Archive for Mid-East News

| November 19, 2014
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Jerusalem Synagogue Massacre Celebrated by Palestinians on Twitter & in the Streets

Abbas condemns killings, but he continues to incite hatred & violence while Islamic Jihad & Hamas vow more attacks are coming.

By Ryan Jones

 

Palestinian Arabs in Gaza and elsewhere openly celebrated the massacre of Jewish worshippers at a synagogue in Jerusalem Tuesday morning.

Hamas official Mushir al-Masri posted on Twitter

Hamas hailed the attack as “revenge” for the death of an Arab bus driver in Jerusalem a day earlier, a death that was ultimately determined to be a suicide.

Hamas official Mushir al-Masri even managed to commission or otherwise obtain a grotesque political cartoon (left) praising the “heroic” synagogue attack, which he promptly posted on Twitter.

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| November 18, 2014
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UK-based newspaper: Kerry Threatened Abbas by Imposing Sanctions Over UN Bid

Palestinian sources tell London Arabic based daily that Kerry threatened PA president with financial & political sanctions should he turn to UNSC.

By Elad Benari

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry threatened to impose sanctions on the Palestinian Authority (PA) if it goes ahead with unilateral moves, such as asking the United Nations Security Council to set a deadline for Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper reported on Monday.

Kerry and Abbas meet at the latter’s home in Amman, Jordan – Reuters

Speaking on condition of anonymity, official sources confirmed to the newspaper that Kerry called PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and warned him against taking any unilateral measures, threatening to impose financial and political sanctions on the PA. Continue Reading »

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| November 14, 2014
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Suha Arafat tells Italian Newspaper: Hamas guilty of genocide

Arafat’s widow charges Hamas with ‘genocide’ and says Palestinians best hope lies in peace-talks not armed struggle, in an interview marking the 10th anniversary of Yasser’s death.

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The widow of deceased Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat denounced violence and accused Hamas of “genocide” in an interview on the 10th anniversary of his death.

Suha and Yasser Arafat

Suha and Yasser Arafat. – Photo: AP

In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Suha Arafat argued that the Palestinians’ best hope lies in negotiation rather than armed struggle. She said that the unequal strengths of the Israelis and Palestinians would lead to the Palestinians being crushed in an armed fight, while negotiations would expose Israel’s unwillingness to make peace.

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| November 14, 2014
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Female IDF Soldier Joins Kurds to Fight ISIS

31 yr-old former IDF warrior becomes 1st Israeli to volunteer to join the Kurds in their desperate war against the Islamic State.

By David Lazarus

 

A female former IDF soldier has become the first Israeli to publicly join Kurdish forces battling against ISIS in Syria and Iraq, the nation learned on Tuesday.

Female IDF combat soldiers – IDF Spokesperson’s Unit

“I’m on the Iraq-Syria border, and we’re currently about 3,000 meters from ISIS,” Gill Rosenberg, 31, told Israel Radio in a telephone interview from the battlefield. “I was given an RPG by the Kurdish army,” she said.

Rosenberg is a civil aviation pilot and served in an Israeli army search-and-rescue unit.

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| November 13, 2014
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J’Post Exclusive: Hamas bomb Fatah officials’ homes & cars then fake ISIS declaration of responsibility

 

 

Western intelligence source reveals: Hamas military branch conducted November 7th explosions & were not discussed with Hamas political branch.

By NOAM ROTENBERG

 

 

A Western intelligence source speaking exclusively to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday revealed that it was Hamas that bombed homes and vehicles belonging to Fatah officials in Gaza last Friday, and made sure to forge a false claim of responsibility by the Islamic State in Gaza.
A man walks past a damaged door of a Fatah official's home after an explosion in Gaza City November 7, 2014 - Photo By: REUTERS

A man walks past a damaged door of a Fatah official’s home after an explosion in Gaza City November 7, 2014 – Photo By: REUTERS

The source also revealed that the incident – that caused damage but no injuries – was conducted by Hamas’s military branch, the Izz ad-Din al-Kassam Brigades without a prior “heads-up” to the political leaders of Hamas. Continue Reading »

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| November 12, 2014
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No Honor Among Terrorists: Abbas Afraid to Enter Gaza for Fear of Hamas

Despite int’l expectations Fatah would re-claim its political power in Gaza after ‘Operation Protective Edge’, Israeli officials say ‘Gaza is a trap for Abbas’.

By Cynthia Blank

 

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas does not want to take responsibility of the Gaza Strip, because he is afraid of entering into a conflict against Hamas, accuse senior Israeli officials.

One of the officials told Walla! News Monday that “Abu Mazen is afraid to take responsibility for Gaza. The international community’s great hope that Fatah will come in and take charge after Operation Protective Edge will not be realized in the meantime.”

The main reason for Abbas’ inaction in Gaza, Israel explains, is the understanding that he does not have the ability to impose his authority on Hamas. Continue Reading »

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| November 11, 2014
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Hezbollah accuses Israel of assassinating 5 nuclear engineers in Syria

Hezbollah believes that Syrian rebels, acting on behalf of Israel, were behind the killing of the 5 nuclear scientists, of which one was Iranian.

 

Hezbollah is blaming Israel for the deaths of five nuclear engineers, four Syrians and one Iranian, on Monday in Damascus.

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, left, speaks with Syrian President Bashar Assad

This file photo shows Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, left, speaks with Syrian President Bashar Assad, right. February 25, 2010. – Photo: AP

Initial Syrian reports said that four Syrians were killed in an ambush, but later Syrian state television admitted that a fifth scientist, an Iranian, was also among the victims.

The five were killed after gunmen opened fire on their bus in an area not affected by the fighting between rebel groups and Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces.

