Abbas responds to Lieberman letter accusing Israel’s gov’t is destroying any chance for peace

Remarks by PA President during meeting with Israeli MKs comes after Lieberman suggestion to the Quartet’s foreign ministers, in which he called to replace Abbas as Palestinian chief.

By Barak Ravid

 

For the first time, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responded on Sunday to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s letter to the Quartet’s foreign ministers calling for general elections to replace him. The Quartet, made up of the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, is involved in mediating the Middle East peace process.

Mahmoud Abbas - Reuters - 5.8.2012

Mahmoud Abbas speaking to the media during a press event in the West Bank city of Ramallah August 5, 2012.

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PA President Abbas: I will not allow Iran to divide the Palestinians

Abbas’s comments follow Gaza reports that Iran invited the Hamas PM to the summit in Tehran; PA president meets with Meretz leader Gal-On in Ramallah; PA officials tell ‘Post’ Abbas still believes in Israeli peace camp.

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH, JPOST.COM STAFF

 

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that he would not allow Iran to divide the Palestinians.

Abbas’s comments came after reports that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had invited Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh to attend the meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran, beginning on Sunday. PA Foreign Minister Riad Malki announced Sunday that contrary to Hamas claims, Iran has not invited Haniyeh to attend the conference in Tehran. Continue Reading »

New Report: Health benefits of circumcision validated

In a new American Academy of Pediatrics report set to be released Monday, specific benefits include prevention of penile cancer, urinary tract infections, & the transmission of some sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.

By Israel Hayom Staff

Amid the recent uproar among Jewish communities around the world and in Israel over a recent ruling by a German regional court to outlaw male circumcision, the American Academy of Pediatrics is set to release a new report on Monday validating evidence that indicates the health benefits of newborn circumcision.

According to the academy’s report, the benefits of circumcision outweigh the risks and justify access to the procedure for families who choose it.

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Australian Police reopens 1982 Israeli Consulate bombing

New South Wales Police seek to apply new technology to ‘cold case’ of Palestinian terror attack on Sydney’s Israeli Consulate 

By Ynet news

 

Australian authorities announced Sunday that they will be reopening the investigation into the 1982 bombing of the Israeli Consulate in Sydney.

Scene of the 1982 explosion

According to an ABC Australia report, the New South Wales Police seek to apply new technology to the 30-year-old cold case

This it the first time in Australian history that a cold case of this nature has been reopened.

Scene of the 1982 explosion

Scene of the 1982 explosion

 

The bombing on December 23, 1982, at the office of the Israeli Consulate General in William Street, left two people injured. Continue Reading »

Egyptian Report: Egypt refuses a US request to inspect Iranian arms shipment to Syria

Suez Canal Authority chairman tells Al-Ahram newspaper Egyptian navy refused to inspect Iranian ship’s cargo; Egypt’s President Morsi will attend Tehran summit later this month.

 

Egypt has recently turned down a U.S. request to stop an Iranian ship carrying weapons to Syria, according to a report in Egypt’s Al-Ahram newspaper.

Iranian naval ships near the Strait of Hormuz

Iranian naval ships near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran – Photo by Reuters

According to the report, quoted in Israel Radio on Sunday, Lieutenant General Mohab Mamish, Suez Canal Authority chairman, said Egypt’s navy refused to stop the ship and inspect its cargo as it was passing through the canal. Continue Reading »

Rocket Attacks Resumes as a Kassam Hits Sderot Building

Gaza terrorists shoot 3 Kassam rockets near Sderot Sunday, 1 of them damaging a building. 1 person lightly wounded.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Gaza terrorists fired three Kassam rockets on the Western Negev Sunday, one of them damaging a building in the industrial area near Sderot, located less than one mile “as the rocket flies” from northern Gaza.

One person was lightly wounded and a second was treated for shock.

Terrorists from Hamas-controlled Gaza have continually attacked the Western Negev since the government expelled Jews from Gush Katif and withdrew all IDF personnel in the summer of 2005. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds have been injured, not including thousands of residents who have suffered shock and trauma. Continue Reading »

Bloomberg reports that Israeli women rule in biotechnology

Report on Israel’s bio-med sector acknowledges women’s dominance with 60-70 percent of the workforce

By Ynet

 

Women outnumber men in biology and related sciences in higher education in Israel, a report published by the Bloomberg news agency revealed on Tuesday.

This says the report, could give women an advantage as the government and private investors put increasing amounts of money into the life-sciences industry, one of the country’s fastest growing sectors, collecting the most venture capital money in the first half of this year.

'A woman can make a mark' Photo: Getty Image Bank Israel

‘A woman can make a mark’ Photo: Getty Image Bank Israel

The article quotes a number of Israeli women working in the field who share their thoughts on why women have the advantage. Continue Reading »

Hamas reports Egypt reopens Rafah crossing into Gaza

Hamas spokesman: Egypt informed Gaza gov’t that their border crossing, which has been closed for much of the past month, will be opened permanently.

By Reuters

 

Egypt has reopened the Rafah border crossing with Gaza on Saturday.

