China supports Russian plan placing Syria’s chemical weapons under int’l control

 

China announces support for Russian plan, so France is drafting a UN resolution for Syrian chemical weapons to be place under international control.

By REUTERS

 

 
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said France would propose a United Nations Security Council resolution setting out conditions for Syria to place its chemical weapons under international control and accept that they will be dismantled, a plan that could avert planned US military strikes in response to the country’s suspected use of its arsenal on civilians.
Syrian civilians take part in a candlelight vigil in solidarity with Syrian civilians killed.

Syrian civilians take part in a candlelight vigil in solidarity with Syrian civilians killed. – Photo: REUTERS

US President Barack Obama has argued that Syrian President Bashar Assad, fighting to continue his family’s four-decade rule, apparently used chemical weapons against its own population in an attack on the outskirts of Damascus on August 21.

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Survey shows Israel ranks 11th on happiness rates

Survey from Columbia University’s Earth Institute shows Nordic countries listed top in global happiness for 2013. Israel up 3 places from last year, coming in 11th.

Bottom of list: African countries & Bulgaria

By Dr. Itay Gal

The happiest people in the world are in Denmark, according to a new report published on Monday, based on research carried out by The Earth Inststute at Columbia University. Happiness is measured by a variety of parameters, including life expectancy, infant mortality, socio-economic status and education.

Happiness is... Photo: Shutterstock

Happiness is… Photo: Shutterstock

Despite the bitter cold, northern countries lead the report. As in previous years, Nordic countries top the list with Denmark coming in at number one. Continue Reading »

Arab Attacks on Mount of Olives are declining

Thousands of mourners expected to visit Mount of Olives cemetery in the week before Yom Kippur.

Activists also report a drop in grave desecrations by Arab extremists.

By Gil Ronen

 

Thousands of people are expected to come to the ancient cemetery at the Mount of Olives in the days before Yom Kippur, to visit the graves of their loved ones and graves of “tzaddikim,” or wise and righteous people.

Desecration of Jewish graves, Mount of Olives – Israel news photo: Rafi Fischer

This year they can do so with less trepidation, activists say, because the security situation there has improved markedly in recent months. Continue Reading »

Russian news report: Syrian rebels planning chemical attack on Israel

 

Unconfirmed report by Russian Arab-language newspaper claims: ‘armed Syrian militants will use territories controlled by the Syrian regime to perpetrate their provocative plan’

By Roi Kais

Arabic-language Russian news site Rusiya Al-Yaum has reported that Syrian rebels are planning a chemical attack on Israel.

Syrian rebels – Photo: AFP

In the report, it was claimed that “armed Syrian militants will use territories controlled by the Syrian regime to perpetrate their provocative plan.”

The story was quick to spread through pro-Assad outlets, like the Hezbollah affiliated Lebanese stations Al Manar and Al Mayadeen. The Russian site is also known for its pro-Assad bias in covering the Syrian crises, what suggests that there is a possibility the story might propaganda. Continue Reading »

Damascus accepts Russia’s suggestion of relinquishing control of its chemical weapons

Syria welcomed Russia’s foreign minister’s suggestion to surrender Assad’s chemical arsenal to int’l control, a move Moscow believes can avert a U.S. airstrike on Syria.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem said on Monday that his country welcomed Moscow’s proposal to relinquish control over its chemical arsenals, a move Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said could avert a U.S. strike.

Syria chemical attack

Members of the UN investigation team take soil samples in the Damascus countryside of Ain Terma, Syria, Aug. 28, 2013. – Photo: AP

“The Syrian Arab Republic welcomes the Russian initiative, which is motivated by the Russian leadership’s concern for the life of our citizens and the security of our country,” Moallem told reporters in Moscow, according to the Interfax news agency.

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‘Spy’ stork arrested, interrogated, released then eaten in Egypt

 

Last week, after a stork was caught in Egypt wearing a tracking device, the police held it on suspicion it was a Mossad spy for Israel. After its release, stork hunted down, then eaten.

Ynet

Menes the stork was caught in Egypt last week and held by authorities on suspicion of being used to spy for Israel, due to the tracking device attached to its leg. Just days after its release into the wild, it was hunted down and eaten, according to the UK’s Guardian.

Stork ‘spy’ in Egyptian custody – Photo: AP

The stork was brought into police by an Egyptian who spotted a device used to track wildlife that was on it, and thought that this might be a method of spying. Continue Reading »

Assad on CBS interview: No evidence exists that I used chemical weapons on my people

In response John Kerry says, ‘The evidence speaks for itself.’

New Iranian foreign minister: ‘Obama will ignite a fire across the Middle East if the U.S. attacks Syria.’

By Reuters

 

Syrian President Bashar Assad denied once again that he was behind a chemical weapons attack on the Syrian people, and said evidence was not conclusive that there had been such an attack, CBS reported on Sunday on its news program “Face the Nation.”

Lebanese boys hold portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad in Beirut.

Lebanese boys hold portraits of Syrian President Bashar Assad, during a demonstration against a possible military strike in Syria, in front of the UN headquarters, in Beirut, September 8, 2013.

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Official: U.S. Will Warn Jerusalem Prior to Any Strike on Syria

An Israeli official reported that the White House will notify Israel hours prior to any attack made on Syria.

By Elad Benari

 

 

The United States would notify Israel hours in advance of an attack on Syria, an Israeli official told the Reuters news agency on Sunday.

