Nasrallah Urges Kidnappers to Address Grievances With Him

Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah calls on the abductors of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria to address their grievances directly with him.

 

Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that the abductors of the Lebanese pilgrims in Syria should address their grievances directly with him, and not through kidnapping innocent people.

Nasrallah

Nasrallah addresses supporters via video - Reuters

“If your problem is with me, there are lots of ways to resolve it. We can resolve it any way you want, whether through war or through love and peace,” Nasrallah was quoted by NOW Lebanon as having said during speech televised in commemoration of late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini. Continue Reading »

Hizbullah Wants to Move Far-Reaching Scuds from Syria

Hizbullah looking to move Scud D missiles, which can reach Eilat, and modern anti-aircraft equipment from Syria to Lebanon.

The Hizbullah terror group wants to move Scud D-type missiles and modern anti-aircraft equipment from Syria to Lebanon, Channel 2 Newsreported on Thursday.

Scud missile reportedly in Hizbullah arsenal

According to the report, the group fears the weapons may come into the hands of the rebels against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The report said that Hizbullah has recently been considering moving to Lebanon the modern weapons it already owns but which are being kept in the group’s bases in Damascus. Channel 2 noted that the Scud D missiles are considered quite sophisticated and have the ability to reach as far as the city of Eilat.

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Syrian rebels abduct 5 top Hizballah officers, including Nasrallah’s nephew

Hizballah’s masters in Tehran were dismayed to find their leadership had fallen into hostile hands  – and practically under the nose of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The first group of eleven was captured May 22 in a bus heading home through Aleppo from a pilgrimage to Iran. The second episode sent shock waves rolling as far as Tehran and the Al Qods Brigades command. debkafile’s military and intelligence sources reveal that still unidentified commandos, guided apparently by precise intelligence, this week commandeered a Hizballah vehicle driving through Syria and captured five top-ranking Hizballah officers. A sixth escaped. Upon reaching Beirut, he reported the officers were being held hostage by the SFA.
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‘Israel’s creation worst catastrophe to hit world’

Head of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood Badie reminds followers of movement’s “sacrifices” in efforts to destroy the Jewish state.

The head of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood has called on Arab forces to confront Israel and for the international community to pressure the “Zionist government to withdraw from the land of Palestine.”

The comments by Brotherhood General Guide Mohammed Badie came in a written statement issued May 17 to commemorate Nakba Day, when Palestinians and other Arabs mourn Israel’s creation in 1948.

Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie - Photo: REUTERS
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie – Photo: REUTERS

The statement – the existence of which was revealed Wednesday by the Investigative Project on Terrorism blog – reminds Brotherhood followers of the movement’s decades-long “sacrifices” in efforts to destroy the Jewish state.
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Clinton rejects Barak’s unilateral withdrawal

“The United States believes there is no substitute for direct talks between the parties,” said the US secretary of state.

 

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday rejected the notion of unilateral Israeli steps toward separating from the Palestinians.

“We have discouraged unilateral action from both sides,” Clinton said when asked about the possibility during a press conference while on trip to Denmark.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Brazil - Photo: REUTERS/Ueslei MarcelinoUS Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Brazil – Photo: REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

“The United States believes there is no substitute for direct talks between the parties.”Several leading Israeli voices, including most recently hints by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, have raised the possibility of unilateral Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank – though presumably they would not be as extensive as those sought by the Palestinians – in the face of a longtime stalemate in negotiations to reach a peace agreement.Clinton,

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Report: Obama secretly ordered cyber attacks on Iran’s nuclear program

According to New York Times report, Stuxnet worm was part of joint U.S.-Israel effort to sabotage computers that control Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.

Shortly after being inaugurated, U.S. President Barack Obama secretly ordered sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that control Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, the New York Times reported.

U.S. President Barack Obama

U.S. President Barack Obama.

According to the report, Obama decided to expand attacks that had begun during the George W. Bush administration.

The report said that the Stuxnet worm, the existence of which became public in 2010, was developed by the United States and Israel as part of a joint effort to sabotage the Iranian nuclear program. Continue Reading »

IDF Retaliates After Deadly Kidnapping Attempt, Mortar Fire

IDF fire killed 4 members of a Gaza rocket launching cell, and wounded four others, as tensions in the Gaza belt region escalate.

 

The IDF shortly after noon on Friday identified a terror squad in Gaza preparing to fire rockets into Israel and scored a direct hit.

IDF air strike on Gaza

IDF air strike on Gaza IDF Spokesperson's Office (archive)

The Bethlehem-based Maan News Agency said four people were killed and four were wounded in the attack.

The strike came less than an hour after terrorists, also operating in northern Gaza, fired several mortar shells into Israel’s Eshkol Regional Council.

No physical injuries or property damage was reported in the attack. Continue Reading »

The surprising source of Israel’s edible exports

Once a barren strip of desert, the Arava today has some 600 farms supplying more than 60 percent of Israel’s exports of fresh vegetables and 10% of ornamentals

Peppers growing in the Arava. Photo by Eyal IzharPeppers growing in the Arava. Photo by Eyal Izhar

How many peppers can Peter Piper pick? Well, if the protagonist in the old tongue twister were picking them in Israel’s Arava Desert, the surprising answer is about 150,000 tons.

