Gov. Hamayel issues an order forbidding all Palestinian institutions in his district from having any communication with Israel.

Iranian Arms Shipment Seized Off Coast of Yemen

Yemeni coast guard intercepted a ship carrying a “substantial” cache of illegal weapons that officials suspect were being smuggled from Iran.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

Yemeni authorities working with the United States Navy intercepted a ship carrying a substantial cache of illegal arms that U.S. officials suspect were being smuggled from Iran.

Followers of Yemen’s al-Houthi Shi’ite group armed with weapons – Reuters

The arms, intercepted aboard the ship in Yemeni territorial waters in the Arabian Sea last Wednesday, included surface-to-air missiles, potent explosives and rocket-propelled grenades, a U.S. official and Yemen’s government announced Monday.

The crew of the USS Farragut, a Naval destroyer, was working with Yemeni authorities when they spotted the vessel, said an official in the Obama administration, speaking on the condition of anonymity. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran, weapons smuggling, Yemen

Governor of Bethlehem forbids any contact with Israel

Gov. Hamayel issues an order forbidding all Palestinian institutions in his district from having any communication with Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Bethlehem’s PA governor, Abdel Fattah Hamayel, on Sunday issued an order banning Palestinian institutions in his district from having any direct contact with Israel.

Bethlehem

The order applies to all municipal and village councils in the Bethlehem area, as well as Palestinian NGOs and trade institutions.

The governor justified the ban by arguing that Israeli authorities have been avoiding dealing with Palestinians through the Palestinian District Coordinating Office [DCO].

“In wake of repeated Israeli calls to deal directly with Palestinian municipalities and institutions and hold meetings and conferences with the Israeli side, it is forbidden to have direct contact or coordination with Israel,” Hamayel stated in his order. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Apartheid, Bethlehem

Syria’s chemical/biological arsenal is now within Hezbollah reach

PM Benjamin Netanyahu met with a U.S. delegation about the developments in Syria, reporting that the potential outcomes facing Israel are “bad, bad& worse”.

Just off the Syrian coast, Russian navy conducts large-scale training exercise.

By Shlomo Cesana & Daniel Siryoti

Israel continued to warn the world on Monday of the potentially devastating outcome if Syria’s chemical arsenal falls into the hands of rebels, or worse, Hezbollah, as Lebanese media outlets reported that the Lebanese terror group had already obtained some chemical weapons and long range missiles.

Footage of Hezbollah fighters in Syria on Monday. – Photo: Channel 10 News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday met with a delegation from the U.S. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Chemical Weapons, Israel Syria, Syria Unrest, WMD

PLO’s apathy at Hamas’s Talibanization of the Gaza Strip

Instead of seeking unity with Hamas, the PLO leadership should be making a bigger effort to prevent radical Islam from extending its control to the West Bank.

By Khaled Abu Toameh

Those who thought that Hamas would ever establish a modern and liberal regime in the Gaza Strip received another reminder this week of how the radical Islamist movement is pursuing its effort to create a Taliban-style entity in the territory that has been under its control since 2007. PA chief Abbas and Hamas leader Mashaal in Cairo - Photo by Reuters

The reminder came in the form of a decision taken by the Al-Aqsa University administration in the Gaza Strip to force female students to dress in accordance with Islamic teachings. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Gaza, Hamas Fatah, PLO, Sharia law

Ex-CIA: Unconfirmed Iranian blast may be largest sabotage in decades

Former Revolutionary Guard turned CIA tells ‘Post’ that such an explosion to the Fordow nuclear facility would harm Iran drastically.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

Iranian dissident-turned CIA operative Reza Kahlili told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that an alleged blast at the Fordow nuclear installation in Iran is “the largest case of sabotage in decades.”

Iran's Ahmadinejad at Natanz nuclear facility

Although it has not yet been verified, a report by Kahlili, according to which a massive blast rocked Iran’s key Fordow nuclear installation last week, continued to spread on Monday.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization has dismissed reports of an explosion as “Western propaganda,” while The Sunday Times cited Israeli intelligence figures as confirming the claim.

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran Nuclear Program

Palestinians flee catastrophe in Syria to catastrophe in Lebanon

“We go from catastrophe to catastrophe, from refugee camp to refugee camp, but at least we are alive,” Umm Sami said in Ein el-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern port city of Sidon.

By The Associated Press

Then she told her sons they were leaving their home in the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital for neighboring Lebanon, where they would wait out Syria’s civil war.

Palestinian children who fled their houses in the Yarmouk camp

“There will be no more martyrs for Palestine in my family,” the 45-year-old widow said. “This war is a Syrian problem.”

Now safe in Lebanon, Umm Sami and her family have joined thousands of other Palestinian refugees who have found shelter in the country since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad erupted nearly two years ago. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Lebanon, Palestinians, Syria, Syria Unrest

Report: Hizbullah Bases Sets Up Close to Syria’s Chemical Depots

According to an Israeli media outlet, Hizbullah terrorists are setting up bases in Syria very close to known chemical weapons storage facilities.