The crossing is a lifeline for Gazans, which had been closed for much of the month since an August 5 attack on Egyptian guards, Palestinian and Egyptian security sources said.

People crossing through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

People cross the E gyptian border with Hamas-ruled Gaza in Rafah, Egypt – Photo by AP

The move signals a step forward in relations between Egypt’s new government led by President Mohammed Morsi and Gaza’s Islamist rulers Hamas, which had deteriorated since the attack in which gunmen killed 16 Egyptian soldiers on the Israeli border.

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Jews Outraged as Circumcision Becomes an Issue in Denmark

An ex-Jew in Denmark said: Circumcision is a ritual in which ‘black-clad men’ mutilate a baby. Needless to say, Jewish communities outraged.

By Elad Benari

 

After Germany, where attempts to ban circumcision have caused an uproar, the issue is now making headlines in Denmark as well.

The anti-circumcision campaign in Denmark began already several years ago, but seems to have reached new heights, after an article published in the local Politiken newspaper described circumcision as a ritual involving ten people wearing black clothes and which abuses and tortures the baby.

The article was written by Kjeld Koplev, a Danish journalist who converted from Judaism to Christianity. Continue Reading »

Make way for a hand-drying revolution

 

Move over jet dryers & paper towels. Israeli designed & manufactured UltraClean will transform the way we dry our hands in public restrooms.

 

Here’s a multiple-choice question: What is the most hygienic and ecologically responsible way to dry your hands in a public restroom?

(a) paper towel

(b) forced air dryer

(c) fabric towel on a continuous loop

(d) an Israeli invention soon to hit the market

The answer is (d), says Avi Kafzan, a Technion-trained mechanical engineer and owner of Manal-Israel Clean Towels, the largest hygiene company in Israel.

The UltraClean machine won a prestigious design innovation award.

The UltraClean machine won a prestigious design innovation award.

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Dore Gold asks, “Where will Morsi’s embrace of Ahmadinejad lead?”

If Morsi wants to build a relationship with Iran, he will face problems with Riyadh, to whom he has recently turned for financial help.

By Dore Gold

After Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi embraced Iranian President Muhammad Ahmadinejad at the summit of the Organization of Islamic States Saudi Arabia, sources in the office of the Egyptian presidency announced that Morsi was planning to visit Tehran for the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the end of August. The NAM grouping of mostly Third World countries was first established in 1961 as a neutral alternative to the West and the Soviet bloc.

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Swiss laboratory agrees to investigate Arafat death

Swiss scientists to analyze Arafat’s remains for traces of polonium & they assure the findings won’t be used for political ends.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF

 

A Swiss laboratory is to help investigate the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat after receiving the go-ahead from his widow, researchers from the Institute of Radiation Physics at Lausanne’s university hospital said on Friday.

Peinture murale à Gaza - Photo: Mohammed Salem

Peinture murale à Gaza – Photo: Mohammed Salem

A team of Swiss scientists will test the exhumed body of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for traces of radioactive polonium. Poisoning by this substance is suspected as a possible cause in Arafat’s 2004 death.

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Ahmadinejad invites Hamas leader to summit in Iran

Ismail Haniyeh has yet to reply whether he’ll attend the Non-Aligned Movement Summit, expected to host PA President Abbas and UN chief Ban Ki-moon

By Reuters

 

Iran has invited Hamas prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh to attend a summit of 120 developing nations, officials said on Friday, a move that could antagonize Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and anger Western powers who consider Hamas a terrorist group.

Haniyeh – Photo: AFP

Iran hopes to earn diplomatic kudos by hosting a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement from Aug. 29-31 at a time when the West is seeking to cripple its economy and isolate it diplomatically over its disputed nuclear program. Continue Reading »

Reported: ‘Lebanese home front virtually defenseless’ in next war

Lebanese paper express concern over possible regional conflict; say their home front in grossly exposed, told to  look to Allah for shelter

By Roi Kais

 

The residents of southern Lebanon are worried. Should the brewing winds of war between Iran and Israel escalate to an actual conflict, they are likely to be caught in the middle – literally.

Israel is investing in its home front readiness, but the residents of southern Lebanon have but a mere fraction of the civilian defenses available to Israelis.

Lebanon‘s Al-Akhbar newspaper, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, published a feature about the Lebanese home front’s readiness for a possible regional conflict. Continue Reading »

Egyptian Defense Minister: We’re Committed to Peace Treaty with Israel

Egyptian Defense Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi spoke to Israeli counterpart Barak on telephone saying Cairo is committed to the peace treaty.

By Gil Ronen

 

Egyptian Defense Minister Abdul Fatah al-Sisi spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Ehud Barak, on the phone Wednesday, and stressed that Cairo is committed to the peace treaty with Israel, according to an Arabic newspaper.

The paper, Al Hayat, which is published in London, cites senior Egyptian sources as saying that there are understandings between Israel and Egypt regarding the means of dealing with the security problems in Sinai.

Al-Sisi reportedly spoke to Barak as he was preparing to meet President Mohammed Morsi. Continue Reading »