Archive for Mid-East News

| February 12, 2014
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Erdoğan says ‘No normalization with Israel until Gaza siege lifted’

 

 

Turkish PM Erdoğan cools talks of progress on normalization, saying apology and compensation for 2010 flotilla victims is not sufficient.

By i24NEWS

 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan put a damper on reports that Ankara and Jerusalem were approaching normalization of ties Tuesday, demanding a written Israeli promise that it will lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip as a condition for signing a reconciliation agreement.

Turkish PM Erdogan

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan addresses members of the parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara on January 28, 2014 – Photo: Adem Altan /AFP

Addressing reporters in Ankara alongside Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, Erdoğan said that negotiations with Israel have progressed, but have not ended. Continue Reading »

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| February 11, 2014
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Palestinians Protest High PA ‘Exit Tax’ from West Bank

 

 

Palestinian residents of the West Bank argue charge of $43 as port exit fee for crossing Allenby Bridge into Jordan, is too much.

The Media Line, Abdullah H. Erakat

 

It has three names. But for the majority of Palestinians, it serves one purpose – as the sole gateway to the rest of the world.

 

Leading to the Israel terminal then on to the Allenby Bridge – Photo: Reuters

Known to them as Al Karameh Bridge, Israelis refer to it as Allenby Bridge and the Jordanians as the King Hussein Bridge. West Bank residents who use it have to trek to the city of Jericho. Continue Reading »

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| February 10, 2014
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Palestinians plan an airport, Gaza seaport and railway to Cairo after independence

 

Palestinian Authority transportation minister announces plans for second airport in West Bank, modern Mediterranean seaport in Gaza, and a railway line linking Gaza and Cairo.

By Elior Levy

 

 

Palestinian Transportation Minister Nabil Dmaidi announced on Sunday that the Palestinian Authority intends to build an airport, sea ports and a railway to connect the Gaza Strip to Egypt.

Plans for new Palestinian airport

Plans for new Palestinian airport

Dmaidi said his ministry signed a cooperative agreement with Egypt’s civil aviation authority, in an attempt to utilize the professional experience of the Egyptians in the aerospace industry.

According to the agreement, Egyptian experts will travel to the West Bank to identify an appropriate location for a second airport in Area C. Continue Reading »

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| February 10, 2014
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Turkish FM Davutoglu: Israel & Turkey close to normalization

 

Foreign Minister Davutoglu tells Turkish TV there has been positive momentum in the negotiations, with a new approach in compensation over the Mavi Marmara incident.

By HERB KEINON

 

Turkey and Israel are as close as they have been yet to ending the long-running saga over the Mavi Marmara incident, Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted as saying Sunday.

4flag-turkey-israel-skyTurkey’s Hurriyet Daily News quoted Davutoglu, who has been an acerbic and vocal critic of Israel, as saying in a televised interview that “there has recently been a momentum and new approach in compensation talks. We could say that most of the differences have been removed recently in these discussions.” Continue Reading »

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| February 9, 2014
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Hamas Holds Ancient Apollo Statue Found by Gaza Fisherman

 

Bronze Apollo statue found by fisherman, dating back 1,800-2,500 years ago, is being held by Hamas is an disclosed location.

By

 

In an Interior Ministry office somewhere in Gaza stands an ancient bronze statue of the Greek god Apollo, discovered last August by a local fisherman and valued at $20 million to $40 million or more, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

Local fisherman discovers 500kg. bronze statue of Greek god which Hamas police seized.

The discovery is credited to Gazan fisherman Jouda Ghurab, 26. However, Ghurab’s claim to have come upon it in the waters off the Gazan shore is disputed by foreign archeologists who’ve seen photos and videos of the statue; they say there would have been sea encrustations and water damage if it had lain in the sea for centuries.

Continue Reading »
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| February 9, 2014
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After Shabbat with Gaza launched rockets, IAF strikes back wounding Global Jihadist

 

 

Palestinian sources in Gaza reported Israel Air Force struck back in central Gaza Strip after its rocket fire on Israel persisted through the weekend.

By Elior Levy

 

The Israel Air Force struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, wounding a motorcyclist who Israel said was a member of the Global Jihad.

Archive: Motorcyclist struck in Gaza (Photo: AFP)

Archive: Motorcyclist struck in Gaza – Photo: AFP

Palestinian sources said that the man was seriously injured in the attack, which followed ongoing rocket fire from Gaza at southern Israel.

Israel named him as Abdullah Harti, 28, a Global Jihad activist and member of the Popular Resistance Committees. Continue Reading »

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| February 8, 2014
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Scores of radical Islamists arrested by PA forces in West Bank dragnet

 

The arrests came after Hizb-ut-Tahrir, a radical Islamic group distributed leaflets condemning PA President Abbas’ NATO suggestion.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

 

Palestinian Authority security forces arrested over the weekend scores of members of the radical group Hizb–ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation) in the West Bank.

Members of the Palestinian security forces.

Members of the Palestinian security forces.- Photo: REUTERS

The crackdown came after the party distributed a leaflet strongly condemning PA President Mahmoud Abbas’s recent statements to The New York Times, where he said he would agree to the deployment of NATO troops in a future Palestinian state to prevent weapons smuggling and terrorism.

Founded in 1953, Hizb-ut-Tahrir is an international pan-Islamic political group whose goal is to unify all Muslim countries under an Islamic state or Caliphate. Continue Reading »

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| February 7, 2014
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UNRWA refugee workers end West Bank strike against UN

 

Palestinians who protested against low wages and poor conditions at UN’s Palestinian refugee agency ended it’s two-month strike after deal was reached with workers of UNRWA.

