Archive for Mid-East News

| February 3, 2014
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Israel’s Defense Minister takes front row seat for Iranian Foreign Minister’s panel

 

Israeli and Jewish officials have traditionally walked out so as not to hear speeches by Iranian leaders in all int’l forums.

Surprisingly and contrary to the previous Iranian gov’t, Zarif used his panel debate to condemn the Holocaust.

By Ynet

 

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon raised a few eyebrows on Sunday when he chose to remain in his seat for a debate at the international security conference in Munich, for on the panel was Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Zarif.

Ya'alon (top left) and Zarif (bottom right) at the conference in Munich (Photo: Ariel Hermoni)

Ya’alon (top left) and Zarif (bottom right) at the conference in Munich – Photo: Ariel Hermoni

Israeli officials have traditionally walked out of a forum when Iranian leaders have spoken, and vice versa.
Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News |
| February 3, 2014
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Jerusalem Offers Turkey $20 Million Compensation for Mavi Marmara Incident

Compensation negotiations advancing over 2010 incident in which IHH sponsored flotilla attempted to illegally break Israel’s blockade on Gaza’s terror group Hamas.

By Ari Yashar

 

Israel has offered to pay $20 million in “compensation” to the families of Turkish citizens killed during the 2010 Mavi Marmara flotilla, which tried to illegally break the IDF blockade on the terror group Hamas in Gaza. Nine Turkish Islamists were killed as they violently attacked IDF soldiers who boarded their ship.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu formally apologized to Turkey last March for the soldiers‘ use of force in saving their own lives. Continue Reading »

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| February 3, 2014
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Egypt Will Try 5 Suspected Mossad ‘Spies’ in Absentia

5 alleged Israeli officers from the spy agency & 3 Egyptians will stand trial in an Egyptian court, but all in absentia.

By AFP and Gil Ronen

 

Five alleged officers from Israel’s Mossad spy agency and three Egyptians will stand trial in absentia on Wednesday in an Egyptian court, on charges of spying for the Jewish state, judicial sources said.

Mossad - Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Mossad – Photo: IsraelandStuff/PP

Egyptian prosecutors have accused the eight of espionage and supplying Israel with information impacting Egypt’s national security, the sources said on Sunday.

The trial is expected to open with none of the defendants present, the sources said, because the alleged Mossad officers are “on the run” while it is not clear if the three Egyptians had been arrested. Continue Reading »

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| February 2, 2014
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Chief PA negotiator: Palestinians were here before the Jews

 

Abbas’ chief negotiator Saeb Erekat claims ancestry from the Canaanites.

U.S. Sec. of State Kerry praises the Palestinians & the Israelis for their efforts in the negotiations and warns them of the fallout should they fail.

By Daniel Siryoti, Shlomo Cesana and Israel Hayom Staff

 

The Palestinians cannot accept Israel as the Jewish state because they lived in the region long before the Jews, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said over the weekend.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat – Photo: AP

Speaking with Justice Minister Tzipi Livni at the Munich Security Conference, Erekat rejected the Israeli demand that the Palestinians recognize it as the Jewish homeland. Continue Reading »

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| February 1, 2014
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Sinai’s Salafis claim responsibility for last night’s rocket fire on Eilat

 

 

In message to Jerusalem, radical Salafi terrorist organization promises to continue fight against Israel for supporting Egypt.

IDF Spokesperson’s Unit says Iron Dome intercepted rocket with no injuries or damage reported.

By: Meir Ohayon

The radical Salafi organization Ansar Bait al-Maqdis took responsibility for the rocket fired towards Eilat Friday night.

Egyptian forces disperse Morsi supporters in a violent demonstration, January 2014.

Egyptian security forces try to disperse supporters of Egypt’s ousted President Mohammed Morsi protesting against the government in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Jan. 31, 2014. Photo by AP

In an announcement by the al-Qaeda affiliate, the organization said the rocket was launched towards the Jewish State because of the “cooperation between Egypt and Israel and the bombing of Gazan residents.” Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News, Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| January 27, 2014
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Gaza Jihadists Produce 1st Domestic Missile Launcher

Gaza terrorists boasts of homemade anti-tank missile launcher, shows growing domestic military ‘industry’.

By Dalit Halevi, Ari Yashar

 

The “Mujahideen Brigades” in Gaza announced this week the launch of a new domestically-developed ATM (Anti-Tank Missile) launcher. Video released by the terror group shows a terrorist holding the new weapon and firing a missile.

homemadeThe launcher, which is over a meter (3.3 feet) in length, sports basic sights for aiming.

Its name “Sair,” meaning “burning flame,” is taken from verse 97 of the Koran’s Sura al-Isra (“the night journey”), which reads: “he (Allah) will gather them on the Day of Resurrection [fallen] on their faces – blind, dumb and deaf. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| January 27, 2014
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Israel and the West are in no hurry to get rid of Assad

Israeli intel analyst feels that if Assad falls, the ever growing number of jihadists in Syria will take control over the country & attack Israel.

Europeans gov’ts worry that their Muslim citizens fighting alongside Islamists may carry out attacks at home after returning home.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON

 

 

The West and Israel have been reluctant to intervene with enough force to tip the balance in the fighting in Syria, but the continued influx of Sunni jihadists to the region and their increasing attacks in neighboring Lebanon and Iraq has some thinking President Bashar Assad’s regime is the better of two evils. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| January 27, 2014
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Lebanon astir after TV channel representatives filmed inside Israeli Air Force base

 

The Lebanese news channel LBC , was allowed to enter & film inside an IAF base in a bid to send a strong message to the Hezbollah, and the reactions were quick to come, with everyone from Hezbollah to state regulators claiming TV report was Zionist propaganda.

