Archive for Mid-East News

| January 18, 2013
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Not Surprising Report: Hizbullah Behind Burgas Bombing

Thursday, Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov paid a surprise visit to Israel & shared their updates, confirming Israeli allegations on the Burgas bombing investigation.

 

By Maayana Miskin

 

Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov paid an unannounced visit to Israel on Thursday. Mladenov updated Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres on Bulgaria’s progress in investigating the terrorist attack in Burgas last year in which five Israelis and one Bulgarian were murdered.

The bus that was destroyed in the Burgas terrorist attack – Reuters

The bus that was destroyed in the Burgas terrorist attack – Reuters

According to Channel 2, the report found the Hizbullah was behind the fatal bombing.

Bulgaria’s Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, is updating European leaders regarding Bulgaria’s findings. Continue Reading »

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| January 18, 2013
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Hamas Bans Israeli Aid That Compete with Their Smuggling Operation

Hamas bans certain types of Israeli goods into Gaza at the expense of the people’s welfare. Israel nevertheless continues supplying the free goods.

By Elad Benari

 

Hamas is once again trying to punish the residents of Gaza by attempting to reduce the scope of Israeli goods entering the region.

Hamas’ Ministry of Economics announced this week its decision to ban the import of certain types of goods into Gaza through the Israeli crossings. These include office furniture, various types of foods, hygiene products, gas pipes, plastic, plastic bags and clothing.

The local population in Gaza expressed its dissatisfaction with the decision, especially since the Israeli products that enter Gaza are considered to be of much higher quality than the goods that are smuggled into Gaza from Egypt, through the tunnels in the Rafiah area. Continue Reading »

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| January 18, 2013
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Israel hints at ‘letter of regret’ to Turkey over ‘Marmara Fiasco’

 

Ayalon tells Turkey’s ‘Hürriyet’ that Israel may attempt to smooth relations by using diplomatic language; FM Liberman advocates “expression of regret.”

By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS

 

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon told Turkish daily Hürriyet on Thursday that Israel may use diplomatic language inspired by the letter sent by Washington to Islamabad over the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers in order end the impasse with Ankara.

Danny Ayalon“I see some kind of improvement and opportunities,” Ayalon was quoted as saying, citing the “American-Pakistani formula” as an idea to renegotiate relations.

“Remember, recently there were 24 Pakistani soldiers killed by mistake by American forces, and the Americans sent a letter that was accepted in Pakistan.

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| January 17, 2013
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Hollande: France to commence peace initiative after Israeli elections

Israel Radio reports: France considers renewed Israel-Palestinian peace talks an urgent matter, and condemns new construction in Judea & Samaria, arguing, “It fuels tensions on the ground and constitutes an obstacle to peace.”

By Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

France will introduce a new initiative to jump start Middle East peace talks, French President François Hollande told Israel Radio on Wednesday. According to the report, French diplomats said France and the U.K. were in lockstep over the Middle East but had yet to formulate a joint plant.

French President François Hollande

French Ambassador to Israel Christophe Bigot told Israel Radio on Wednesday his government considered it urgent to have the Palestinians and Israelis renew negotiations.

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| January 17, 2013
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World Bank Study: Red-Dead pipeline is feasible project

Project connecting the Red Sea to the Dead Sea would be an environmental disaster, according to green activists.

 

While there may be environmental and social impacts on the region, a trilateral plan to construct a 180-kilometer pipeline transporting water from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea is feasible, a World Bank study has determined.

The Dead Sea - Photo by Marc Israel SellemAfter nearly a decade of pondering the project in Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, the World Bank recently released its final draft version of its Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Study Program: Feasibility Study.

Published as part of a series of studies, the World Bank printed the report alongside an environmental and social assessment study and a study of strategic alternatives, as well as various other studies and models of the Dead and Red seas – all done simultaneously, but conducted by different companies. Continue Reading »

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| January 16, 2013
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Israel to UNSC: Prevent Syrian WMD transfer to Hezbollah

UN Ambassador Ron Prosor calls on UN Security Council to act immediately to prevent Assad’s chemical weapons from being transferred into Hezbollah’s hands.

By MICHAEL WILNER, JERUSALEM POST CORRESPONDENT

 

 

UNITED NATIONS — Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor  said Tuesday that the prospect of Hezbollah acquiring chemical weapons — mishandled or handed over intentionally by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad  — is “frightening,” and called on the Security Council to act immediately to prevent their proliferation.

Ron Prosor

Ron Prosor

 

Prosor’s comments came during a daylong debate at the UN on counter-terrorism efforts. The Israeli envoy contended that an end to terrorism required addressing the fundamental teachings of prejudice and hate.

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| January 16, 2013
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UNHRC Reports: Israel requests ‘Rights Review’ postponed

UNHRC expresses concern that Israel may refuse to cooperate with annual Rights Review following its severing of ties over UN’s probe into West Bank construction

Associated Press

 

Members of a top UN top human rights body criticized by the US as too focused on Israel are concerned Jerusalem will not fully participate in a routine review of its record even after it appeared to be taking steps at restoring ties, a spokesman for the council said Tuesday.

UNHRCAll UN member nations are required to submit to a review by the Human Rights Council, but Israel said last year it would stop cooperating because of plans for an international fact-finding mission to look at Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Continue Reading »

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| January 15, 2013
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Muslim Scholar: The Qur’an Says that the ‘Holy Land’ Belongs to Israel

The Qur’an expressly recognizes that Jerusalem plays the same role for Jews that Mecca has for Muslims. True Muslims must admit that there is no real link between al-Mi’raj and sovereign rights over Jerusalem, since the city was not under Islamic but under Byzantine administration.

By Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi

 

Jerusalem: Three-Fold Religious Heritage for a Contemporary Single Administration

Any discussion of the problem of sovereignty over Jerusalem necessarily means involvement in a kind of investigation that has political, cultural, psychological and religious implications. For Jew or Muslim, religious or secular, thinking of Jerusalem means to feel reason and sentiment mingled together. Continue Reading »

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| January 14, 2013
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Egyptian Historian: Muslim Brotherhood Responsible for Jews Expelled from Egypt

An Egyptian history professor has fingered the Muslim Brotherhood as being the cause for the Jews fleeing Egypt.

By Elad Benari

 

An Egyptian historian has fingered the Muslim Brotherhood as being responsible for the country’s Jews fleeing Egypt.

Khaled Fahmi,The history professor, Khaled Fahmi, made the remarks during an interview which aired on Al-Nahar TV on January 3, 2013. They were translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“The Muslim Brotherhood bears much of the responsibility for the fleeing of the Jews from Egypt,” Fahmi said. “All the writings of the Muslim Brotherhood… If you grab a copy of their Al-Nazir newspaper [from the late 1930s], the editor-in-chief of which was Salah Al-Ashmawi, you will see that there were many anti-Jewish articles – articles that did not distinguish between Zionism and the Jews. Continue Reading »

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| January 14, 2013
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Syrian Generals ordered to attack Israel & Egypt should Assad fall

Assad’s reason for attacking Israel is obvious. Syria is officially in a state of war with Israel & hosts numerous terror groups dedicated to the Jewish state’s annihilation.

By Israel Today Staff

 

Embattled Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has ordered his military chiefs to launch ballistic missiles at Israel if he is killed by rebel forces, according to sources in Damascus cited by Israeli media this week.

Syrian threat aimed at Israel & Egypt

The online newspaper Inyan Merkazi reported that Assad met with his top generals recently to express concerns that he could be taken out by advanced American missiles recently provided to rebel forces, or by a violent mob similar to the one that violently murdered former Libyan dictator Muamar Gaddafi. Continue Reading »

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| January 14, 2013
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Jordan forming int’l bloc to adavnce peace talks

Jordan’s King Abdullah says he is working with European leaders to rejuvenate long-stalled Peace-talks between Israel & the Palestinians.

 

Jordan is in the process of consolidating an international coalition to kick-start the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the country’s King Abdullah said Sunday in an interview with French publication Le Nouvel Observateur.

Abdullah, Abbas

“We are working closely with several parties in Europe, including France, to put some effective and workable ideas on the table that would enable the US to engage and play a leading role in the peace process soon after the start of the second term of President [Barack] Obama,” Abdullah said in his interview, translated into English by The Jordan Times.

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| January 14, 2013
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Palestinian PM pleads with Arab leaders to give PA more cash

PM Fayyad meets with Arab League leaders to find ways to receive the $100 million they promised the Palestinian Authority.

 

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad warned Sunday that his government could fail to meet its obligations to its people because of a cash crunch, and urged Arab countries to deliver on promised aid.

Salam Fayyad.

Salam Fayyad. – Photo by AP

 

Fayyad met with Arab League members to discuss ways to raise the $100 million they pledged earlier to his Palestinian Authority. Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby said seven countries have responded favorably, but he did not name them. Continue Reading »

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| January 14, 2013
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Iran Spying on Israel from Golan Heights

A recent U.S. report indicates Iran has established intelligence stations in several areas in the Middle East, including Syria’s Golan Heights.

By Elad Benari

 

Iran has been establishing signals intelligence stations in several parts of the Middle East, including the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S.-based World Tribune reports.

The Defense Department has indicated that one of the intelligence stations was established in the Golan Heights, close to Syria’s border with Israel, the report said.

The Pentagon’s counter-terrorist support office said the stations were established by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps together with Tehran’s leading ally, Syria, according to the World Tribune. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| January 13, 2013
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King Abdullah: Palestinians & Israel to Talk Next Month

In an interview, Jordan’s King Abdullah plans to host talks between Israel & the Palestinian Authority as soon as next month

By David Lev

 

Jordan’s King Abdullah expects to host talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority as soon as next month, he said in an interview Sunday. Abdullah said that a “window of opportunity” would soon open, and it was necessary to take advantage of it.

Jordan's King Abdullah II

Jordan’s King Abdullah II – AFP/File

That “window” would commence after the inauguration of Barack H. Obama as President of the U.S. for a second term. Abdullah said that Jordan was coordinating with France and other European countries to come up with fresh ideas to implement an agreement between Israel and the PA. Continue Reading »

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| January 13, 2013
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Gaza Media Reports: Hamas test-fires improved long-range rockets

Palestinian sources report that Hamas’ military wing recently conducted test launches of 2 rockets made in Gaza with Iranian know-how, with range 10′s of kilometers

Palestinians say IDF shoots & kills 1 Palestinian in West Bank and 1 in Gaza.

By Daniel Siryoti and Lilach Shoval

 

 

Operation Pillar of Defense ended only two months ago, but Hamas is already preparing for the next clash with Israel. Palestinian media sources have reported that the military wing of the Gaza-based organization recently test fired improved long-range missiles.

Hamas fires a rocket from Gaza at southern Israeli communities during Operation Pillar of Defense in November.

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