Obama: All options remain on the table to prevent a nuclear Iran

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses AIPAC conference in Washington; staunchly defends his administration’s record on Israel, citing strong security and diplomatic assistance.

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the entire world has an interest in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, and that all options remain on the table to keep Iran from going nuclear.

Barack Obama March 4, 2012 (AFP)

U.S. President Barack Obama addresses AIPAC conference in Washington, March 4, 2012. Photo by: AFP

“We all prefer to resolve this issue diplomatically,” Obama said in an address at the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC’s policy conference in Washington. “Having said that, Iran’s leaders should have no doubt about the resolve of the United States, just as they should not doubt Israel’s sovereign right to make its own decisions about what is required to meet its security needs.

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Hamas Slams Cairo Over Power Crisis

Ismail Haniyeh accused Egypt of prolonging Gaza’s power crisis as Hamas refuses to pay market rates or let the PA tax incoming fuel. 

Ismail Haniyeh blamed Egypt on Friday for causing a power crisis that has triggered lengthy blackouts in Hamas-run Gaza.

The outages started in mid-February, leaving households with just six hours of electricity a day, and provoking widespread criticism of Hamas in the coastal enclave.

Hamas has arrested its most vocal local critics amid the power crisis for fomenting division and “threatening the security of the authority.”

Looking to deflect the anger, Haniyeh told supporters Egypt controlled the flow of fuel into Gaza, and insinuated Cairo should have done more to help following the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak. Continue Reading »

Liberman: World must intervene in Syria

FM decries “killing you only see in Hollywood”; ‘Washington Post’ quotes US officials as saying Iran aiding Assad.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman - By REUTERS/Uriel Sinai

The international community must intervene to end the massacres in Syria, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Sunday in an interview with Army Radio.

“These sights of killing, you only see in Hollywood – we must put and end to this immediately,” Liberman said. “In this case we must leave political calculations aside,” Liberman said. “We are humans first, before we are politicians, leaders, commentators and journalists. What is happening there in the 21st century is intolerable, and we must help.” Continue Reading »

Video blogger mocks Asma Assad’s hypocrisy

Reedited video shows footage from 2009 interview with Syria’s first lady commenting on Operation Cast Lead applied to massacre in Syria

A video blogger reedited segments from a CNN interview Syria’s First Lady Asma Assad gave in 2009 during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in Gaza to make it seem as if she is in fact referring to the current violent crackdown in her own country.

Asma and Bashar Assad vote in last week's referendum Photo: Reuters

Asma and Bashar Assad vote in last week's referendum Photo: Reuters

In the remixed video uploaded to Youtube, Assad is seen declaring that “the barbaric assault on innocent civilians has been horrific,” and, “this is the 21st century, where in the world could this happen?” Continue Reading »

Kinneret rises 20 centimeters after Israel’s stormy weekend

Increase comes after heavy snowfall in northern Israel and Jerusalem, and as rains inundate Tel Aviv.

A weekend of heavy rains and snowstorms throughout the country contributed to a 20 centimeter rise in the level of Lake Kinneret, one of Israel’s primary sources of drinking water.

Kids throwing snowballs in the Golan Heights

Kids throwing snowballs at Ein Zivan in the northern Golan Heights this weekend. Photo by: Gil Eliyahu

The Kinneret’s water level has risen 30 centimeters since the beginning of the current round of storms last week. Since the beginning of the current storm system, Jerusalem has seen 168 millimeters of rain, Ariel 93, and Tel Aviv 58 millimeters.
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Assad Threatens Israel With Missiles if Syria is Attacked

Report: Assad has ordered his military to hit Israel with a barrage of missiles should there be any foreign intervention in Syria.

Syrian President Bashar Assad has ordered the heads of his military to hit Israel with a barrage of missiles should there be any foreign intervention in Syria, a Jordanian news website reported on Saturday.

According to the site, Our Country’s News, Assad gave the order in a secret meeting with the heads of the Syrian army last Thursday, in light of his fear of a U.S. military strike in Syria.

The report said that Assad ordered that if any military action is started against Syria, the Syrian army should respond by firing missiles in Israel, with a particular emphasis on Israeli military airports. Continue Reading »

Mud-brick builders go from the desert to the Waldorf

A luxury hotel going up in Jerusalem drew on the eco-building talents of the members of a tiny kibbutz in Israel’s Negev Desert.

The Art Center at Kibbutz Neot Semadar.

Take the Waldorf-Astoria — a beacon of luxury — and add a group of environmentally conscious mud-brick builders from the middle of the Negev Desert. Though an unlikely partnership from the outset, together they cooperated on a building that is sure to be designated one of Jerusalem’s most inspired architectural works.

The interior design of the soon-to-be-opened upmarket hotel is the work of acclaimed Turkish architect Sinan Kafadar. Knowing that the Waldorf-Astoria is located on the grounds of the former Palace Hotel, Kafadar painstakingly preserved and restored the 1923 building to its original magnificence. Continue Reading »

Jordan’s lukewarm welcome for Gazan job seekers

Reconciliation with Hamas prompts easier rules, but native Jordanian East Bankers are still nervous.

A Palestinian laborer in Amman, Jordan [file]

By REUTERS/Ali

  Jarekji AMMAN — Jordan is reportedly taking steps toward easing restrictions on Palestinians from the Gaza Strip looking for work in the kingdom, but progress has been slow amid controversy over its impact on the unemployment rate and the country’s sensitive demographics.

But even as progress has been slow, Gazans living in the kingdom like Ahmed Abdel Munim, who lives in a refugee camp near the Roman-era city of Jerash and is one of the beneficiaries, say they are already feeling the change.

