Archive for Mid-East News

| May 7, 2014
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UN Watch: UN appointment is ‘crass nepotism, in flagrant breach of council rules’

 

The NGO, UN Watch, terms controversial UN appointment of the wife of outgoing & overtly antisemitic UN monitor Richard Falk, ‘crass nepotism’ that will “harm the cause of human rights… and undermine the interests of the United States.”

By i24news

 

An NGO has issued a call for the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power to block the appointment of Turkey’s Hilal Elvar as the new Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food. Elvar is the wife of outgoing UN monitor for the West Bank and Gaza, Richard Falk. The vote on her appointment is scheduled for Thursday.

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| May 7, 2014
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US Officials: Via Violence or Unilateral Maneuvering, Palestine Will Be a State

American representatives come dangerous close to condoning Palestinian intransigence & violence by playing the blame game & ignoring core issues

By Ryan Jones

 

 

American negotiators connected to US Secretary of State John Kerry’s failed peace initiative warned in an interview with Israeli media last week that the Palestinians will eventually have their state, either through violence or unilateral maneuvering.

John Kerry, meets with Mahmoud Abbas - Photo: Thaer Ghanaim/AFP

John Kerry meets with Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Thaer Ghanaim/AFP

Many Israelis were outraged, saying the remarks came dangerously close to condoning both Palestinian terrorism and the Palestinian leadership’s rejection of Israel’s peace demands.

The negotiators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told leading Israeli journalist Nahum Barnea of Yediot Ahronot that, in their assessment, primary blame for the failure of the peace talks falls to Israel. Continue Reading »

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| May 7, 2014
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U.S. Congress weighs terminating Palestinian aid

 

US Congressional hearings to reconsider terminating Palestinian aid after formation of Hamas-Fatah unity gov’t.

The fundamental requirement in maintaining the aid is recognition of Israel – a step that Hamas adamantly opposed to take.

By MICHAEL WILNER

 

WASHINGTON – Mere days after the Palestinian Authority announced its intention to form a unity government with Hamas, the US Congress is examining the process required to cut off aid to the organization.

hamas

NEGOTIATION COLLAPSE The Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process collapsed after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed a unity pact in Gaza City with its militant rival Hamas on April 23. – Photo: SUHAIB SALEM/REUTERS

A subcommittee on the Middle East in the House of Representatives will hold a hearing on the matter on Thursday, in search of a way forward after peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians ended bitterly last week. Continue Reading »

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| May 7, 2014
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Turkish report: Ankara discussed Naval Invasion into Israeli Waters

Turkish newspaper article reveals details of secret high-ranking meeting hours before the Mavi Marmara flotilla to Gaza incident, where the possibility of war with Israel was considered.

By Ege Berk Korkut

 

A Turkish newspaper has released details of a high-level meeting of the country’s military leaders, in which the Turkish government had considered sending warships into Israel as a military escort for the Mavi Marmara flotilla – and the possibility of triggering a war with the Jewish state as a result.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – Reuters

On May 31 2010, nine Turkish Islamists were killed on the flotilla after violently attacking IDF soldiers, during an attempt to break Israel’s naval blockade on the terrorist group Hamas-enclave Gaza. Continue Reading »

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| May 6, 2014
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Hamas’ Meshaal & PA’s Abbas hold 1st talks since unity deal

 

Hamas leaders in Gaza release 6 imprisoned members of Abbas’ Fatah party as goodwill gesture to form Palestinian unity gov’t.

By i24news

 

The Hamas government in Gaza announced late Monday it released six imprisoned members of the West Bank-based Fatah party. A statement by the interior ministry of the coastal enclave also said Hamas hopes the goodwill gesture will be reciprocated by Ramallah.

لقاء عباس ومشعل في الدوحة ( ثائر غنيم (اف ب) )Abbas and Meshaal hold first talks in Gaza since unity deal

The announcement came after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas convened with Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal in Doha in the first meeting since their rival movements signed a surprise unity deal last month.

