Tag Archive for Syria

| January 31, 2013
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Moscow protests Israeli ‘unprovoked attack’ on Syria

Addressing reports of Israeli strike in Syria, Russia says it is ‘concerned about  attacks on the territory of a sovereign country.’

Hezbollah demands int’l condemnation of ‘aggressive, criminal’ Israel

Ynet

 

Russia said on Thursday it was very concerned about reports of an Israeli attack in Syria and that any such action, if confirmed, would amount to unacceptable military interference in the war-ravaged country.

Soviet made SA-17 anti-aircraft rocketsThe remarks were issued as Hezbollah called on the international community to condemn the alleged strike.

“If this information is confirmed, then we are dealing with unprovoked attacks on targets on the territory of a sovereign country, which blatantly violates the UN Charter and is unacceptable, no matter the motives to justify it,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. Continue Reading »

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| January 28, 2013
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Palestinians flee catastrophe in Syria to catastrophe in Lebanon

“We go from catastrophe to catastrophe, from refugee camp to refugee camp, but at least we are alive,” Umm Sami said in Ein el-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern port city of Sidon.

By

 

Then she told her sons they were leaving their home in the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital for neighboring Lebanon, where they would wait out Syria’s civil war.

Palestinian children who fled their houses in the Yarmouk camp

“There will be no more martyrs for Palestine in my family,” the 45-year-old widow said. “This war is a Syrian problem.”

Now safe in Lebanon, Umm Sami and her family have joined thousands of other Palestinian refugees who have found shelter in the country since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad erupted nearly two years ago. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| January 14, 2013
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Iran Spying on Israel from Golan Heights

A recent U.S. report indicates Iran has established intelligence stations in several areas in the Middle East, including Syria’s Golan Heights.

By Elad Benari

 

Iran has been establishing signals intelligence stations in several parts of the Middle East, including the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the U.S.-based World Tribune reports.

The Defense Department has indicated that one of the intelligence stations was established in the Golan Heights, close to Syria’s border with Israel, the report said.

The Pentagon’s counter-terrorist support office said the stations were established by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps together with Tehran’s leading ally, Syria, according to the World Tribune. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| December 31, 2012
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2013: Israel Falling off Newspaper’s Headlines

Int’l media seem to be beginning to get fed up with Abbas & his PA issues.  Syria & Iran will be taking the headlines.

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

 

Major media outlets’ reviews of 2012 and predictions for big news stories in 2013 indicate that Israel finally may have to spend less time defending itself as the Palestinian Authority’s demands become old hat and pale in the shadows of events in Syria and Iran.

The Council of Foreign Relations, considered to be the most influential American think tank, predicted that the Middle East is a major issue for the Obama administration but not because of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Continue Reading »

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| December 31, 2012
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Israeli crosses border from Golan Heights into Syria

A man from Kfar Qassem said to be mentally unstable crosses border to Syria with hope of convincing Assad to stop the bloodshed.

Maor Buchnik

 

An Israeli citizen crossed the border into Syria in the Golan Heights region on Saturday. IDF forces called to the border fence identified the man as a 37-year-old resident of Kfar Qassem after finding his car.

Golan border Photo: EPA

Golan border – Photo: EPA

The IDF said he is still in Syria and may be returned to Israel soon.

The man’s family said he was mentally unstable. “They publically stated that he traveled to Syria to tell Assad to stop massacring his people,” Golan District Police chief Yossi Katab said. Continue Reading »

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| December 23, 2012
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Prime Minister Netanyahu: Israel is adapting to the dramatic changes in Syria

Netanyahu told his ministers at their weekly cabinet meeting that Israel is cooperating with the U.S. and int’l community ahead of the Assad regime’s upcoming downfall.

By and DPA

 

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that Israel is getting ready for the downfall of President Bashar Assad’s regime in Syria, and the implications this will have for the regime’s chemical weapons cache.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. – Photo by Olivier Fitoussi

Speaking at the weekly cabinet meeting, the prime minister said that Israel “is following dramatic developments in Syria, cooperating with the U.S. and the international community, and taking the necessary steps to prepare for the possibility of radical changes to the regime with all the consequences these may hold for networks of sensitive weapons.” Continue Reading »

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| December 18, 2012
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Syrian Rebels Control Damascus’ Palestinian Refugee Camp

Rebels have taken control of the Yarmouk ‘camp’ which is home to thousands of ‘Palestinian refugees’.

Defectors of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) called to arrest group’s head Ahmed Jibril who fled Yarmouk .

By Elad Benari

 

Syrian rebels have taken full control of the Yarmouk refugee camp in southern Damascus, rebel and Palestinian Authority Arab sources said on Monday.

View of the Syrian capital Damascus

View of the Syrian capital Damascus – AFP/File

The takeover of the camp, which is home to thousands of people who are recognized as “Palestinian refugees,” came after days of heavy fighting which pitted rebels against fighters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| December 17, 2012
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Contrary to Nasrallah’s claims, Syrian VP admits: Assad can’t win this war

After prolonged silence, Syrian VP Farouk Shara speaks to press: Only a historic resolution that includes the establishment of a broad gov’t comprised of all the country’s factions can solve the 21-month long civil war.

 

Syrian Vice President Farouk Shara has admitted that neither the Syrian Army nor the armed militia rebels are capable of achieving the high ground in the country’s civil war.

