21 UN peacekeepers, kidnapped by Syrian rebels, were release to Jordan

21 Filipino UN workers safely crossed on Saturday from southern Syria, where they were held since Wednesday after being captured by rebels, into neighboring Jordan.

By Reuters

 

Twenty-one United Nations peacekeepers captured by Syrian rebels and held for three days in a southern Syrian village crossed safely into neighboring Jordan on Saturday, rebels and a UN official in Damascus said.

A UN peacekeepers vehicle in Syria, March 9, 2013

A UN peacekeepers vehicle in Syria, March 9, 2013 – Photo: AFP

The Filipino peacekeepers were taken by the Martyrs of Yarmouk rebel brigade to the border, about 10 km (6 miles) south of the village of Jamla where they had been held since being captured on Wednesday.

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UN Proves That Hamas Rocket Killed Gaza Child – Not Israel

UNHRC Report: “Palestinian armed groups continuously violated int’l humanitarian law, by launching indiscriminate attacks on Israel and by attacking civilians, thereby disregarding the principle of distinction. The armed groups failed to take all feasible precautions in attacks, in particular by launching rockets from populated areas, which put the population at grave risk. Furthermore, several Palestinians were killed by rockets launched by the armed groups that fell short & landed in the Gaza Strip.”

 

Jihad Masharawi tragically lost his infant child during the Hamas-Israel conflict.

The UN Human Rights Council released an advanced version of its report on Israel’s November conflict with Gaza terrorists this week. Continue Reading »

Palestinians: Obama’s Presence on Temple Mount will be Declaration of War

The Islamic Jihad & Hamas say that a visit by the American President to the Temple Mount will be a de facto declaration of war on the Islamic world.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

The Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror groups threatened on Friday that a visit by U.S. President Barack Obama to the Temple Mount during his upcoming visit to Israel will be a declaration of war on the Arab and the Islamic world.

Jerusalem (2)

Western Wall and Temple Mount seen in Jerusalem

 

A Hamas representative in the Al-Aqsa mosque, Mushir al-Masri, even called for a third intifada (uprising) and for Egyptian assistance in the “resistance” if Obama chooses to visit the Temple Mount. Continue Reading »

MK Yair Lapid to be Israel’s next Finance Minister

Coalition talks very fruitful: MK Lapid likely to become next Finance Minister & Naftali Bennett from Bayit Yehudi will be Minister of Industry, Trade & Labor.

By Elad Benari, Canada

 

Yesh Atid chairman MK Yair Lapid will likely be Israel’s next Finance Minister, it was reported on Friday, after a meeting between Lapid and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was described by the sides as “good”.

The reports in Israel’s media outlets also indicated that Bayit Yehudi chairman MK Naftali Bennett will be appointed as Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor. MK Moshe Ya’alon (Likud) will be Defense Minister, according to the reports. Continue Reading »

Hamas keeps humanitarian aid from entering Gaza

The Palestinian contractor responsible for the Palestinian side decided not to open the crossing. His decision stems from attempts by Hamas to replace the current PA contractor with one of their choosing.

Hamas has been actively trying to push the Palestinian Authority out & take charge of the management of Kerem Shalom so that Hamas may collect & keep 100% of the revenue from goods that enter Gaza.

By Michael Selutin

 

Dozens of heavy trucks transporting humanitarian aid have been sitting idly on the border of the Gaza Strip since Monday, unable to enter the coastal enclave after Hamas shut the gates from its side. Continue Reading »

The Potential Under Troubled Waters

 

With Israel’s discovery & exploitation of its natural gas fields, the country inherits a whole new set of problems & options it has never had to consider before.

By Aharon Lapidot

 

One morning in January 2009, the State of Israel awoke to the news that its eternal gripe against Moses for bringing us to the only corner of the Middle East that is bereft of oil suddenly — and surprisingly — was put to the test. While there still isn’t any black gold to be found on Israeli soil, there are quite large deposits of natural gas just off of our coast, with the potential for substantial profit quite real.

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Report: IDF ready for possible conflict with Hezbollah

IDF drills reservists amid worries of possible spillover from Syrian conflict as well as the threats of retaliation from Hezbollah should Israel strikes Iran.

By REUTERS

 

REVIVIM – Wary of a spillover from the conflict in Syria, Israel is preparing to take on the Hezbollah militia that it suspects is getting advanced weapons from a distracted Damascus.

IDF reserve soldiers drill, March 7, 2013.

IDF reserve soldiers drill, March 7, 2013. – Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen

Israel believes the Lebanese Shi’ite guerrillas also stand ready to retaliate if it carries out long-threatened strikes on the nuclear sites of Iran, another Hezbollah patron.

Hezbollah fought Israel’s far more advanced forces to a standstill when they last came to blows, in 2006, and rained more than 4,000 rockets on northern Israel.

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Ethiopia also celebrates Miss Israel

Yityish Aynaw’s success in becoming Miss Israel is attracting media attention in Ethiopia

By Itamar Eichner

 

Yityish (Titi) Aynaw, the first Ethiopian-born woman to be crowned Miss Israel, is attracting media attention in her homeland as well, with intense coverage by Ethiopian newspapers, websites, television and radio stations.

The Israeli Embassy in Addis Ababa issued a press release about the beauty pageant and the precedent set by its winner. The Embassy is planning to use the win as part of a PR campaign for Israel, which will include posting Aynaw’s pictures on billboards across Ethiopia.

