Archive for Mid-East News

| June 1, 2014
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Palestinians: Israel Threatens to Sever Ties With Hamas-Fatah Unity Gov’t

 

According to PA official at President Mahmoud Abbas’ office, only security related matters will continue when Hamas sworn in with Fatah government.

By

 

 

Israel has informed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas directly that all contact with the Palestinian Authority will be severed the moment the new Palestinian unity government is sworn in, a senior figure in the Palestinian president’s office has told Haaretz.

Abbas, Hamdallah, Ramallah, May 29, 2014

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (R) meeting with Palestinian premier Rami Hamdallah to hand over an agreement for Hamdallah to head the unity government, Ramallah, May 29, 2014 – Photo: AFP

Despite the warning, Abbas has confirmed that the cabinet will be sworn in Monday at the Muqata government compound in Ramallah.

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| May 31, 2014
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Palestinian Authority: BDS Activists Are Troublemakers, Criminals

In the 1st case of its kind, 4 prominent BDS activists this week went on trial before a Palestinian Authority court for “provoking riots & breach of public tranquility.”

A PA official in Ramallah explained that BDS and its followers make the Palestinians appear as if they are all radicals who are only interested in boycotting & delegitimizing Israel.

by Khaled Abu Toameh

 

At university campuses in the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, they are hailed as heroes campaigning for Palestinian rights. But in Ramallah, ironically, activists belonging to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions [BDS] movement are seen by the Palestinian Authority [PA] as trouble-makers and law-breakers. Continue Reading »

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| May 31, 2014
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Iran Again Threatens to Annihilate Israel

In response to U.S. President Barack Obama reiteration on Wednesday, that Washington reserves “all options” against Iran, a senior Iranian commander says that any U.S. attack will result in “the annihilation of the Israeli regime”.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

A senior Iranian commander threatened on Friday that any American attack on Iran will result in “the annihilation of the Israeli regime”.

Iranian Armed Forces march in Tehran

Iranian Armed Forces march in Tehran – Photo: Reuters

“They know that aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran would mean annihilation of Tel Aviv and spread of war into the United States,” the commander, Massoud Jazayeri, was quoted by the Fars news agency as having said. Continue Reading »

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| May 30, 2014
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Palestinian Religious Affairs Minister slams Hamas’ incitement

 

Religious Affairs Minister for the Palestinian Authority, Al-Habbash says Fatah’s nonviolence resistance is moving Palestinian state forward, claims unity gov’t will be ‘under ideology of PLO, not Hamas’

By The Media Line

 

A senior aide to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinian leadership rejects any efforts to teach Palestinian children a culture of violence. Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the Palestinian Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs was responding to a report on Israel’s Channel 2 on a Hamas rally in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.

Abbas meets with Hamas delegation (Photo: AFP)

Abbas meets with Hamas delegation – Photo: AFP

In the video, Palestinian boys, some of them wearing black ski masks, carried toy guns and waved the Islamist group’s green and white flag. Continue Reading »

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| May 29, 2014
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Sudan tells Saudis it declined Iranian air defense offer after alleged Israeli air-strike

 

In fear of bring alienated from Saudi Arabia, Sudan distances itself from Iran while denying any support for the Muslim Brotherhood.

By Reuters

 

Sudan turned down an Iranian offer to set up air defenses on its Red Sea coast after a 2012 air strike Khartoum blamed on Israel, fearing they would upset Iran’s regional rival Saudi Arabia, Sudan’s foreign minister was quoted as saying on Thursday.