By AFP

 

Workers at the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency in the West Bank have ended a two-month strike over low wages and poor conditions that paralyzed services in camps and shut down schools.

Palestinians protested against cuts in UN services amid a strike by UNRWA workers - Photo: Reuters

Palestinians protested against cuts in UN services amid a strike by UNRWA workers. PA Police standing by – Photo: Reuters

The United Nations has already said the cash-strapped agency was struggling to pay thousands of workers, while the IMF has warned of the danger of rising unemployment in the Palestinian territories if there is no progress in US-backed peace talks. Continue Reading »

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| February 7, 2014
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Hamas court: 1 man to death, 1 for life, for collaborating with Israel

 

The Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported a military court in Gaza sentenced one man to death, another man to life in prison on the same charge of collaboration with Zionists.

By

 

A Gaza military court sentenced a man suspected of collaborating with Israel to death on Thursday, and sentenced another suspect to life in prison on the same charge.

Palestinian gunmen drag suspected collaborator

Palestinian gunmen drag suspected collaborator for Israel in Gaza City, Nov. 20, 2012.- Photo: Reuters

The court did not set a date for the execution, and the names of the defendants were not publicized, according to a report in Palestinian news agency Ma’an.

Continue Reading »
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| February 7, 2014
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PA TV: ‘Minister Livni Is A Murderer Who Threatened To Kill President Abbas’

Conspiracy theorist & lecturer from the University of Palestine said on PA TV that Tzipi Livni has assassination plans for Abbas and calls her a ‘criminal murderer.’

By Ari Yashar

 

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni “is a murderer threatening to kill” Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas – so claims Muhammad Abu Saada, a lecturer in International Law at the University of Palestine in Gaza during an interview on official PA TV.

Saada’s wild accusations stem from a statement Livni made last Sunday, when she said that by refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Abbas is taking positions “that are unacceptable to us or to the rest of the world.” Continue Reading »

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| February 6, 2014
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NYT: Iranian president donates $400,000 to Tehran’s Jewish hospital

New York Times’ Tehran bureau chief reports on Twitter that Hassan Rohani has made the donation to the institution, which also serves non-Jews.

By
 

 

Iran’s President Hassan Rohani has reportedly donated $400,000 to Tehran’s Jewish hospital.

An Iranian Jewish care home for the elderly in Tehran.

An elderly Iranian Jewish woman walks into the Iranian Jewish care home for the elderly in Tehran.- Photo: AFP

Thomas Erdbrink, the New York Times Bureau Chief in the Iranian capital, tweeted the information Wednesday, citing the semi-official Mehr news agency. The Jewish hospital in Tehran also serves non-Jews, he said.

This is not the first time that such a donation has been reported.

Continue Reading »
Category: Jewish News, Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| February 6, 2014
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Egyptian intel report: Israel operated 36 spying centers in Sinai

 

Of the 9 facing charges in Egyptian court, 6 suspects arrested are Israeli citizens, 2 of which are Israeli Arabs and the remaining 4 are suspected intelligence officers.

The Israelis are being tried in absentia.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

 

 

 

A court trial investigating an Israeli network of nine alleged spies – three Egyptians and six Israelis – began on Wednesday in north Sinai, but was postponed until March for security reasons.

Egyptian soldiers block off part of a destroyed section of the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. - Photo: Reuters

Egyptian soldiers block off part of a destroyed section of the border wall between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. – Photo: Reuters

The file is known as the “Ovadia” case, named after the person leading the spy network, Danny Ovadia, reported the Egyptian newspaper Al-Youm al-Sabaa. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| February 5, 2014
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Israel indicts Al-Qaida Palestinian for possession of biological weapons


West Bank Palestinian Samar al-Barak, intended on training others to use biological weapons, according to the charges in Israel’s military court.

By

 

A Palestinian has been indicted in a military court on suspicion of being an Al-Qaida activist who possessed biological weapons and planned to train other Palestinians in their use.

Fighters from an al-Qaida-linked Islamist group in Mali.

Fighters from an Al-Qaida-linked group in Mali. Israel is also a target. – Photo: AP

Samar al-Barak was indicted after spending more than three years in administrative detention without trial – a detention the state defended before the High Court of Justice on the grounds that it was essential for security reasons.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , ,
| February 4, 2014
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Jordan Says No to Kerry’s Peace “Conspiracy” Plan

Sec. of State Kerry has not only escalated tensions between Israel & the Palestinians, but also between Jordanians & the Palestinians in Jordan.

Kerry will now have to find a way to calm Jordan’s King Abdullah and his constituents, before Jordan slips into civil war.

By Khaled Abu Toameh

 

Jordan’s government officials and ordinary citizens have come out against U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposals for reaching a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman, Jordan, on May 22, 2013. (Image source: U.S. State Department)

The Jordanians fear that such an agreement would be concluded at their expense and undermine King Abdullah’s rule. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News |
| February 4, 2014
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Iran’s FM says recognition of Israel possible after peace with Palestinians

Iranian Minister says peace option possible once the Palestinian problem is solved.

Israel’s Defense Minister hears him discuss Holocaust as a ‘tragically cruel’ event.

By

 

Iran’s Foreign Minister told German television on Monday that the Islamic Republic would not rule out recognizing Israel after an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Zarif

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif listening during a panel discussion at the 50th Security Conference on security policy in Munich, Germany. Feb. 2, 2014.- Photo by AP

“Once the Palestinian problem is solved the conditions for an Iranian recognition of Israel will be possible,” the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with the German TV station Phoenix, according to i24 News. Continue Reading »

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