The Embassy is also initiating an unusual move: Sending a text message to every cell phone in Ethiopia to announce the crowning of an Ethiopian beauty queen in Israel. Continue Reading »

Lapid-Netanyahu talks a success: Coalition to be announced soon

 

Yesh Atid report that the path for their party to enter a coalition gov’t has been paved.  Announcement to be made early next week. 

 

Senior Yesh Atid officials estimated on Friday morning that the path for their party to join the coalition has been paved. According to the officials, Israel’s new coalition will be presented at the start of the coming week.

Lapid - Netanyahu

The two sides drew conclusions regarding government portfolios and the fundamentals of the coalition.

So far, Lapid’s insistence on the Foreign Ministry has been the stumbling block to forming a government.

But Likud sources said Friday that they believe Lapid would drop his demand for the Foreign Ministry in exchange for funding for issues dear to his party.

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British MP Honors Israeli Ambassador Shot on London Street

British MP attends memorial for former Israeli Amb. Shlomo Argov who was shot outside his London Hotel over 30 years ago.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

British MP Alistair Burt attended a memorial ceremony for former Israeli ambassador Shlomo Argov, who was shot outside London’s Dorchester Hotel over 30 years ago, The Jewish Chronicle (JC) reported.

British MP Alistair BurtThe ceremony, held outside the hotel in Mayfair, commemorated the death of the former Israel ambassador who was shot on the night of June 3, 1982, but died ten years ago from injuries inflicted by the attack.

Argov, who died aged 73 in 2003, was shot in the head at point-blank range by three attackers, affiliated with Abu Nidal’s Palestine National Liberation Movement terrorist group. Continue Reading »

Can not comprehend why Pollard is still incarcerated

Former Israeli spymaster says US using Pollard to teach the Jews a lesson; Israelis see it as hypocritical that US still holding Pollard, yet sees no problem pressing Jewish state to free blood-soaked Palestinian terrorists.

By  Ryan Jones

 

It’s been 28 years, and there’s still no firm sign that the US intends to release accused Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard. Even for Israeli officials intimately familiar with Washington, the situation is simply incomprehensible.

Pollard

Release Pollard – Israel Today

“I know Washington, I know how it works, I know what makes it tick, and I still cannot comprehend why there is this insistence on keeping Pollard for so long,” former Israeli Ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon said on Tuesday. Continue Reading »

More NEW Palestinian bus lines planed by Transportation Ministry

Transportation Ministry director-general Uzi Itzhaki says that purpose of the additional lines is to aid those Palestinians who live in Judea & Samaria commute to their jobs inside Israel and rejects as ridiculous all claims that these new lines are some form of apartheid.

Israel Hayom Staff

 

Israel’s Transportation Ministry plans to expand public bus services for Palestinian residents of Judea and Samaria, a ministry official told Army Radio on Thursday.

Palestinian workers board a bus en route to Judea and Samaria from the Tel Aviv area. – Photo: AP

Uzi Itzhaki, the Transportation Ministry’s director-general, rejected claims that new bus lines, which are meant mainly for use by Palestinians, are a form of apartheid.

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MK Akunis: Likud accepts Yesh Atid’s ultra-Orthadox draft plan

Likud MK close to Netanyahu says the  Haredim won’t be part of next coalition gov’t & Foreign Ministry portfolio is reserved for Liberman.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Likud Beytenu accepted Yesh Atid’s plan for haredi draft into civil service, according to Likud MK Ofir Akunis, who is close to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

MK Ofir Akunis (Likud)

MK Ofir Akunis (Likud) – Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

“Regarding equality in the national burden, there’s definitely an agreement. We accepted the Yesh Atid plan, and unfortunately it appears like the haredim will not be a part of the next government,” Akunis told Channel 10.

A Yesh Atid source confirmed to The Jerusalem Post that Likud Beytenu’s negotiating team accepted the detailed plan for haredi enlistment, which would require them to join the IDF or national service at age 18, following a five-year period in which the ultra-Orthodox would be encouraged to join the workforce.

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8 UN soldiers abandon post in Syria and march into Israel

In fear of additional kidnappings, peacekeepers were ordered by their commander to abandon their post in Syria then the IDF soldiers meet them at border crossing.

Yoav Zitun

 

Two days after 21 Filipino UN peacekeepers were kidnapped by Syrian rebels in the village of Jamlah, situated less than a mile from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, eight other UN monitors from the Philippines abandoned their position on Friday and crossed the border into Israel.

UN position in Syria – Photo: AP

The soldiers, who belong to a UN force that has patrolled a ceasefire line between Israel and Syria for nearly four decades, were ordered by their commander to abandon the post for fear rebels may attempt to capture more peacekeepers. Continue Reading »

Henry Grossman’s Unique Photographic Take on the Beatles

After having Shot Thousands of Pictures of the Fab 4 During his 5-Year Run, an Amazing Photo Album was Created

 

Henry Grossman wasn’t a fan of the Beatles when he first started photographing them in 1964, but he would become intimately familiar with the group, snapping thousands of photographs of the Fab Four over the next five years. More than 1,000 of these photos have been collected in his new limited edition book, “Places I Remember: My Time With the Beatles.” There are just 1,200 copies in print, and they retail at a whopping $495 a pop. Continue Reading »