The Yarmouk military complex in Khartoum, Sudan seen in a satellite image made on October 12 2012, after the alleged attack. - Photo: AP/DigitalGlobe via Satellite Sentinel Project

The Yarmouk military complex in Khartoum, Sudan seen in a satellite image made on October 12 2012, after the alleged attack. – Photo: AP/DigitalGlobe via Satellite Sentinel Project

In an interview with the Saudi-owned al-Hayat newspaper that seemed aimed at improving frosty ties with Riyadh, Ali Karti played down Khartoum’s links to Iran and to the Muslim Brotherhood, which is outlawed in Saudi Arabia. Continue Reading »

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| May 29, 2014
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US Security Firm: Iranian Hackers Infect Israel Supporters from Twitter & Facebook

An American internet security firm reported Iranian hackers were actively using social media networks like Facebook & Twitter to spy on Israelis, by pretending to be their online ‘friends’.

By Yaakov Levi

 

Iranian hackers used social media networks to spy on Israelis, and supporters of Israel in the US and Britain, a report by an American security firm said Thursday. The report, by the iSight security group, said that Iranian hackers used profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media vehicles to trick Israelis and supporters of Israel to connect to unsafe links on a phony news web site, where they would be sent a virus that could sweep their computers and gather information about logins and passwords for e-mail accounts and sensitive web sites. Continue Reading »

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| May 29, 2014
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Mordechai Kedar: Israel Stands Up to Turkey – Like a Wimp

Op-Ed: Jerusalem must change its tactics vis a vis Turkey. Erdoğan is not Israel’s friend.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar

 

From the first day on which the Islamic Party gained control of the government of Turkey, Israel has attempted to pacify and reassure Erdogan,  despite that leader’s proven antagonism to Jews – in line with his extreme Islamic approach –  that was all too evident by the 1980’s. During that period, he wrote a play called “Mas-kum-ya”, an abbreviation of “The Free builders, Communists and Jews” and recently called an anti-Erdogan demonstrator “Jewish seed”, considered a most denigrating and humiliating insult in Turkey. Continue Reading »

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| May 29, 2014
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Abbas: I expect Israel to accept upcoming Palestinian election results

 

Abbas’ comment comes as IDF soldiers order Palestinian newspaper to stop printing material by outlawed terrorist organization Hamas.

By Ben Stansall (AFP)

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that peace talks are the only way forward and that he “expects Israelis to respect the decision of Palestinians in the upcoming elections,” Israel’s Channel 2 reported Wednesday.

British Prime Minister David Cameron (L) welcomes Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in London on May 14, 2014 – Photo: Ben Stansall / AFP

In a meeting with representatives of Israeli peace NGOs in the West Bank City of Ramallah, Abbas discussed the coming elections and how the transfer of power would be carried out. Continue Reading »

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| May 29, 2014
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Assassination Plot Revealed After Lebanese Church Patriarch visits Israel

Lebanese daily report security forces arrested a suspect in plot to assassinate Maronite Church Patriarch Beshara Rai, who defied warnings from Hezbollah by accompanying Pope Francis on his visit to Israel.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

 

The head of Lebanon’s Maronite Church, Patriarch Beshara Rai, continued his visit in Israel and toured ruins of a Maronite village near the Lebanese border on Wednesday as an assassination plot against him was reported.

Lebanese Maronite Church Patriarch Beshara Rai

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rai (C) holds a cross during his visit to Birim, a northern Israeli village, May 28, 2013 – Photo: REUTERS

Lebanon’s security forces arrested a suspect who confessed to working with regional intelligence agencies in a plot to assassinate Rai, security sources told The Daily Star on Wednesday. Continue Reading »

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| May 28, 2014
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Assad forces destroy Syria’s oldest Synagogue

The more than 400 yr-old Eliyahu Hanabi Synagogue was hit by a mortar shell in 2013. After Israel was established, the building was used as a school for Palestinian refugees.

By

 

A historic synagogue on the outskirts of Damascus was destroyed amid fighting in Syria’s civil war over the weekend.

Damascus synagogue destroyed

A sign at the entrance of the Damascus synagogue, taken from a Youtube video.

