Archive for Mid-East News

Educating Muslims on the Qur’an

Turkish activist says hatred of Jews in Muslim world stems from misinterpretation of Qur’an

Sinem Tezyapar

 

Anti-Jewish slogans of an Egyptian Muslim cleric and past statements by President Morsi to “nurse our children and our grandchildren on hatred” for Jews have come to the fore in the recent days. As it is well-known, anti-Jewish propaganda is not limited to Egypt. Millions of Muslims all over the Middle East have been conditioned to regard Jews not only as the enemies of them but also of all humanity, and hatred for Jews can be found even in textbooks of children going to kindergarten. Continue Reading »

Syrian Hackers attack Israeli guesthouse websites for revenge

Assad-affiliated hackers say they are ready to take on anyone who threatens Syria’s ‘pure’ lands, so they attack ’50 Zionist entity websites,’ guesthouses in north & an online furniture retailer.

By Roi Kais

 

What damage is caused to Israeli security by downing the website of an online furniture retailer? The connection between the two seems vague, however that was one of the targets of an Assad affiliated hacker group, who attacked Israeli websites in response to the alleged attack on their country.

A number of hours after Damascus admitted that an attack took place, the organization, which calls itself the Syrian Electronic Army, claimed: “We have hacked into 50 central Israeli websites.” Continue Reading »

Convoy was Ruse, Israeli F-16 droped Bunker-Buster on Syria’s Chemical Site

London-based Arab newspaper says many Iranian Revolutionary Guards that were guarding the installation were killed.

By Gil Ronen

 

The site allegedly attacked by Israel in Syria manufactured chemical and biological weapons, according to a report in Iraqi newspaper Azzaman that appears in London.

The newspaper quoted Western diplomats who are close to the regime of Bashar al-Assad. It says that the classified installation, which is located just 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the presidential palace, was guarded by a large contingent of Iranian Revolutionary Guards, many of whom died in the attack.

A diplomatic source interviewed by the newspaper said that the attack took place 48 hours before it was first reported. Continue Reading »

After Syria Threatened Israel, White House Warns Syria on Weapons

Syria warns it reserves the right to retaliate to alleged Israeli air strike on its military research center.

By Gil Ronen

 

The White House on Thursday warned Syria not to transfer weapons to Hizbullah, as tensions mounted following reported Israeli raids on a military research center and a weapons convoy.

“Syria should not further destabilize the region by transferring weaponry to Hizbullah,” said Ben Rhodes, a US deputy national security advisor.

Syria on Thursday warned that it reserves the right to retaliate to what it says was an Israeli air strike on a military research center near Damascus, as it lodged a complaint with the United Nations. Continue Reading »

After U.S. & Arabs confirm Israel hit Syria, Iran threatens retaliation

Iranian threat: The Israeli air strike will “have serious consequences for Tel Aviv.”

By Israel Today Staff

 

Syria, Hezbollah and several Western officials on Wednesday confirmed that Israel had bombed a military target in Syria hours earlier, though Jerusalem itself is remaining very tight-lipped about the strike.

Iran threatens retaliationUS officials told the New York Times that Israel has notified Washington ahead of time that it was preparing to bomb a convoy transporting sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles from Syria to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah also posted messages to its Al-Manar website acknowledging that Israel had hit a military site connected to the terror group. Continue Reading »

Morsi’s “apes and pigs” slur pursue him in Germany

Morsi in Berlin to gather financial aid for rebuilding his crumbling Egyptian economy, however questions about the hateful, anti-Semitic comments he made, calling Jews “apes and pigs”, pursue him throughout the day.

Morsi: I’m not against the Jewish faith or the Jewish people.

 

By The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Egypt’s Islamist President Mohammed Morsi turned aside repeated criticism of his past comments referring to Jews as “the descendants of apes and pigs” as he visited Germany on Wednesday, insisting that the remarks were taken out of context and were aimed at criticizing Israeli attacks on Palestinians.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, and President of Egypt Mohammed Morsi, left, address the media during a joint press conference after a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin – Photo: AP

A key focus of Morsi’s one-day visit to Berlin was to seek support to rebuild a crumbling Egyptian economy.

Continue Reading »

Will Hezbollah use Chemical Weapons?

Reports of Israeli attack come amid mounting concerns over transfer of Syrian chemical weapons to terrorist organizations.

Israelis in the meantime are making sure their gas masks are up-to-date.

By Ben Sales

 

TEL AVIV (JTA) — Israeli planes reportedly struck a Syrian weapons transport on the Lebanese border amid increasing fears that the country’s chemical weapons stockpile could fall into the hands of Hezbollah.

The strikes, which occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning, were reported to Reuters by a Western diplomat and anonymous regional sources who said that warplanes had struck the convoy as it passed from Syria into Lebanon. Continue Reading »

Thursday’s Updates of Israel’s reported strike on the Syria-Lebanon border

The target of the IAF attack was apparently an arms convoy moving from Syria to Lebanon, but it is still not clear exactly where the strike occurred because of contradicting reports, or whether the SA-17 Missile cache also included chemical weapons.