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| November 10, 2014
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Analysis: Neither new Iranian leader or Arab revolts ushered Israel-style rights for LGBTs

 

Possibly the most omitted major human-rights story developing in the Middle East are the systematic executions, brutalization & repression of the region’s gay community.

By BENJAMIN WEINTHAL

 

For the Middle East’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities, the grassroots upheavals in many Arab countries – and promised reforms in the Islamic Republic of Iran – have not produced a sexual liberation movement. Meanwhile, rollbacks in Turkey’s limited freedoms to LGBTs also are on the rise.

 

Celebrants march in the gay pride parade.

Celebrants march in the gay pride parade. – Photo: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST

Perhaps the most neglected major news story unfolding in the Middle East is the systematic repression of the region’s LGBT community.

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| November 9, 2014
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Ayatollah Khamenei proposes on Twitter 9-point plan for Israel’s termination

The plan, according to Iran’s leader, does not condone ‘pushing the Jews into the sea’, but does call for arming Muslims in the West Bank.

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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has put forth a plan to eliminate Israel, which he believes will be accepted by the international arena.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

In this photo released by the official website of the Iranian supreme leader’s office, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sept. 7, 2014. – Photo: AP

In a neat table posted on Khamenei’s official Twitter account on Sunday, the ayatollah answers nine key questions on why – and how – this plan is to be implemented.

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| November 8, 2014
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Jordanians protest peace with Israel across the country

All across Jordan, streets flooded with locals demonstrating their opposition to the increased violence by Israeli security forces in Jerusalem. Head of Muslim Brotherhood: ‘Why keep embassy of Jews? Demolish it with them inside.’

By Reuters

 

 

Several thousand protesters took to the streets of Jordanian cities on Friday, calling on the government to scrap its peace deal with Israel following escalating violence at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.

Mass riots in East Jerusalem (Photo: Mohammed Shinawi)

Mass riots in East Jerusalem – Photo: Mohammed Shinawi

“Death to Israel,” crowds chanted in several cities, with activists demanding that Israel’s embassy in Amman be closed.

“Why are you keeping the embassy of the Jews? Continue Reading »

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| November 5, 2014
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EU’s new foreign policy chief wants a Palestinian state within next 5 years

Federica Mogherini, who took over from Catherine Ashton on Saturday as EU foreign policy chief, says reaching Israeli-Palestinian peace will be main goal of her term.

 

The European Union’s new foreign policy chief said on Monday that she wants to see the creation of a Palestinian state by the end of her five-year term in office.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, November 4, 2014

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, November 4, 2014 – Photo: Reuters

Federica Mogherini told reporters that one of her main goals will be to work toward peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and that she intends the EU to be more intimately involved in the Middle East than in the past. Continue Reading »

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| November 3, 2014
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Day 3: Egypt Destroys 800 Gaza Homes for Buffer-Zone – World Remains Indifferent

Watch Video of Egyptian forces continuing after already destroying over 800 Gaza homes for its imposed security ‘buffer zone’, as Gaza’s Palestinian residents cry ‘Egyptian Nakba.’

By Ari Yashar

 

The Egyptian army continues expelling Arab residents and detonating buildings in its destruction of the Gazan side of the Egyptian border as the world is notably silent, even as Egypt reveals it will not refrain from taking action against Muslim clerics as well.

The Egyptian Waqf (Islamic trust) announced it will dismiss and expel Muslim clerics if smuggling tunnels are found below the mosques in which they serve, reports the Egyptian news agency Aswat Masriya. Continue Reading »

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| November 3, 2014
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Hamas criticizes UN’s reconstruction mechanism for Gaza

Hamas spokesman condescends United Nations procedures as ‘unacceptable and inefficient.’

 

Hamas says it opposes a UN reconstruction plan for the Gaza Strip following the 50-day war against Israel this summer.

A Palestinian boy looks out of his damaged house after a ceasefire was declared, in the east of Khan

A Palestinian boy looks out of his damaged house after a ceasefire was declared, in the east of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip August 27, 2014. – Photo: Reuters

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri on Sunday called the UN mechanism “unacceptable, inefficient.”

The UN announced the plan in September, creating a system to bring in badly needed reconstruction materials while sidelining Hamas.

Despite its unhappiness with the system, Abu Zuhri gave no indication that Hamas will disrupt the shipments.

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| November 1, 2014
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Egypt Army Enters Gaza, Destroys Homes Making Buffer-Zone & World is Silent

Hamas (AND the world) remains silent as tanks, helicopters and Egyptian soldiers force Gazans out of their homes before being blown up for Cairo imposed buffer zone, with no international criticism, condemnation, or protests.

By Ari Yashar

 

Arab residents of Gaza were rounded up by armed soldiers and forced to flee their homes, which were promptly exploded in impressive plumes of dust and sand – but the soldiers were Egyptian, and there has been no international criticism of the buffer zone Egypt is establishing by force on the Gaza side of the Sinai border.

In the buffer zone plan, Egypt is seizing and evacuating all homes and farmland up to 500 meters (over 1,640 feet) into Gaza, all along the 13 kilometer (over eight mile) border.  Continue Reading »

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| October 30, 2014
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Egyptian families flee homes on Egypt’s Gaza border as army begins buffer zone moat

The attack that left 31 Egyptian security personnel dead, believed by Cairo to have been assisted by Hamas, was the last straw leading to the decision of a ‘tunnel free’, 13-kilometer (8-mile) buffer zone with Gaza.

 

Hundreds of Egyptians living along the border with the Gaza Strip evacuated their homes on Wednesday, after the army ordered them out to make way for a planned buffer zone meant to stop militants and smugglers, officials said.

Egyptian side of Rafah.

Egyptian security forces secure houses which were destroyed by the Egyptian army on the Egyptian side of the border town of Rafah, October 29, 2014.

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