Opposition leaders said Syrian army forces flattened the more than 400-year-old Eliyahu Hanabi Synagogue in an attack — part of a months-long bombardment of the suburb of Jobar — and also may have destroyed thousands of Jewish artifacts, The Daily Beast reported. Continue Reading »

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| May 27, 2014
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Iranian judge demands ‘Zionist CEO’ Zuckerberg’s appearance for breach of privacy

 

Iranian court opens case against Instagram & instant messaging services WhatsApp following the gov’t blocking of Twitter & YouTube.

By REUTER

 

DUBAI  – A conservative Iranian court opened a case against instant messaging services WhatsApp and Instagram while also summoning Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg over complaints of privacy violation, state news agency ISNA reported on Tuesday.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg – Photo: REUTERS/Sebastien Nogier

The case underscores the growing struggle between moderate Iranian president Hassan Rouhani’s drive to increase Internet freedoms and demands by the conservative judiciary for tighter controls.

The Iranian court in the southern province of Fars opened the cases against the social networks after citizens complained of breaches of privacy.

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| May 27, 2014
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Saudi Prince declines invitation to Israel by ex-IDF intel chief

Former Israeli intelligence chief Amos Yadlin says Jerusalem rejects Saudi peace initiative because Arab League made it a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ deal.

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Saudi royal declined invitation by former Israeli intelligence chief to visit Jerusalem at a public talk in Belgium Monday, saying that the invitation was mere appeal to emotion aimed at distracting from the subject of the discussion – reaching peace based on the Saudi peace initiative.

Turki bin Faisal Al Saud

Turki bin Faisal Al Saud – Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Marc Müller

Amos Yadlin, who headed the Israel Defense Forces’ Military Intelligence Directorate for four years until 2010, made the statement during a public talk in Brussels with Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, director of the General Intelligence of Saudi Arabia from 1979 to 2001 and the youngest son of the late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. Continue Reading »

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| May 26, 2014
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WANTED: Turkish court orders arrest warrants on 4 Israeli military commanders

 

Then IDF chief of staff Gantz, former Navy commander Marom, former IDF Intel chief Yadlin and former IAF Intel head Levi wanted for alleged involvement in Marmara raid.

By Ynetnews

 

A Turkish court has ordered the arrest of former IDF chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi, and three other IDF commanders that Turkey holds responsible for the Israeli Navy’s raid of a 2010 Gaza-bound flotilla, Turkish newspaper Hürriyet Daily News reported on Monday.

WANTED
The court has also asked for an Interpol Red Notice for the arrest of the then-top IDF brass – Ashkenazi, former Naval Forces commander Eliezer Marom, former Military Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin and former Air Forces Intelligence head Avishai Levi. Continue Reading »

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| May 26, 2014
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Islamic Jihad Fool Blows Himself Up in Fatal ‘Work Accident’

A clumsy Islamic Jihad terrorist, from the organization set to join PLO leadership, accidentally detonates explosives in Gaza.

By Ari Yashar

 

A bumbling Gaza terrorist of the Islamic Jihad terror group died on Monday morning, after having a “work accident” with an explosive he was handling.

The 25-year-old terrorist had his unlucky run-in with the bomb in Jabalia, a town in northern Gaza, reports Channel 10.

Two other terrorists, also of Islamic Jihad, were killed on Saturday in an explosion that reportedly occurred while training with various devices.

The explosive that killed the terrorist this Monday likely was similar to those often set on the Gaza security border targeting IDF soldiers. Continue Reading »

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| May 26, 2014
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World Arabs Envious of Israel-Style Democracy

Sami Dirani, of Al-Hayat, “Israel is the enemy of the Arabs…but it practices democracy – something the Arabs do not know. Some [Arabs] are dying of starvation, while others are swimming in pools of dollars.”

By Israel Today Staff

 

The recent conviction of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on graft charges has many in the Arab world salivating over what they once again realize is the region’s only true democracy.

Arabs seek Israel-Style Democracy – Photo source: Israel Today

Israeli-Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh noted in a recent analysis for the Gatestone Institute that corruption is so rampant in the Arab world that today it is the norm, and many see emulating Israel as the only way out of this oppressive phenomenon. Continue Reading »

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