By Roi Kais

 

Lebanon was astir after a Lebanese news channel was allowed unprecedented access to an IAF base in Israel in a bid to send Hezbollah a message.

IAF commander in Lebanese report

IAF commander in Lebanese report

Throughout the weekend, media outlets from all over Lebanon reported on the interview with Israeli Air Force commanders that was broadcast by the LBC network, with some claiming the story normalizes relations with Israel, which is prohibited according to Lebanese law. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| January 24, 2014
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EU Ambassador to Israel: Israel Will Be Blamed if Peace Talks Fail

 

EU  envoy suggests that the only issue that threatens agreement is Jewish settlement activity, ignoring ongoing Palestinian indoctrination to incitement, terrorist attacks & security concerns.

By Ryan Jones

 

European Union Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen freely admitted on Wednesday that Europe intends to blame the Jewish state if the current peace talks fail to produce an agreement.

“Naturally, the blame will be put squarely on Israel’s doorstep,” stated Faaborg-Andersen.

He qualified that remark by insisting it would be only “logical” to attribute failure to Israel if the issue that prevents the signing of a peace deal is Jewish “settlement activity.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| January 24, 2014
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Female Palestinian cartoonist threatened after illustration of Islamic Jihad & Hamas

 

Controversial political cartoon refers to Islamic Jihad whose members are believed to have fired recent rockets on Israel.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
 

 

Palestinian cartoonist has come under fire because she published a cartoon that enraged Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Cartoon suggesting Hamas needs to rein in Islamic Jihad military wing Al-Quds Batallions. - Photo: Courtesy

Cartoon suggesting Hamas needs to rein in Islamic Jihad military wing Al-Quds Batallions. – Photo: Courtesy

The controversial cartoon refers to Hamas efforts to rein in Islamic Jihad’s military wing, Al-Quds Battalions, whose members are believed to have been behind recent rocket and mortar attacks from the Gaza Strip.

The cartoon by Majedah Shaheen depicts Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh asking his dog to “calm down.” Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| January 24, 2014
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Egyptian Journalist: ‘We fought for Hamas, and now, they are killing us’

 

Egyptian journalist says, Egypt needs to learn from Israel & “teach Hamas a lesson” until they learn to “respect the Egyptian shoe.”

By Elad Benari

 

Egypt should take a page from Israel’s book and “teach Hamas a lesson,” an Egyptian journalist recently said.

Egyptian Journalist: We Should Attack Hamas Terrorists in Gaza Until They Kiss Egyptian Shoes

Egyptian Journalist: We Should Attack Hamas Terrorists in Gaza Until They Kiss Egyptian Shoes

Al-Alfi said in the interview that Egypt “should discipline [Hamas] just as Israel did… We must strike them so they learn to respect the Egyptian shoe.”

“Only then will they kiss that shoe and learn what Egypt is worth,” he declared.

“Our sons were killed and our economy was ruined in wars fought for their sake. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| January 24, 2014
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Abbas In Russia for $1Billion Energy Deal for Gaza

Report speaks of Abbas & Russian PM to sign agreement on a $1Billion Mediterranean natural gas project off the Gaza coast.

By AFP

 

Moscow  – Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas sought on Thursday to secure a billion-dollar Gaza energy deal during talks with Russian leaders aimed at restoring warmer ties between the two Soviet-era allies.

Abbas and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev were due to sign an intergovernmental agreement that reports said included a $1.0-billion (730-million-euro) natural gas project in the Gaza section of the Mediterranean Sea.

The state ITAR-TASS news agency said Russia’s natural gas giant Gazprom hoped to produce 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas at the site. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| January 23, 2014
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Mahmoud Abbas’ Party Continues to Incite with Threats to ‘Bomb Tel Aviv’

Palestinians Speak with ‘Forked Tongue’? Because as ‘peace talks’ continue, official Facebook page of PA Chairman’s Fatah party is AGAIN featuring calls for violence against Israel.

By Ari Soffer

 

The Fatah party of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has posted threats to bomb Tel Aviv on its official Facebook page.

Calling us 'racist' seems empty considering the source.

The threats came in the form of a video by Fatah’s armed wing – the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade – which threatened to turn Tel Aviv “into a ball of fire”, as well as escalated rocket fire on Israeli civilians.

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade has been declared a terrorist group by the US, EU, Israel and Canada, among others. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| January 23, 2014
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Australia Clamps Down on Hezbollah Money-Laundering Scam & Drug-Running

Australian daily reports how Lebanese terrorist group is working with local organized criminals, as law enforcement launches largest-ever operation.

By Ari Soffer

 

A major money-laundering operation in Australia is helping to bankroll Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Islamist group which is proscribed as a terrorist organization by Australian government, among others.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah – Reuters

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the money-laundering scam is part of a wider criminal network linked to organized drug trafficking.

The report comes amid Australia’s bigger ever money-laundering investigation, named Project Eligo, which has revealed how 40 separate operations in the country are moving hundreds of millions of dollars offshore. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| January 23, 2014
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Germany places restrictions on science & high-tech grants on settlement funding

Foreign ministry in Jerusalem hopes to nix clause that would complicate renewal of scientific and academic research agreement.

By

 

 

The German government is conditioning continued grants to Israeli high-tech companies, as well as the renewal of a scientific cooperation agreement, on the inclusion of a territorial clause stating that Israeli entities located in West Bank settlements or East Jerusalem will not be eligible for funding. Israel fears the German move will lead other European Union member states to follow suit.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, near Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, January 22, 2014. – Photo by AP

The German decision represents a significant escalation in European measures against the settlements. Continue Reading »

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