patrol.

On Saturday the Syrians hit an IDF jeep with rifle fire.

Yoav Zitun

 

The IDF opened fire at a Syrian military post on Sunday after the Syrians opened fire at IDF soldiers. The IDF used a Tamuz anti-tank guided missile at a Syrian post in the Tel Fares area in the southern Golan Heights. There were no casualties on the Israeli side. The Syrian post was destroyed and two armed Syrians were wounded.

IDF artillery – Photo Courtesy: IDF Spokesperson Unit

Following the incident, construction of the northern border fence was halted. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| March 23, 2013
One comment

Turkish & Israeli diplomats will meet to implement agreement

Both Israeli & Turkish diplomats will meet at a technical level over the next few days in order to discuss details of the compensation for the 9 Turks killed in the Mavi Marmara incident.

By Sevil Küçükkoşum

 

Now that Israel has issued a formal apology to Turkey and agreed to pay compensation over the Mavi Marmara killings of 2010, the first step in the process of normalizing relations between Turkey and Israel will be compensation for the Mavi Marmara victims.

Turkish and Israeli diplomats will meet at a technical level over the next few days, more likely the following week, in order to discuss details of the compensation for nine Turks killed in the Israeli raid.   Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: ,
| March 23, 2013
No comments

Third day of deadly clashes in Lebanon after PM resigns

After Lebanese PM Makati resigns, deadly violence escalates  for third day in Tripoli.
UN’s chief, Ban Ki-moon impotently calls for calm & unity.

By REUTERS

 

Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli was the scene of deadly clashes on Saturday, leaving one man dead and two others wounded, according to local residents.

Arrests during deadly clashes in Tripoli - Photo Reuters-Omar Ibrahim

Arrests during deadly clashes in Tripoli – Photo: Reuters/Omar Ibrahim

The violence, which has lasted for three days, has escalated in the wake of the resignation of former prime minister Najib Mikati which has been brought about as a direct result of failed talks with terrorist faction Hezbollah who have over shadowed the Lebanese political landscape in recent years. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 23, 2013
No comments

US Congress releases $500M for Palestinians

US St. Dept. spokeswoman Nuland reported that the aid money, which had been frozen by Congress for months, was freed to support Abbas, as the PA faces worst economic crisis in years.

By AFP

 

The United States has quietly unblocked almost $500 million in aid to the Palestinian Authority which had been frozen by Congress for months, a top US official said Friday.

US SenateThe news that the funds had finally been freed up came after US President Barack Obama met top Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a landmark visit to Israel and the West Bank earlier this week.

“To date, we have moved $295.7 million in fiscal year 2012 money… and $200 million in fiscal year 2013 assistance,” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 23, 2013
2 comments

Report: Obama to Abbas – Don’t charge Israel at the ICC

Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported that during the Ramallah talks US president urged Abbas to refrain from charging Israel at the int’l court in the Hague for any reason.
The PA leader defiantly threatens to haul Israel to court as soon as the Jewish state should start building in the E-1 area.

By Roi Kais

 

US President Barack Obama asked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to refrain from taking Israel to the International Criminal Court in The Hague for any reason, the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported Saturday.

Obama and King Abdullah, Friday

The newspaper quoted a Palestinian official as saying that during their meeting in Ramallah on Thursday Abbas told Obama he would wait two months before talking any measures against Israeli settlement construction, but stressed he would turn to the ICC immediately should the Jewish begin building in the E1 zone between Jerusalem and Ma’ale Adumim. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 23, 2013
No comments

Palestinian MK Hanin Zoabi: Netanyahu’s Apology ‘Not Enough’

Arab MK Hanin Zoabi, who was on the Marmara with the IHH terrorists when they brutally attacked Israel’s soldiers, says Netanyahu’s apology is “not enough”.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), who was on the Mavi Marmara when IHH terrorists attacked IDF soldiers who boarded the ship, said Friday that Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s apology to Turkey over the Marmara incident is “not enough”.

Earlier, Netanyahu spoke on the phone with his Turkish counterpart and apologized for the deaths of nine Turks in a 2010 raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla. The two agreed to normalize the relations between the two countries. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| March 23, 2013
No comments

Israel, Turkey to normalize ties with legal steps against IDF soldiers canceled

Both PMs agreed to restore normalization between Israel & Turkey, including the dispatch of ambassadors and the cancellation of legal steps against IDF soldiers.

By JTA

 

WASHINGTON — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to normalize relations after Netanyahu apologized and agreed to compensation for the 2010 Israeli raid on a Turkish-flagged ship that left nine Turks dead.

The two men talked on Friday by phone, according to statements by Netanyahu’s office and the White House.

“The two men agreed to restore normalization between Israel and Turkey, including the dispatch of ambassadors and the cancellation of legal steps against IDF soldiers,” said the Israeli statement. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| March 23, 2013
No comments

2 arrested by Hamas for firing Gaza rockets into Israel

Israel Radio: Hamas arrest members of a Salafi terrorist group after they claimed responsibility on the internet for shooting the rockets during Obama’s visit.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

Hamas on Friday arrested two members of an Islamic jihadist organization in connection with in firing rockets from Gaza into southern Israel on Thursday, Israel Radio reported.

The report cites Gazan sources as saying Hamas arrested two members of the Salafi Magles Shoura al-Mujahddin organization, who yesterday claimed responsibility for firing rockets into Israel. In an Internet statement the group said it had fired the rockets to show that Israeli air defenses could not stop attacks on the Jewish state during Obama’s visit. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| March 23, 2013
No comments

Kidnapped Israeli calls his family: ‘Stay calm’

Israeli-Arab Amir Omar Hasan, kidnapped in the Sinai, speaks with his family members, says: ‘Situation is ok’.

Egyptian report: Bedouin Kidnappers reject negotiation, demand release of relatives held in Egyptian jail

By Hasan Shaalan

 

Amir Omar Hasan, the 23-year-old Israeli-Arab who was kidnapped together with a Norwegian citizen by a gang of Bedouins while vacationing in Sinai, has spoken with his family members in Israel Friday.

Amir Omer Hasan - Photo nsrawy.net

Amir Omer Hasan – Photo: nsrawy.net

According to his relatives, Hasan himself had called the family to inform them of his captivity. “He asked us to stay calm, and said that he is healthy,” a family member said, adding: “We’re not so sure about the circumstance of the actually kidnapping.” Continue Reading »

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