Once a deserted 112-mile strip of land stretching from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea, the Arava now has some 600 farms supplying more than 60 percent of total Israeli exports of fresh vegetables and about 10% of ornamentals. Continue Reading »

Politics and peace rival pop at Madonna show

Five ways to show you’re a True Blue fan before the Queen of Pop heads to Dubai

 

That’s it, the party’s over. Madonna’s opening concert in Ramat Gan for the MDNA tour finished before midnight, and revelers headed home and to after-parties to consider the meaning of this latest installment from the Queen of Pop.

Some Israeli reviewers were critical, pointing out that Madge showed less energy than in previous concerts — she is almost 54, said one — and wasn’t even on stage at certain times (costume changes). The Israeli crowd seemed to be taken aback by the giant cross on stage — perhaps they expected a Jewish star given her Kabbalah interests — and thought Madonna’s gun scene was a tad overstated, considering the pro-peace speech she made mid-show. Continue Reading »

Israeli officials link Tehran to Assad’s massacres

“The Iranian regime is in a very concrete manner lending its support to the Syrian government’s murder of the Syrian people.”

 

A day after Ali Larijani, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said a Western military intervention in Syria would “engulf” Israel, Israeli government officials tried to shine the light on Iranian involvement in the Syrian bloodshed.“The Iranian regime is in a very concrete manner lending its support to the Syrian government’s murder of the Syrian people, and this is part of their very aggressive and dangerous behavior in the region,” one official said.

 

If this is what Iran does without atomic weapons, the official added, “what would Iranian behavior look like if they had nuclear capabilities?”Meanwhile,

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Former US presidents to honor Peres

Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, Henry Kissinger among those invited to special White House dinner in which Obama will present President Peres with Medal of Freedom

 

WASHINGTON – Former US presidents, state secretaries and a long line of Hollywood stars and business tycoons will take part in a special event to be hosted by President Barack Obama in honor of Shimon Peres.

Peres and George W. Bush (Photo: Ariel Yerusalimsky)

Peres and George W. Bush - Photo: Ariel Yerusalimsky

The White House is set to host a grandiose dinner on June 13 during which Obama will award Peres with the Medal of Freedom.

The White House has invited former presidents Jimmy Carter, George Bush Senior, George W. Continue Reading »

Defeated Israeli chess master discovers a new, powerful fan

Boris Gelfand claims he was unaware of ‘extend of interest in the match in Israel;’ hopes coverage will generate momentum for Israeli chess.

MOSCOW – Boris Gelfand said on Thursday that he hadn’t really been aware of the stir he was causing in Israel during the World Chess Championship, but now that he knows, he considers it a “huge thing” – both for him and for chess in this country.

In an interview with Haaretz, Gelfand was asked how he felt suddenly being a household name in Israel. “I wasn’t completely aware of the extent of the interest in the match in Israel,” he said. Continue Reading »

Terrorist, Soldier Killed in Gaza-Area Gunfight

Two soldiers were wounded in the same area about a week ago.

 

A 20-year-old Golani Brigade soldier was killed Friday in a shootout with a Gaza terrorist.

The terrorist tried to infiltrate the western Negev from Gaza and was eliminated during the predawn hours of Friday morning. According to a preliminary investigation, the terrorist took advantage of fog around 4:00 a.m. to go through a hole he cut in the security fence near the Kissufim crossing.

A Golani unit responded to the scene and identified the terrorist who opened fire at the soldiers, killing one. Artillery soldiers fired back, killing the terrorist.

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Palestinians may boycott UNICEF over Israel ties

Contractors Union denounce UN Children’s Fund for taking Israeli offers in bid for construction work in Gaza

The Palestinians are threatening to boycott the United Nations Children’s Fund after the agency decided to accept offers from Israeli firms to bid for construction work in the Gaza Strip.
UNICEF logo

UNICEF logo - Photo: REUTERS

 

The Palestinian Contractors Union denounced UNICEF and warned Palestinians against cooperating with Israeli firms.

The head of the union, Osama Kahil, said he received complaints from Palestinian contractors who told him that Israeli firms had asked for their cooperation in carrying out construction work in the Gaza Strip, offering them half of the revenues.

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Sinai peacekeeping force commander warns of weapons smuggling to Gaza

Commander of the Multinational Force and Observers says SA-24 surface-to-air missiles have made their way from Libya to Sinai, and may potentially be used against Israeli air operations.

The Commander of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) in Sinai hinted on Thursday that advanced surface-to-air missiles had been found in the region as a result of weapons smuggling from Libya and could potentially be smuggled into Gaza.

Gaza militants - Reuters - May 31, 2012

Palestinian militants of al-Nasser Brigades hold a news conference in Gaza City - Photo by Reuters

At an MFO conference which took place on Monday at Tel Aviv University, Maj. Gen. Warren James Whiting, who oversees the force, said that one of the biggest challenges facing his troops is weapons smuggling, adding that Russian-made SA-24 surface-to-air missiles, which were sold to Libya in 2004, are being smuggled into the Gaza Strip through Egypt. Continue Reading »