U.S. to train rebels to bring about post-Assad Syria

White House spokesman says humanitarian assistance will be provided to the Syrian people & combat training will be offered to the Syrian opposition.

By Reuters

 

The United States is planning to offer Syrian rebels combat training, the New York times reported on Wednesday.

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base

Free Syrian Army fighters, take their positions as they observe the Syrian army forces base of Wadi al-Deif in Idlib province, Syria, Tuesday Feb. 26, 2013. – Photo: AP

According to the report, an offer of training assistance is expected to come from Secretary of State John Kerry when he meets with Syrian opposition leaders in Rome on Thursday. Continue Reading »

Netanyahu to ask Peres for 2 week extension for additional coalition talks

PM’s office schedules meeting with President Peres giving a clear message that the coalition will not be formed in the upcoming days.

Bayit Yehudi calls coalition deal with Tzipi Livni as a ‘traffic accident’.

 

Coalition talks will not end by their deadline on Saturday night, when Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu plans to meet with President Shimon Peres to ask for a two-week extension to form a government.

PM Binyamin Netanyahu accepts President Peres' invitation to form next government, February 2, 2013.

PM Binyamin Netanyahu accepts President Peres’ invitation to form next government, February 2, 2013. – Photo: Koby Gideon/GPO

Netanyahu’s office scheduled the meeting with Peres on Wednesday, a clear indicator that the coalition will not be finalized in the coming days, despite progress in talks with the Bayit Yehudi and negotiations with Yesh Atid planned for Thursday.

Continue Reading »

Israeli navigator Waze beats out all other contenders for 2012 app ‘Oscar’ prize

Waze benefited from Apple’s iOS-6 mobile map operating system flaws last year with Waze reporting that 36 million drivers used the app in 2012 to help them drive nearly 10 billion kilometers.

 

Waze, the Israeli-developed free mobile navigation app, won the Mobile World Congress Judges’ Choice award this week for best overall mobile application, beating out major players like the file-hosting service Dropbox, the personalized news magazine Flipboard and the electronic payment service Square.

Waze 

 

“This is a huge win for our community — thanks Wazers, for making us number 1!” the company said on its Facebook page. Continue Reading »

Fatah: Boycott the Jerusalem marathon

Palestinians call on participants & sponsors alike to withdraw their support from the annual race that also winds through city’s eastern section

By the Associated Press

 

Palestinians are calling for a boycott of a marathon race in Jerusalem that winds through the city’s eastern sector. Palestinians claim it as their capital.

‘Symbol of coexistence.’ Jerusalem marathon (archives) – Photo: Reuters

The third annual Jerusalem marathon takes place Friday. Previous races have drawn thousands of runners from around the world and attracted international brands as sponsors.

In a statement Tuesday, the Palestine Liberation Organization called on marathon participants and sponsors to withdraw their support. Continue Reading »

Dutch court rules: Jews must carry ID on Shabbat

An Orthodox Jew cited religious reasons in court for ignoring the 2005 Dutch law.

 

AMSTERDAM — A Dutch appeals court has upheld a 60 euro, or $90, fine against an Orthodox Jew who refused to show police an identity card, citing religious reasons.

Dutch wonderland

A windmill outside Amsterdam. – Photo: AP

The Hague Appeals Court ruled that a law which makes it mandatory for all people older than 14 to carry ID cards and show them to police upon request does not have a religious exemption.

The man, whose name was not released due to privacy laws, had argued it was against his religious beliefs to carry anything but his clothing on the Jewish Sabbath. Continue Reading »

Egyptian court rules all Egypt-Gaza tunnels must be destroyed

Wael Hamdy, a lawyer who brought the case said,”I filed the case because I was worried about the state of national security in my country after the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood to power and its unclear policies and links with Hamas,”

Reported by Yasmine Saleh; Edited by David Stamp & Alison Williams

 

(Reuters) – A Cairo court ruled on Tuesday the government must destroy all tunnels between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, removing a route for smuggled weapons but also a lifeline for Palestinians.

Tunnel smugglerEgypt’s ruling Muslim Brotherhood has close ties with the Hamas Islamists that run Gaza, but many Egyptians fear the enclave is a security risk for Egypt. Continue Reading »

Israeli Doctor risked his life for Palestinian rock-throwing rioter

Dr. Shamir’s heroic effort to save a wounded Palestinian assailant was not mentioned by any foreign media outlets.

Israel is expected to hold Palestinian life in the highest regard, while Israel’s actions in defense of its own people are so vociferously condemned that the Jewish state is often afraid to do what is necessary to save Israeli lives.

By Ryan Jones

 

Last weekend’s eruption of violence in Judea and Samaria was riddled with the usual accusations of Israeli brutality toward the Palestinians. But one story being touted in the Hebrew press demonstrates that Israel has no such lust for violence, and in general adheres rather well to Yeshua’s admonition to “love thy enemy.” Continue Reading »

No injuries after Syrian mortar shell shot into Golan Heights

Syrian shelling into Israel is believed to be result of errant fire

Israel repatriates 6 Syrian rebels after being treated for wounds. The 7th, with severe wounds, is still under Israeli medical care.

U.N. confirms its staff member is still missing after being last seen near the Syrian-Israeli border.

By Reuters & the Israel Hayom Staff

 

 

A mortar round fired from Syria on Wednesday exploded near Alonei Habashan on the Golan Heights. No one was wounded, according to Army Radio.

