| November 30, 2012
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Mysterious Ultra-Secret ‘Site 911’ in Israel Raises Eyebrows in U.S.

The US Army Corps of Engineers plans to supervise construction of a 5-story underground secret facility for an IDF complex, simply named “Site 911.”

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to supervise construction of a five-story underground facility for an Israel Defense Forces complex, oddly named “Site 911,” at an Israeli Air Force base near Tel Aviv.

“Expected to take more than two years to build, at a cost of up to $100 million, the facility is to have classrooms on Level 1, an auditorium on Level 3, a laboratory, shock-resistant doors, protection from nonionizing radiation and very tight security. Continue Reading »

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| November 30, 2012
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AIPAC ‘MEMO’ calls to review U.S.- Palestinian agreements

PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas rebuffed a direct request by Israel and President Obama not to seek upgraded status at the United Nations, which was in direct violations of the signed Oslo Peace Accords.

 

Palestinian U.N. Upgrade Undermines Peace Efforts

The U.N. General Assembly’s (UNGA) passage today (29 Nov. 2012) of a resolution granting the Palestinians non-member observer state status is a direct blow to Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts. An actual Palestinian state can only be achieved by direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. UNGA recognition of a virtual state of Palestine does nothing to advance that process and hinders resumption of real peace talks. Continue Reading »

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| November 30, 2012
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Israel’s Anti-Terror Campaign Nets Private Weapons Caché

The latest IDF anti-terror arrest in the Hevron region unveiled a sizable weapons & munitions storehouse in someone’s home.

By Maayana Miskin

 

The IDF has been stepping up its fight against Hamas in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) in wake of the recent open battle with Hamas in Gaza. Earlier this week troops went to arrest a terror suspect in Hevron and ended up finding a weapons warehouse in a private home.

First Lieutenant Erez Korach told Arutz Sheva about the mission. “We got an order about a house where a suspect was hiding… We got to the house, closed him in, and burst in.” Continue Reading »

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| November 30, 2012
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Abbas to visit Gaza to end Hamas-Fatah rift

PA President Abbas’ visit is to be the 1st of its kind since Hamas seized control of Gaza in bloody coup d’état in 2007, PLO says move aimed at ending Hamas-Fatah rift.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is planning to visit the Gaza Strip after the UN General Assembly vote in favor of upgrading the status of the Palestinians to non-member observer state, a senior PLO official announced Thursday.

Mahmoud Abbas - Photo: Marc Israël Sellem

Mahmoud Abbas – Photo: Marc Israël Sellem

The announcement came shortly before Abbas was asked the GA in New York to vote in favor of the statehood bid.

Continue Reading »
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| November 30, 2012
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The US quantifies: This UN Resolution did not create a Palestinian state

 

U.S. Amb. Susan Rice says UN resolution ‘does not establish that Palestine is a state’

Attila Somfalvi

 

US Ambassador to the UN Sudan Rice said Thursday after the General Assembly vote that recognized Palestine as an observer state that the resolution “does not establish that Palestine is a state.”

סוזן רייס, אמש בעצרת האו"ם (צילום: AFP)

Susan Rice at General Assembly – Photo: AFP

“Today’s grand pronouncements will soon fade. And the Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed, save that the prospects of a durable peace have only receded,” she remarked

Rice stressed that the only way to achieve a two-state solution is through direct negotiations. Continue Reading »

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| November 30, 2012
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Vatican praises UN Palestine vote, but seeks guarantees for Jerusalem

Official Vatican statement: ‘The Holy See welcomes with favor the decision of the General Assembly by which Palestine has become a Non-member Observer State of the United Nations,’

By Reuters

 

The Vatican hailed the United Nations’ implicit recognition of a Palestinian state on Thursday and called for an internationally guaranteed special status for Jerusalem, something bound to irritate Israel.

Abbas at the UN General Assembly

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012. – Photo by AP

The 193-nation UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution to upgrade the Palestinian Authority’s observer status at the United Nations from “entity” to “non-member state,” the same status as the Vatican. Continue Reading »

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| November 29, 2012
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Washington gives Iran ‘Red Line’ of March to cooperate with IAEA

The White House warns Iran, it will bring Iranian nuclear program issue to the UN Security Council if Tehran fails to cooperate with UN atomic watchdog

By Reuters

 

The United States set a March deadline on Thursday for Iran to start cooperating in substance with a UN nuclear agency investigation, warning Tehran the issue may otherwise be referred to the UN Security Council.

Barack Obama Photo: AP

Barack Obama – Photo: AP

The comments by US diplomat Robert Wood to the board of the International Atomic Energy Agency signaled Washington’s growing frustration at a lack of progress in the IAEA’s inquiry into possible military dimensions to Tehran’s nuclear program. Continue Reading »

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| November 29, 2012
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Amb. Michael Oren: Why Fall for Hamas’s media manipulation

If Hamas cannot win the war, it wants to win the story of the war.

By Michael Oren,

Michael Oren is Israel’s ambassador to the United States.

 

What makes better headlines? Is it numbing figures such as the 8,000 Palestinian rockets fired at Israel since it unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005, and the 42.5 percent of Israeli children living near the Gaza border who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder? Or is it high-resolution images of bombed-out buildings in Gaza and emotional stories of bereaved Palestinians? The last, obviously, as demonstrated by much of the media coverage of Israel’s recent operation against Hamas.