International media reported Wednesday that Israel launched an overnight air strike on Lebanon’s border with Syria, after carrying out four separate flyover missions in Lebanese air space.

Map of Israel-Syria-Lebanon borders

The target of the reported attack was apparently an arms convoy moving from Syria to Lebanon, but it is still not clear precisely where the strike occurred, or whether the cache included chemical weapons. Continue Reading »

UN calls for immediate withdraw from settlements and sanctions against Israel

In the UNHRC’s harshest condemnation of Israeli since 1967, the 3 UN investigators report Israel is in violation of the Geneva Conventions and must ‘cease all settlement activities without precondition’.

By JTA

 

JERUSALEM (JTA) — A United Nations investigation into the impact of Jewish West Bank settlements on the Palestinian population said that Israel should immediately begin to withdraw all settlers from the territory.

The report issued Thursday by the U.N. Human Rights Council based in Geneva said that settlement violate the 1949 Geneva Conventions and that failure to withdraw could lead to a finding of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Continue Reading »

WSJ: U.S. knew in advance of Syria strike by IDF

Wall Street Journal quotes U.S. gov’t official as acknowledging the IDF strike targeted a convoy of trucks in Syria carrying Russian-made advanced missiles to Hezbollah.

By JPOST.COM STAFF, YAAKOV LAPPIN

 

American officials have told the New York Times that Jerusalem had given the US advance warning of an Israeli air strike at dawn on Tuesday on a convoy carrying weapons in Syria, close to the Lebanese border.

IAF F-16i (Sufa) – Photo courtesy: Israel Air Force

IAF F-16i (Sufa) – Photo courtesy: Israel Air Force

American officials said overnight Wednesday that the strike had targeted a suspected shipment of anti-aircraft missiles, the Wall Street Journal and Times reported.

Wednesday’s strike on the the convoy, which has not been officially confirmed by Israel, came after hours of what Lebanese army sources described as repeated invasions of its airspace by Israeli warplanes.

Continue Reading »

Moscow protests Israeli ‘unprovoked attack’ on Syria

Addressing reports of Israeli strike in Syria, Russia says it is ‘concerned about  attacks on the territory of a sovereign country.’

Hezbollah demands int’l condemnation of ‘aggressive, criminal’ Israel

Ynet

 

Russia said on Thursday it was very concerned about reports of an Israeli attack in Syria and that any such action, if confirmed, would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country.

Soviet made SA-17 anti-aircraft rocketsThe remarks were issued as Hezbollah called on the international community to condemn the alleged strike.

“If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Continue Reading »

Saudi Report: Hamas chief agreed to 2-state solution

Saudi newspaper reported that King Abdullah II set to inform President Obama of Hamas’ willingness to accept 2-state solution

By Elior Levy

 

Hamas Politburo chief Khaled Mashaal has asked Jordan’s King Abdullah II to inform US President Barack Obama that Hamas accepts the principle of a two-state solution, Saudi Arabia’s al-Sharq newspaper reported.

According to the report, which quoted Jordanian sources, Mashaal expressed willingness to stand behind a solution that will see a Palestinian state being established on the 1967 borders during a meeting with the king on Monday.

King Abdullah is scheduled to visit Washington in late February and convey the message to Obama, according to the report. Continue Reading »

Syria: Israeli planes attacked research center near Damascus

Syrian army command claims 2 people were killed & 5 wounded in the attack on the site in Jamraya, and denies earlier reports that IAF planes had struck a convoy carrying weapons from Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

By REUTERS

 

 

Israeli warplanes attacked a military research center in Damascus province at dawn on Wednesday, Syria’s military command said, denying reports that the planes had struck a convoy carrying weapons from Syria to Lebanon.

Two people were killed and five wounded in the attack on the site in Jamraya, which it described as one of a number of “scientific research centers aimed at raising the level of resistance and self-defense.”

Continue Reading »

Foreign reports: Israel Air Force hit target on Syria-Lebanon border

Arab media claim IAF fighter jets conducted 3 separate aerial incursions into Lebanon overnight. US website says target was weapons convoy; IDF remains hushed

By Roi Kais

 

“Israeli forces have attacked a target on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight,” foreign and Arab media sources alleged Wednesday, saying that 12 IAF jets breached Lebanon’s airspace on Tuesday.

IAF F-16i (Sufa) – Photo courtesy: Israel Air Force

The US-based Al-Monitor website quoted Lebanese sources as saying the target was a weapons convoy traveling near Syria’s border with Lebanon. The report has not been corroborated by any Israeli source and the IDF refused to comment on the matter. Continue Reading »

Israel preparing for possible war in north

This week the IDF deployed 2 of its vaunted Iron Dome anti-missile systems to the northern port city of Haifa in anticipation of armed action.

Israel cannot accept a situation where Hezbollah holds the threat of chemical weapons over its citizens.

 

By Israel Today Staff

 

Israel is growing increasingly concerned that Syria’s ongoing civil war is going to result in open conflict between Jewish state and either Syrian forces or Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist militia.

Israel’s border with Syria – Photo: Israeltoday.co.il

Israel has warned that if Syria’s stockpile of chemical weapons finds its way into Hezbollah hands, Israeli forces will take preemptive action. Continue Reading »