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| May 5, 2014
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Proof – AGAIN: In 1695 Palestine showed no local Arab ‘Palestinian’ nationality

A tour & census of Palestine in the year 1695 showed no records or evidence of Arabian names or ‘Palestinian’ nationality.

By

 

There was no Palestinian nationality before the 1960s, when it was invented in order to reposition what was then universally known as the Arab/Israeli conflict. Up to the invention of “Palestinians,” the Israelis were the tiny, besieged people amidst a huge number of hostile Arabs; after that invention, the “Palestinians” themselves became the tiny, besieged people against the big, bad Israelis.

RFK Bostan dispatch

PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein said this in 1977:

The Palestinian people does not exist.

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| May 4, 2014
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Pakistani intelligence agency planned attacks on US & Israel consulates in India

 

Indian intelligence interrogated a detained Sri Lankan national who admits providing terror surveillance to his handler, a Pakistani ISI official.

By Ynetnews

 

The Pakistani intelligence agency known as ISI planned terror attacks on US and Israeli consulates in India reported the Press Trust of India on Sunday.

Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan - Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence of Pakistan – Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Indian official sources said that proof of the planned attacks was given during the interrogation of Sakir Hussain, a Sri Lankan national who was arrested on April 29 in Southeast Asia when investigators informed an Indian security agency of his possible connection to planned attacks in India. Continue Reading »

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| May 4, 2014
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U.S. envoy Indyk said to resign for collapse of peace-talks

Special U.S. envoy for peace talks Martin Indyk said to blame Israel for breakup of peace negotiations.

By
The U.S. special envoy for peace talks, Martin Indyk, is considering resigning following the blowup of talks between Israel and the Palestinians, and in light of President Barack Obama’s intention to suspend American mediation, according to Israeli officials in Jerusalem who are close to the matter. The officials asked to remain anonymous due to the issue’s sensitivity.
Kerry and Indyk.

Kerry and Indyk at the State Department in Washington. – Photo: Reuters

The officials said Indyk had already informed the Brookings Institute – where he is vice president and director for foreign policy – that he might soon be returning to his post, from which he took a leave of absence nine months ago.

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| May 2, 2014
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Kerry admits to being clueless during peace talks of Fatah meetings with Hamas.


Kerry: ‘I’ll publicize peace talks’ progress at appropriate time’ while echoing Obama in calling for ‘pause’ in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

By

 

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday that he will make public the “progress” made during the nine months of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. At the same time, Kerry, echoing the recent statement by President Barack Obama, said that in view of the breakdown in the negotiations, the time had come to for a “pause” in the talks.

John Kerry

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. – Photo: AP

At a news conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Kerry referred to the discussions he conducted in recent months with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators toward a so-called framework agreement on the core issues they would be negotiating: borders, Jerusalem, refugees, security, water and settlements.

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| May 2, 2014
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Saudi Kingdom debuts country’s acquired ballistic missiles

 

Saudi Arabia unveils for the first time missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads purchased from China.

Israel used to be the Saudi’s main target, but Jerusalem & Riyadh now have a common enemy – Iran.

By Udi Etzion

 

Saudi Arabia showcased its new ballistic missiles in the country’s military parade on Thursday. The Chinese-made Dongfeng-3 missiles have a range of up to 3,300 kilometers and are armed with nuclear warheads.

Saudi Arabia's Ballistic Missiles (Photo: Fisher Institute)

Saudi Arabia’s Ballistic Missiles – Photo: Fisher Institute

In the past, sources voiced concern that the Saudi missile’s main target is Israel, but due to the growing strategic rivalry between the Riyadh and Tehran, Iran has become the primary enemy. Continue Reading »

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| May 1, 2014
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The Falafel Index: Israel home to the most expensive Falafel in pita

Forbes magazine’s new purchasing index concludes that Israel’s shekel is one of the most overvalued currencies in the region.