Asked how much advance notice Israel would get from its U.S. ally about a strike in Syria in response to a chemical attack in August, the Israeli official, who was briefed on contacts with Washington, told Reuters, “Hours.”

Israel is formally on the sidelines of the Syria crisis but fears coming under reprisals from Syria should the United States launch strikes to punish Damascus for its use of chemical weaponry. Continue Reading »

Amos Gilad: Israel not perceived as enemy by Arab Sunni bloc

 

Israel’s Defense Ministry’s political-military director said the Sunni axis is successfully keeping extremist jihadi terrorism at bay and goes on to praise Egyptian Defense Minister al-Sisi’s for his counter-terrorism efforts in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.

 

 

A powerful Middle Eastern axis of Sunni states has taken form in the region, which “does not view Israel as a sworn enemy,” and has successfully kept extremist jihadi terrorism at bay, Maj.-Gen. Amos Gilad, Director of the Political-Military Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Defense, stated on Sunday.

Amos Gilad [file]

Amos Gilad – Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) by Hanay

Speaking before the Institute for Counter-Terrorism’s international summit at Herzliya, Gilad said that Israel “won’t ever be accepted as a formal member” of the Sunni axis, but that the states that make it up all view the US as the sole super power and that their regional policies are indirectly beneficial for Israel.”This

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Jerusalem gets Iron Dome battery

 

Israel’s Iron Dome Missile defense battery was set up just outside the capital ‘in accordance with IDF ‘situation assessments’

By Yoav Zitu

The Air Force set up an Iron dome missile defense battery in the Jerusalem area on Sunday, as the United States lobbied for domestic and international support for military strikes against Syria. The decision was made after situation assessments by the IDF.

Iron Dome near Jerusalem, Sunday

Iron Dome near Jerusalem, Sunday – Courtesy

A military spokeswoman would not comment on the deployment, saying only that “defense systems are deployed in accordance with situation assessments.”

Late last month, Iran’s army chief of staff General Hassan Firouzabadi warned: “Any military action against Syria will drive the Zionists to the edge of fire.” Continue Reading »

U.S. official: Egyptian & Syrian unrest improves chances of success in peace talks

Fear of being engulfed by the regional turmoil motivates Palestinians & Israelis to reach peace agreement, says senior U.S. ST. Dep’t official.

By and Reuters

 

 

The turmoil in both Syria and Egypt is nudging Israelis and Palestinians toward peace, a United States official said on Friday, as Secretary of State John Kerry flew to Europe for talks on Middle East issues.

Kerry in Vilnius

US Secretary ofState John Kerry (l) is greeted in Vilnius by Lithuanian Defense Minister Juozas Olekas (c) and US Ambassador to Lithuania Deborah McCarthy. – Photo: AFP

 

Kerry’s three-day trip was originally intended to brief European and Arab diplomats on the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but that objective is likely to be overshadowed by the ongoing crisis in Syria. Continue Reading »

EU May only Boycott New Projects & Continue to Fund Old

 

An EU delegation has reportedly agreed to continue funding bodies in Judea & Samaria (West Bank) and the Golan Heights that have received help in the past.

By Kochava Rozenbaum

 

 

The European Union (EU) is seeking to reassure Israelis who are concerned about the economic harm caused  by the EU’s decision to forbid its member states from cooperating, transferring funds, or giving scholarships or research grants to bodies in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

Ariel University Center

A senior delegation from the European Union will arrive in Israel early this week to examine ways of preventing damage to Israeli entities operating beyond the 1949 Armistice Lines. Continue Reading »

30 militant jihadist hurt in Egyptian air assault in Sinai

 

In the largest Sinai operation since the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Egyptian military bombs 12 targets in northern Sinai where jihadists were holed up and six Gaza smuggling tunnels also hit.

By Roi Kais

 

At least 31 people were killed or injured on Saturday when the Egyptian army mounted a large operation against militants in North Sinai, security officials said.

Smoke in Sinai after previous attack

An additional 10 people were arrested, reports said. Maan noted that the operation in the towns of Sheikh Zuweyid and Rafah in northern Sinai was the largest the Egyptian military has undertaken since the Yom Kippur War. Continue Reading »

Lebanese Report: Syria, Iran & Hezbollah planning regional response to any attack on Syria

Syria, Iran, Hezbollah & other pro-Syrian groups plan to strike targets in Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan & Israel should Syria come under attack.

 

 

Iran, Syria and Hezbollah have set up a military room to coordinate activities in the case the US and other countries attack Syria, according to sources quoted on Friday in the Lebanese Daily Star. The sources confirmed an earlier report by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar that Hezbollah is mobilizing its forces in anticipation of an attack, specifically stating that “tens of thousands” of fighters and reservists have been called up.

Hezbollah members rally in Beirut

Hezbollah members rally in Beirut – Photo: Reuters

“Iran, Syria and Hezbollah don’t have a clear picture about what Americans have planned,” said one diplomat.

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Israel’s PM unimpressed by Iranian greetings for Jewish New Year

Netanyahu said in a statement that the Iranian regime ‘will be judged only by its actions & not by its greetings’

Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday dismissed the significance of reports that the new Iranian president and his foreign minister had both issued greetings to mark the Jewish New Year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – Photo: GPO

Twitter messages that appeared to have been issued by newly-elected Hassan Rohani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, wishing Jews a good Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year, which was celebrated this week – made headlines in Israel.

They were a change in tone from Rohani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who left office last month and regularly use to rile Israel by calling for the destruction of the “Zionist entity”. Continue Reading »