By Chana Ya’ar

The Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization is setting up bases in Syria close to known chemical weapons storage facilities, according to a source quoted in a report published Monday by Israeli Hebrew-language news outlet Ynet.

Chemical war drill – IDF Spokesman’s Unit

Hizbullah, which is generously funded and equipped by Iran, has been working to shore up the government forces backing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, together with Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards.

But even with that assistance, the loyalists are beginning to lose their grip on the country, and it appears likely that Assad’s regime may soon fall. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Chemical Weapons, Hizbullah, Iron Dome, Syria Unrest, WMD

Letter found on PA terrorists: ‘Al Aqsa Brigades claim responsibility’

IDF soldiers intercept 2 Palestinian terrorists with grenades, firebombs and a letter they carried read: ‘Martyrs’ Brigades claim full responsibility for bombing at Elon Moreh settlement’

By Yoav Zitun

Palestinian gunman Two Palestinians who were detained on Saturday in the Hawara area near Nablus were carrying three makeshift grenades and three Molotov cocktails. The terrorists managed to hurl two additional firebombs at an IDF post before being apprehended by soldiers from the Lavi Battalion.

There were no reports of injury, but the army post was damaged. The terrorists were transferred to the custody of the Shin Bet security service for further interrogation. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: IDF, Palestinian terrorists

Israel’s PM: Iran is preparing for another Holocaust

Netanyahu, ‘Israel must not make the mistake of underestimating the Iranian threat to destroy Israel’, adding that his gov’t’s 1st & foremost mission remained to prevent Tehran from becoming a nuclear power.

By DPA

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused Iran of planning another “Holocaust,” as the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Photo: Reuters

“Holocaust denial is continued energetically by a central state in the world,” he told his cabinet in Jerusalem.

“Not by groups. Not by single individuals. Not by marginal elements. But by Iran, whose leaders on a daily basis and at the United Nations and any other platform deny that the Holocaust occurred, while at the same time they prepare what they believe will be an additional Holocaust: The destruction of the Jewish state.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Benjamin Netanyahu, Iran, Iran nuclear, Iran US, Israel Iran

Arabs Stone Kindergarten, Arabs shoot into Bus

Sunday saw a number of incidents in which inciting Arabs rioted, threw rocks at kindergarten children and shot at Israelis traveling in a bus.

By David Lev

Arab terrorists fired on a bus traveling in the Binyamin region Sunday evening. There were no injuries reported.

The attacked bus – Photo courtesy: Israel Police

The number 172 bus, traveling from Jerusalem to the town of Anatot, was fired at as it passed near the Arab town of Hizme, north of Jerusalem. The bus was damaged, with several of the bullets piercing the bullet-proof windows.

Police closed the road immediately after the shooting was reported, and began a search for the culprits. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Jerusalem, Palestinian terrorists, Palestinian violence, ‘Palestinian’ incitement

Abbas tells African Union: Palestinians will defeat Israeli apartheid

Abbas tells African Union that Israeli coalitions may change, but Palestinian demands won’t.

By Elior Levy

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that the Palestinians’ goals for the peace talks with Israel will remain unchanged, regardless of the makeup of the governing coalition in the Jewish state.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators spreading lies and hate to further their cause.

Addressing the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa, Abbas stipulated that the negotiations must achieve a settlement construction moratorium, secure the release of prisoners and address other core issues, including Jerusalem and the refugees.

Abbas further blasted Israel for imposing a blockade on the Gaza Strip and accused the Jewish state of subjecting the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to racist policies by razing homes, confiscating land and falsely arresting thousands. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: African Union, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinians

1st Patriot missile battery to defend Turkey against Syria is operational

Germany, Holland & the U.S. are each sending 2 batteries to Turkey & up to 400 soldiers to operate them after Ankara asked NATO for protection.

By Reuters

The first of six Patriot missile batteries being sent by NATO countries to defend Turkey from possible attack from Syria went operational on Saturday.

Dutch military trucks carrying NATO’s Patriot Missile Defense System to protect Turkey – Photo by AP

The United States, Germany and the Netherlands are each sending two batteries to Turkey and up to 400 soldiers to operate them after Ankara asked NATO for help. The Patriots are capable of shooting down hostile missiles in mid-air. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: NATO, Patriot missiles, Turkey Syria

Major explosion rocks Iran’s ‘impregnable’ nuclear site

Reports from WND website says mysterious explosion destroys large part of the highly fortified Fordo nuclear facility.

Ynet

WND, an American news website affiliated with the Right, reported Friday that a mysterious explosion has destroyed a significant portion of Iran‘s Fordo nuclear facility – considered Tehran’s most fortified facility.

Fordo nuclear site

The website alleged that Hamidreza Zakeri, formerly with the Islamic Republic’s Ministry of Intelligence and National Security, confirmed that the facility was hit, but the report has not been corroborated by any Western source.

The website further said that its Iranian source pegged the blast as taking place last Monday at the eve of Israel’s general elections. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: Iran Nuclear Program, sabotage