Archive for Mid-East News

| December 26, 2012
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Israel stops issuing VIP cards to PA officials

Palestinian Authority official reports that the gov’t move was a response to Ramallah’s successful bid to upgrade UN status to non-member state.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Israel is refusing to renew the VIP cards of several senior Palestinian Authority officials, a Palestinian official in Ramallah said Wednesday.

IDF checkpoint – Photo: REUTERS

IDF checkpoint – Photo: REUTERS

The Israeli-issued cards, which enable their holders freedom of movement in the West Bank and Israel, had been granted to dozens of top PA officials over the past two decades.

One of the PA officials affected by the new policy is Nabil Sha’ath, member of the Fatah Central Committee and a former negotiator with Israel. Continue Reading »

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| December 26, 2012
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Israel now eases Gaza ban on private construction material

Defense Ministry reports that more restrictions eliminated if calm persists

Palestinian official says private companies & individuals now allowed to import previously restricted construction materials following Egyptian-mediated truce deal between Hamas & Israel.

 

By AFP

 

Israel is to begin allowing materials for private construction into Gaza, easing its blockade under the terms of a truce deal, Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Wednesday.

Kerem Shalom crossing (archives) – Photo: Yoav Zitun

The decision will allow private companies and individuals to import construction materials that were previously restricted exclusively to international aid groups under the terms of Israel’s blockade. Continue Reading »

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| December 26, 2012
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Netanyahu went to Jordan for secret talks with the King on Syrian WMD

Just confirmed on Israel Channel 2 that Israel’s PM Netanyahu traveled to Jordan for secret talks with King Abdullah II on Syrian chemical weapons facilities.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a secret meeting in Jordan with King Abdullah II, the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported on Wednesday.

Netanyahu with Jordan’s King Abdullah

Netanyahu with Jordan’s King Abdullah, during a past meeting in Amman. – Photo by GPO / Archive

 

According to the report, which has yet to be confirmed by Israeli officials, the meeting focused on the possibility that Syrian President Bashar Assad would use chemical weapons against rebels in the ongoing sectarian conflict raging in that country. Continue Reading »

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| December 26, 2012
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In Depth Report: Why Christians are leaving Bethlehem

Christians feel like they are trapped in a cultural and religious ghetto. Even though Bethlehem is enjoying unprecedented financial & tourism growth, the city’s Christian residents are emigrating abroad in droves because of cultural & religious suffocation in a mostly Muslim city.

Persecution and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are only some of the reasons.

By Nadav Shragai

 

 

A falafel costs five to ten shekels in Bethlehem (in Tel Aviv the average is around 15 shekels). Hotel rooms are also substantially cheaper than hotel rooms in neighboring Jerusalem: only $25 per night. Even the Christmas product industry has managed to maintain low prices thanks to imports from the Far East.

Continue Reading »
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| December 26, 2012
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Lee Habeeb on Arabs Like Me

Despising Israel the way Israel is despised in much of the Arab world is all about anti-Semitism. And most anti-Semitism anywhere in the world has its origins in envy.

Maybe, just maybe, Arabs can break out of their self-destructive hatred and envy.

By Lee Habeeb

 

There are two kinds of Arabs in this world. Those who hate Jews, and those who don’t. And in my life, I have met more of the former than the latter.

I am not proud to say that. Arabs will not like me for admitting it. But it is true. And it is something I wish the Obama administration understood. Continue Reading »

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| December 26, 2012
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Egyptian Army Intercepts Rockets being Smuggled to Gaza

Egyptian Armed forces in the Sinai foiled an attempt to smuggle 17 rockets to Gaza.

By Elad Benari

 

Armed Forces personnel in North Sinai, in cooperation with local Bedouins, foiled an attempt on Monday to smuggle 17 rockets to Gaza, the Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.

A military source told the agency that the rockets are a French-made TDI model, caliber 68 mm, range three kilometers and can be used air to land or land to land.

The Armed Forces have been engaged in an ongoing mission to secure the Sinai Peninsula and borders with Gaza and Israel, said MENA. Continue Reading »

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| December 25, 2012
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Daniel Pipes talks Turkey

Turks worry less about Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Islamic aspirations than about his nationalist and dictatorial tendencies.

 

By Daniel Pipes

The menu on my Turkish Airlines flight earlier this month assured passengers that food selections “do not contain pork.” But it also offered a serious selection of alcoholic drinks, including champagne, whisky, gin, vodka, raki, wine, beer, liqueur and cognac.

This oddity of simultaneously adhering to and ignoring Islamic Shariah law symbolizes the uniquely complex public role of Islam in today’s Turkey, as well as the challenge of understanding the Justice and Development Party (known by its Turkish abbreviation, AKP) which has dominated the country’s national government since 2002.

Continue Reading »
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| December 25, 2012
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Qatar May Be Buying a Way for the Palestinians to Divorce from Iran

After Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Ibn Khalifa al-Thani, brought a check to Gaza, he now plans to bail out Abbas next week. His strategy may be to separate Iran from the Palestinians.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Qatar’s emir, after having brought a $250 million check to Hamas in Gaza, plans to bail out Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas next week, possibly as part of a strategy may be to isolate Iran from Hamas.