Sharing a small house with his wife and eight children, Ahmed said that until recently he was prohibited from owning property, despite earning and saving enough from his small construction company to afford a home. Continue Reading »

Sbarro terrorist gets TV show

Ahlam Tamimi, Hamas operative freed in Shalit deal, hosts weekly show about Palestinian prisoners

 

Ahlam Tamimi, the Hamas terrorist who drove a suicide bomber to the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem where 15 people were consequently killed, has gotten her own television show, according to Israel’s Ynet.

Tamimi, who was sentenced to 16 life terms in Israeli prison, was freed in October as part of the swap that bought IDF soldier Gilad Shalit‘s freedom. She was deported to Jordan, where she appears to have launched a television career.

The Hamas-affiliated Al-Quds satellite channel has slotted Tamimi to present a weekly show called “Nassim al-Ahrar,” which deals with Palestinian convicts imprisoned in Israel, and those who have been freed. Continue Reading »

Morocco: Man jailed for flying Israel flag

Mohammed Jadidi protests authorities by raising Jewish State’s flag over his home. Court finds him guilty of sacrilege, sends him to six months in prison

A Moroccan court sentenced a man who flew the Israeli flag over his home to six months in jail, Ynet leaned Saturday.

According to an Al-Arabiya report, Mohammed Jadidi, 42, raised the flag over his Nador home as means of protest against local authorities over the disconnection of electricity and water supplies to his residence.

Jadidi was arrested on Monday and was charged with “sacrilege” via the “undermining the Moroccan national flag.”

Original protest Photo: AP

Original protest: Hoisting Israeli Flag - Photo: AP

According to the report, Jadidi’s mother appeared on a video circulated on Moroccan websites appealing King Mohammad VI to release her son. Continue Reading »

Lieberman: Israel ready to provide aid to wounded Syrians

FM says Israel willing to supply Syrians wounded in uprising against Assad ‘all humanitarian aid at any minute it is requested.’

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Friday that Israel is ready to help treat Syrians wounded in the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

lieberman

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman - Photo by: Daniel Bar-On

A Friday statement from Lieberman’s office quotes him as saying that Israel is willing to provide wounded Syrians “all humanitarian aid at any minute it is requested.”

Lieberman’s spokesman Tzachi Moshe says Israel would provide the aid through the United Nations or other international organizations. The aid would be purely humanitarian, and Israel would not get involved in Syria’s affairs.

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Egypt: Christians, Actors Targeted as Islam Rises

Actresses, comedians and Christians among the targets of a new rash of accusations of “insult to Islam” in Muslim Brotherhood Egypt.

As Islamist parties gain power in Egypt, the country has seen a wave of lawsuits accusing various figures of “insulting Islam.” In the latest case, a group of lawyers belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood have accused high-profile Egyptian women of provocative behavior.

The lawyers argue that the women “encourage sexuality and other inappropriate behaviors.” The Egyptian paper Al-Bawaba named two of the targets as actresses Ghada Abd al-Raziq and Summaya al-Khashab.

The same lawyers previously accused renowned comic actor Adel Imam of insulting Islam. Continue Reading »

Hamas Diverts Blame of Gaza Power Crisis on Egypt in Rare Rift

Hamas criticizes Egypt for blocking oil supplies; fuel crisis has caused lengthy electricity blackouts.

Palestinian sits in Egypt-Gaza smuggling tunnel

Palestinian sits in Egypt-Gaza smuggling tunnel - Photo By REUTERS

 

GAZA – Gaza’s top political leader blamed Egypt on Friday for causing a power crisis that has triggered lengthy blackouts in the Palestinian enclave, laying bare tensions between his Islamist group Hamas and Cairo.

The outages started in mid February, leaving households with just six hours of electricity a day, provoking widespread criticism within the territory of Hamas, which governs Gaza.

Looking to deflect the anger, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh told supporters that Egypt controlled the flow of fuel into Gaza and suggested the authorities in Cairo should have done more to help following the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak.”Is

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Israel named world’s 2nd-best cleantech innovator

Cleantech Group, World Wildlife Fund release first-ever global cleantech innovation ranking. Denmark, Israel and Sweden dominate top-three slots

 

Israel is among the top-three nations worldwide that provide the best conditions for clean technology startup companies, a recent ranking by the CleanTech Group stated. Topping the list was Denmark, followed by Israel, Sweden, Finland and the United States.

A leader in cleantech innovations per capita (Illustration)

A leader in cleantech innovations per capita Illustration

“Coming Clean: The Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012,” is a first-of-its-kind ranking, complied by the CleanTech Group and the World Wildlife Fund. It listed the top 38 countries worldwide to offer clean energy projects the most favorable conditions. Continue Reading »

Congressmen call on A-G to indict freed terrorists

52 co-signatories tell US A-G Eric Holder say those freed in Schalit deal who harmed Americans should be prosecuted.

 

Freed Palestinian prisoners wave a Hamas flag

Freed Palestinian prisoners wave a Hamas flag By REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

A group of 52 congressmen and women called on US Attorney-General Eric Holder on Thursday to prosecute Palestinian terrorists responsible for killing and maiming Americans.

In a bipartisan letter sponsored by congressmen Joe Walsh (R-Illinois) and Howard Berman (D-California), the lawmakers said Israel released more than a dozen such terrorists in October 2011 as part of its deal with Hamas to free kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit.

“Because of the circumstances of this forced release, their prosecution under American law is not precluded by principles of double jeopardy, and they should, if prosecuted, suffer the full consequences of having violated American law,” the letter says of those terrorists.Under

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