By

 

The Israeli shekel is among the most overvalued currencies in the Middle East and food prices in Israel have increased more than in any other developed country since 2005, according to a new purchasing index from Forbes magazine called the Falafel Index.

The Falafel Index

The Falafel Index is a version of the Economist’s Big Mac Index tailored for the Middle East.

Like its older counterpart, the Falafel Index determines the purchasing power of different currencies – but rather than comparing hamburgers, it compares the prices of falafel across the region. Continue Reading »

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| May 1, 2014
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Trying to Sell a Moderate Hamas

A Point to Remember: The ideological orientation in Hamas for its use of mass murder through suicide bombings & rocket attacks on Israeli population centers, has never been condemned by the Palestinian leadership in Gaza or in Ramallah.

By Dore Gold

 

Every time the profile of Hamas rises as a result of some development in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, there is an effort undertaken to repackage Hamas as a moderate organization.1

Ismail Haniyeh (R) with Hamas chief Khaled Mashaa (L) – Reuters

Right after the Palestinian elections in 2006, Musa Abu Marzuq, the deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, published an op-ed in the Washington Post declaring: “a new breed of Islamic leadership is ready to put into practice faith-based principles in a setting of tolerance and unity.” Continue Reading »

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| April 30, 2014
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AGAIN from Fatah: ‘2-State Solution Is Dead, Time for Armed Struggle’

Fatah official on Hezbollah TV calls for ‘historic solution’ of armed conflict; claims all of Israel is ‘Palestine.’

By Ari Yashar

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah faction espouses the same ideology of destroying Israel as Hamas, with which it signed a unity deal last Wednesday, according to newly revealed video segments of a senior Fatah official.

Fatah Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi last week posted a video to YouTube of his comments from a pro-terrorist ceremony in Gaza. In his speech mere days before the unity deal, Tirawi said Gaza “will return to the bosom of legitimacy.”

Tirawi added “the homeland…is…all of Palestine, from its [Jordan] River to its [Mediterranean] Sea,” describing a map that effectively wipes out the Jewish state. Continue Reading »

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| April 30, 2014
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Zahar: Unity deal with Fatah won’t make Hamas recognize Israel’s right to exist

 

One of Hamas’s most influential voices, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, says unity deal will not change Gaza status quo, dismissing Abbas’ promises that the Palestinian unity agreement will ever recognize Israel.

By REUTERS

 

A Palestinian unity deal will not lead Islamist group Hamas to recognize Israel’s right to exist and will not result in any Gaza militants coming under President Mahmoud Abbas’s control, a senior Hamas official said on Tuesday.

gaza

Veteran Hamas strategist Mahmoud Al-Zahar – Photo: REUTERS

Veteran Hamas strategist Mahmoud Al-Zahar told Reuters the group, which runs the Gaza Strip, was waiting for Abbas to form a unity government, but said the Palestinian leader was taking his time in an effort to overcome US and Israeli opposition. Continue Reading »

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| April 29, 2014
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Mysterious Explosion Sinks the Protest Ship, ‘Gaza’s Ark’

Israel accused of ‘sabotage ‘by Pro-Hamas organizers of ‘Protest’ boat meant to breach Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.

By AFP and Arutz Sheva Staff

 

Gaza’s Ark, a “protest” boat that was preparing to breach Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza, which is ruled by the terrorist organization Hamas, was sunk in a mysterious explosion on Tuesday.

Gaza's Ark

Gaza’s Ark

The blast occurred in Gaza City’s port, and was preceded by an anonymous telephone call warning the guard of the ship that it was about to be blown up, organizers of the “protest” project told AFP.

The ship, a large fishing vessel which was being readied to challenge Israeli naval authority in June, sustained major damage and sunk in the shallow waters of the port, leaving three-quarters of it submerged. Continue Reading »

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