The IDF says the Syrians’ repatriation “was completed at an undisclosed location for their own safety.” – Photo: AP

Israeli troops were searching the moshav for additional shells after residents reported hearing other explosions.

Continue Reading »

U.S. law enforcement eying illegal Israeli mall workers

In the US, the thought of undocumented workers is more likely to conjure images of  Latino gardeners or nannies caring for the children of the affluent rather than pushy Israeli salespeople in air-conditioned malls selling hand creams.

By Gil Shefler

 

NEW YORK (JTA) — In 2006, aspiring Israeli singer Rami Feinstein faced a big-time dilemma: Would he sign a 19-year contract with a top talent agent and relinquish 45 percent of his future profits, or take a job illegally selling cosmetics at an American shopping mall?

Israeli worker demonstrating a beauty product at a mall kiosk.  (Creative Commons)

Israeli worker demonstrating a beauty product at a mall kiosk. (Creative Commons)

Feinstein took the job at the mall — and it worked out better than he expected. Continue Reading »

Unreleased EU report blames Jewish settlements for area violence

 

EU diplomats say Jewish settlements in area E-1 & east Jerusalem threaten peace & are calling for economic sanctions against Israel.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

A copy of a report written by EU heads of mission in Jerusalem and Ramallah condemns recent Israeli settlement building and recommends that EU member states place economic sanctions on settlements, AFP reported on Wednesday.

E-1The report referred to Israel’s settlement construction in east Jerusalem as “systematic, deliberate and provocative” and stated that Jewish settlement construction was “the biggest single threat to the two state solution.”

The report singled out as problematic Israeli development in the Jerusalem neighborhoods of Har Homa, Gilo, and Givat Hamatos, as well as Israeli settlement plans in the area known as E1.

Continue Reading »

Lebanon: Nasrallah’s deputy injured in Syria road-side blast

Just days after relieving Nasrallah, who is reportedly being treated for his cancer in Iran, a Lebanese newspaper now quotes rebels as saying Hezbollah Deputy Chief Naim Qassem was injured, or even killed in convoy blast near Damascus.

By Roi Kais

 

The Free Syria Army (FSA) released a statement saying that Hezbollah‘s second in command Naim Qassem was injured in a convoy explosion together with high ranking Syrian officers.

קאסם בלבנון (ארכיון) (צילום: AP)

Hezbollah’s 2nd in command Naim Qassem – Photo: AP

The statement was quoted by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Mustaqbal, affiliated with the anti-Hezbollah camp. The report was not confirmed by other sources. Continue Reading »

2nd Time Egyptian Court Dismisses Case Seeking End of Peace with Israel

As the 2nd court ruled that it has no jurisdiction over a lawsuit calling to end the peace treaty between Egypt & Israel, a draft law to amend the treaty so that Egypt’s Armed Forces can gain full control over the Sinai Peninsula, is being prepared.

By Elad Benari

 

The Cairo Administrative Court ruled on Tuesday that it has no jurisdiction over a lawsuit demanding the cancellation of the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

Egyptian F-16's fly over the PyramidsAccording to a report in the Egyptian daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, the court said the issue involves state sovereignty, which is under the president’s purview. Continue Reading »

Hamas Calls on Terrorists to Kidnap IDF Soldiers

Addressing a rally in Khan Younis, al-Bardawil takes advantage of the rioting in Judea & Samaria, urged the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers.

By Elad Benari

 

The Hamas terror group, taking advantage of the rioting in Judea and Samaria, is calling on terrorists to kidnap IDF soldiers.

According to the Iranian Fars agency, senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil urged terrorists participating in a rally in Gaza in protest of the death of a terrorist in Israeli custody to kidnap Israeli soldiers.

PFLPHamas organized two huge rallies in Khan Younis and Rafah in southern Gaza to protest the death of 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat in the Meggido prison, according to Fars. Continue Reading »

With Assad loosing control, Israel plans against security threats

Prof. Mordechai Kedar: In the long term Assad’s regime may be replaced by a gov’t more amenable to peace with Israel. But before he falls, Assad might transfer his large stock of WMD to Hezbollah.

JTA SPECIAL REPORT: THE SYRIA SPILLOVER By Ben Sales

 

KATZRIN, Israel  — For nearly 40 years, Israel’s border with Syria has been, perhaps improbably, its quietest.

The two countries technically have been in a state of war since the cease-fire that ended the 1973 Yom Kippur War. But over the past four decades, while Israel’s other borders occasionally have exploded with missile salvos, intifadas, shooting incidents and cross-border terrorist attacks, the Syrian frontier on the Golan Heights has stayed largely peaceful. Continue Reading »

Gaza militants getting help from Iran’s rocket experts

According to Palestinian & Israeli sources, expert rocket makers from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, have arrived in the Gaza Strip to assist in rocket production.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Expert rocket makers dispatched from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have in recent days arrived in the Gaza Strip, senior Palestinian security sources have told the Israeli news outlet Walla! on Tuesday.

Hamas members take part in a rally

Hamas members take part in a rally
Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

According to the report, the sources said that they are in Gaza to help Hamas and the Islamic Jihad develop long-range missiles. Israeli security and diplomatic sources have reportedly confirmed the Palestinian claims that there is an Iranian presence in Gaza, but did not elaborate. Continue Reading »