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara

Syrian Foreign Minister Farouq al-Shara. – Photo by AP

Shara said the only way to solve the 21-month long crisis is to reach a historic solution, in which neighbording countries and the United Nations Security Council take part. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| December 14, 2012
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Pentagon to send Patriot batteries, US soldiers to defend Turkey against Syria

Panetta signs deployment order to Turkey from Afghanistan, calling for 400 U.S. soldiers to operate two Patriot batteries at undisclosed locations in Turkey.

 

Germany & the Netherlands have already agreed to provide 2 batteries of the U.S.-built defense systems & send up to 400 German & 360 Dutch troops

By Reuters

 

The U.S. will send two batteries of  and 400 troops to Turkey as part of a NATO force meant to protect Turkish territory from potential Syrian missile attack, the Pentagon said Friday.

Turkey asks for NATO missiles

Patriot anti-missile batteries installed at the Diyarbakir military airport in southeastern Turkey. March 11, 2003 – Photo by AFP

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a deployment order en route to Turkey from Afghanistan. Continue Reading »

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| December 14, 2012
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Syria: al-Qaida’s rehabilitation state, for next generation

If Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles fall into the hands of jihadi forces, with connections to al-Qaida, it is highly likely that these non-conventional capabilities will spread further.

By Dore Gold

Joby Warrick, The Washington Post’s correspondent who specializes in intelligence, wrote a story on Dec. 3 about how the Syrian rebellion was already spilling over and having an impact on neighboring countries. He focused in particular on Jordan. According to interviews he conducted, last month Jordanian security forces arrested 11 men and thus foiled a massive planned terrorist attack in the heart of Amman.

Dore Gold – from facebook

Dore Gold – from facebook

The Amman attack was supposed to begin with suicide bombings at two shopping malls to be followed by strikes against luxury hotels used by Westerners.

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| December 10, 2012
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Michael Oren: Chemical Weapons in Rebels Hands Would be ‘Game Changer’

Israeli ambassador to US says that evidence of chemical weapons being passed to terrorist would be a “red line for Israel”.

By Rachel Hirshfeld

 

Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren warned Sunday that any evidence of chemical weapons being passed from the Assad regime to terrorist groups like Hizbullah would be a “red line for Israel” and could constitute military action.

While Oren could not confirm recent claims that the Syrian regime is mixing and moving components for the deadly sarin nerve gas, he said that Israel is watching the situation “very carefully.”

“Were those weapons to pass into the wrong hands — Huzbullah’s hands, for example — that would be a game-changer for us,” Oren told “Fox News Sunday.”  Continue Reading »

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| December 6, 2012
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EU has no intention of boycotting settlement products

EU Official says bloc “continues to oppose boycotts, including boycotts of settlement products” besides, there has to be action at the level of the UN Security Council before the EU places boycotts on countries.

Boycotting products from the settlements is not a sanction the EU is considering to demonstrate its displeasure with Israel’s recent decision to construct 3,000 new units in the settlement and push forward planning in E1, the EU’s delegation in Tel Aviv clarified Thursday.

Euro symbol near European flags - Photo: REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

Euro symbol near European flags – Photo: REUTERS/Francois Lenoir

A spokesman at the EU delegation was responding to an article in Ma’ariv that said EU ministers scheduled to meet Monday to discuss Israel’s recently announced settlement plans were considering “accelerating, in a full and effective measure, the implementation of legislation on labeling and boycotting settlement products.”

Continue Reading »
Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , , , , , ,
| December 5, 2012
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NATO Agrees to Turkey’s request of Patriot Deployment

NATO approves Turkey’s request to deploy US-made Patriot missiles along their border with Syria.

By Elad Benari

 

NATO on Tuesday agreed to deploy Patriot missiles along the border of member state Turkey as requested by Ankara to help it defend its territory against threats from Syria, AFP reports.

Patriot missile

Patriot missiles – AFP photo

“NATO has agreed to augment Turkey’s air defense capabilities in order to defend the population and territory of Turkey and to contribute to the de-escalation of the crisis along the alliance’s border,” a statement quoted by AFP said.

Turkey formally asked its NATO partners to deploy the U.S.-made Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , , ,
| December 4, 2012
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U.S. Report: Syria Preparing Chemicals for using Sarin Gas

U.S. official report that Syrian Engineers that are working for Assad are combining the 2 chemical precursors needed to weaponize sarin gas.

By Elad Benari

 

Engineers working for President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria have begun combining the two chemical precursors needed to weaponize sarin gas, an American official with knowledge of the situation told Wired.com’s Danger Room on Monday.

International observers are now more worried than they’ve even been that the Damascus government could use its nerve agent stockpile to slaughter its own people, the report said.

The U.S. doesn’t know why the Syrian military made the move, which began in the middle of last week and is taking place in central Syria, nor are they sure why the Assad government is transferring some weapons to different locations within the country, as the New York Times reported on Monday. Continue Reading »

Category: Mid-East News | Tags: , , ,
| December 3, 2012
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Report: Jordan says ‘No’ to Israel’s request to Bomb Syrian WMDs

The Atlantic reports: Israel asked for Jordan’s approval to bomb Syria’s chemical weapons caches.  Reportedly, Jordan said ‘no’.

By Chana Ya’ar

 

Israel has consulted with Jordan twice over the issue of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, according to a report published Monday by The Atlantic, both times with plans to take out multiple sites. According to intelligence officials in two countries quoted by correspondent Jeff Goldberg, “Israel has been seeking Jordan’s ‘permission’ to bomb these sites, but the Jordanians have so far declined” to agree.

As Goldberg pointed out, Israel does not need Jordan’s approval to bomb an arsenal that could prove to be an existential threat to its citizens. Continue Reading »

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