Abbas speaks next to Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister

Abbas speaks next to Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister – Reuters

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Ibn Khalifa al-Thani said he will make good on his pledge to bail out the PA, according to the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency. Continue Reading »

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| December 25, 2012
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Video: Watch Christmas Mass in Bethlehem

 

Manger Square packed as thousands celebrate a merry Christmas in Bethlehem, the town where Jesus is believed to have been born.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends Christmas Eve mass at the Church of the Nativity.

By News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

Thousands of Christians from across the world packed Manger Square in Bethlehem on Monday to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the ancient Judean town where it is believed he was born.

Oh, come all ye faithful. Manger Square in front of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. – Photo: AP

The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouad Twal, led the Christmas Eve mass at Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, thought by millions of Christians to be located at the exact spot of Jesus’ birth.

Continue Reading »
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| December 24, 2012
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Hamas Refutes Reports to Take Over Judea, Samaria from Fatah

Hamas, the Gaza based terrorist organization denies reports of its intent to replace by force the Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea & Samaria.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

The Hamas terrorist organization is denying reports of its intent to take over Palestinian Authority-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria.

Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri was quoted in a report posted on the terror group’s Al Qassam website as telling the Quds Press the reports were nothing more than “Israeli incitement” aimed at dividing PA factions. Abu Zuhri made the comment in response to an article published in the UK-based Sunday Times that alleged Hamas intends to launch a coup in the Fatah-led regions. Continue Reading »

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| December 24, 2012
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Germany Reports: elite Israeli, American, French units in Syria to take WMD

Opposition activists tell Al-Jazeera poisonous ‘Sarin-like gas’ sprayed by Assad’s forces in Homs neighborhood kills 7.

German weekly says elite French, American & I.D.F. units operating deep inside Syria will take control of Assad’s chemical arms arsenals.

By Ynet

 

Seven people were killed in Homs’ rebel-held neighborhood of al-Bayyada when they inhaled a poisonous gas sprayed by Syrian Army forces, opposition activists told Al-Jazeera early Monday.

Syrian treated for gas inhalation

Syrian treated for gas inhalation – Screenshot

According to the activists, scores of others suffered from side effects, including nausea, relaxed muscles, blurred vision, and breathing difficulties.

Residents said they did not know the nature of the gas sprayed. Continue Reading »

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| December 24, 2012
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Hamastine: the 1st terrorist state created & recognized by the EU & UN

 

 

Thus, thanks to the international help it received from the U.N., official acceptance of “Palestine” will pass over from Fatah to Hamas in the West Bank, causing “Palestine” to be the first terrorist state created and recognized by Europe and the U.N.

By Amin Farouk

 

In a field near the Islamic University — where PhD theses are written on topics such as “The role of the Muslim mother in preparing her sons to be shaheeds [martyrs] of the resistance” — the Gaza Strip stronghold of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and the other terrorist organizations, a large outdoor rally was recently held to glorify, celebrate and promote anti-Semitism and genocide. Continue Reading »

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| December 24, 2012
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Human Rights Watch: Gaza Committed Numerous War Crimes

FINALLY: Human Rights Watch says Gaza “armed groups” commit war crimes by targeting Israeli civilians. HRW also blamed Gaza terrorists for firing rockets & missiles from densely populated areas.

HRW also blamed Iran for provided technical information to Gaza terrorists for building their own  Fajr 5 missiles that were fired on Tel Aviv & Jerusalem.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a rare condemnation of Gaza terrorists on Monday for war crimes – without the usual “balancing act” of blaming Israel.

Terrorist groups boast by publishing their rocket fire emanating from civilian areas within Gaza. - Screenshot

Terrorist groups boast by publishing their rocket fire emanating from civilian areas within Gaza. – Screenshot

HRW did not go so far as to describe “Palestinian armed groups” as terrorists, but the categorical censure of rocket launchers marks a drastic change in the attitude towards Israel and Hamas. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| December 24, 2012
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Egyptian blogger visiting Israel says Egyptians want peace

An Egyptian blogger, Maikel Nabil Sanad is in Israel & is being hosted by Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

‘There is a peace-seeking community in Egypt’ says Sanad

By Roi Kais

 

Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad, 27, carried an unusual speech at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and was interrupted by pro-Palestinian activists who broke into the hall and shouted at him “Shame on you, this is Palestine.”

Egyptian blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad – Photo:Ohad Zwigenberg

Sanad has been known to express views about Israel, which caused him to be heavily criticized in Egypt.

On the one hand, Sanad is a social activist, one of the leaders of the revolution that resulted in the ouster of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| December 24, 2012
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IDF Captures 2 Palestinians Attempting to Infiltrate from Gaza

IDF soldiers patrolling along the border fence with Gaza earlier on Sunday evening, caught two Gaza residents when they tried to infiltrate the Negev in the Kissufim area.

By Elad Benari

 

IDF soldiers patrolling along the border fence with Gaza fired into the air on Sunday night, to deter several Palestinian Authority Arabs who approached the fence.

An IDF statement said that the soldiers had called on the Arabs to back away and return to Gaza. When the Arabs refused to heed the calls, the soldiers fired into the air.

The IDF said that there were no known injuries among the Arabs, who likely took off after the shooting. Continue Reading »

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