Continue Reading »
Category: Israel News | Tags: , ,
| November 29, 2012
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UN vote turns terrorists into ‘freedom fighters’ & disputed territory into ‘occupied land’

Rhetoric aside, here are the legal ramifications of the status change with the Palestinian Authority: UN vote turns terrorists into ‘freedom fighters’ and disputed land into ‘occupied land’.

By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

 

Two Palestinian goals at UN:
Have all disputed land declared “occupied”
and have terrorists declared legitimate freedom fighters

The Palestinian Authority wishes to achieve a number of political gains by having the UN vote today, recognizing “Palestine” as a non-member observer state. First, all lands that are disputed and whose future must be negotiated according to the Oslo Accords, the PA wants declared Palestinian “occupied territory.” Continue Reading »

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| November 29, 2012
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With UN Bid on 29th Nov, Arabs Once Again Take Premeditated Steps to Steal Israel’s Heritage

November 29th is a day that belongs to Israel, says one historian, it’s when the UN  recognized Mandatory Palestine as a “national home” for the Jewish people – and like Rachel’s Tomb and other examples – the PA is once again trying to ‘steal’ it for themselves.

By David Lev

 

It’s no accident that the Palestinian Authority is bringing its “case” to the United Nations on November 29 – a day that has for 65 years been identified with the State of Israel.

Historical Reenactment of the 29th of November

Historical Reenactment of the 29th of November – Amir Lusky

“It’s very typical of the PA to choose the day that Israel was recognized as a state by the UN as the date for their state’s recognition,” said one historian. Continue Reading »

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| November 29, 2012
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Amid opposition & hacking fears, National Biometric Database is launched

Knesset approves use of national biometric identification database for a trial period of 2 years.

Volunteers can submit their face scans & fingerprints to receive “smart” passports and/or identification cards

Knesset opposition leader Yachimovich warns: All databases can be hacked.

By Gideon Allon

 

The Knesset approved the launch of a national biometric identification system on Wednesday, which will be tested at the beginning of 2013. The decision to begin using the system was made by a joint committee comprising the Science and Technology Committee, Internal Affairs and Environment Committee and Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.

The biometric database trial is launched.

Continue Reading »
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| November 29, 2012
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Former PM Olmert: No reason to oppose Palestinian UN bid for statehood status

Ex-prime minister Ehud Olmert tells Daily Beast that Palestinian request for upgraded UN status is congruent with 2-state solution, and says UN General Assembly resolution will lay foundation for peace talks.

By Yitzhak Benhorin

 

Washington – Despite an aggressive campaign by the United States to head off a UN vote on the Palestinian Authority’s bid for an upgraded status, the General Assembly was expected to grant the request on Thursday. And former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he sees no reason to resist the move.

אולמרט ואבו מאזן. ארכיון (צילום: רויטרס)

Olmert with Abbas – Archive photo: Reuters

“I believe that the Palestinian request from the United Nations is congruent with the basic concept of the two-state solution. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , ,
| November 29, 2012
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Stevie Wonder pulls out of Friends of the IDF fundraiser

Stevie Wonder, who performed at a 1998 gala honoring Israel’s 50th anniversary, will not be participating at the fundraiser, says his representative.  The performance would be incongruent with his status as a UN ‘Messenger of Peace.’

By JTA

 

Stevie Wonder is set to pull out of a performance at a fundraiser for the Israel Defense Forces, a source told JTA.

Wonder’s representatives will claim that he did not know the nature of the group, the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, and that he believes such a performance would be incongruent with his status as a UN “Messenger of Peace,” according to a source who has read email exchanges between Wonder’s representatives and organizers of the event. Continue Reading »

Category: Israel News | Tags: ,
| November 29, 2012
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Jerusalem’s Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue to be Restored After Arab Destruction

The destroyed Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, one of the most magnificent synagogues in the Old City of Jerusalem, is soon to begin restoration by the Jerusalem Municipality.

By David Lev

 

One of the most magnificent synagogues in the Old City, the Tiferet Yisrael Synagogue, is to be restored by the Jerusalem Municipality. After the successful restoration of the Hurva Synagogue, the Company for the Reconstruction and Development of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem Ltd. (JQDC) has undertaken to rebuild the synagogue, which was destroyed by Arabs during the 1948 War of Independence. Tiferet Yisrael, with magnificent arches currently bricked in, is located in the center of the Jewish Quarter, in the same plaza as the Hurva Synagogue. Continue Reading »

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| November 29, 2012
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PA will turn to ICC if evidence found that Arafat was murdered

Palestinians will soon have access to international courts following its UN statehood status upgrade on Thursday.

By JPOST.COM STAFF

The Palestinian Authority indicated it would take Israel to the International Criminal Court if it uncovers evidence Israel assassinated former PLO chairman Yasser Arafat, something that could become possible if the PA obtains an upgrade to its statehood status in the UN this week.

International Criminal Court in the Netherlands - Photo: REUTERS/Michael Kooren

International Criminal Court in the Netherlands – Photo: REUTERS/Michael Kooren

Speaking to reporters at a new conference in Ramallah on Tuesday, PA investigator Tawfiq Tirawi said Palestinians were gathering evidence about Arafat’s death in order “to submit [it] to the International Criminal Court,” Palestinian news agency Ma’an reported.

Continue Reading »
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