February 11, 2016 - GAZA - The sand is bubbling in Gaza.
Check out this video and look at what these people are gawking at... A mysterious bubbling desert.
How would you react, if you were looking at sand on the ground and it would suddenly start to move and make bubbles?
WATCH: Bubbling sand in Gaza.
This mysterious phenomenon is just out of this world and still unexplained.
Could it be related to bombing?
Or is this weird phenomenon linked to the formation of underground cavities? Most probably not.
So what about gases migrating up through the ground along the coast?
Israeli scientists
detected hundreds of methane springs bubbling from the sea floor off
their coast in 2012 just before they found methane clathrates
dissociating around the world. - Strange Sounds.
December 17, 2014 - EUROPE - The European Parliament has adopted a resolution recognizing
Palestinian statehood in principle. A total of 498 MEPs voted in favor,
while 88 were against.
A parliamentary session in Strasbourg on
Tuesday could not decide on the matter, opting for further negotiations,
but on Wednesday the European Parliament eventually adopted a
resolution that “in principle” grants the troubled region statehood.
"[The
European Parliament] supports in principle recognition of Palestinian
statehood and the two-state solution, and believes these should go hand
in hand with the development of peace talks, which should be advanced," the motion said. The vote also saw 111 abstentions.
The European Parliament reiterated its support for the two-state solution "on
the basis of the 1967 borders, with Jerusalem as the capital of both
states, with the secure State of Israel and an independent, democratic,
contiguous and viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and
security on the basis of the right of self-determination and full
respect of international law."
Members of the European Parliament take part in a voting session at the
European Parliament in Strasbourg, December 17, 2014 (Reuters / Vincent
Kessler)
MEPs emphasized the EU's
strongest opposition to any acts of terrorism connected with
Palestinians' campaign for statehood, however.
Several of the EU's 28 member countries were already in favor of full recognition. Sweden in October became the only EU member so far to officially recognize Palestine as an independent state.
The
European Parliament vote comes as the Palestinians are soon to make
their case at the UN Security Council in New York, where they will ask
for a complete Israeli withdrawal from East Jerusalem and the West Bank
to the 1967 borders in two years' time.
WATCH: European Parliament votes to recognize Palestine state.
These discussions follow a
tense summer period when Israel carried out its controversial
Protective Edge operation against the Palestinian militant group Hamas
in the Gaza Strip, and elicited international condemnation for the
number of civilians killed and damage that would take decades to undo.
Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is adamantly against any resolution
under which Palestine gains back the occupied East Jerusalem and West
Bank, believing it would lead to “terrorists” running wild and causing regional problems.
"Attempts
of the Palestinians and of several European countries to force
conditions on Israel will only lead to a deterioration in the regional
situation and will endanger Israel," Netanyahu said Monday.
Although
the US, which has been trying to broker a two-state solution, has been a
close ally of Israel for years, it is now also taking on a more stern
tone with the Israeli leadership.
"This isn't the time to
detail private conversations or speculate on a UN Security Council
resolution that hasn't even been tabled, no matter what pronouncements
are made publicly about it,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told journalists Tuesday.
It
remains to be seen what Washington’s actions will be at the Security
Council, when Palestine makes its case for a full Israeli withdrawal. - RT.
November 29, 2014 - EARTH
- The following list constitutes the latest reports of high tides,
heavy rainfall, flash floods, widespread flooding, sea level rise and
catastrophic storms.
Flood leaves Gaza in ruins, UN declares state of emergency
Palestinian father gives his daughter a piggyback to school as Gaza streets were flooded
An
estimated 100,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged as the streets
of Gaza City. They were flooded with water and sewage after a week of
torrential downpours, prompting the UN Palestinian refugee agency to
declare a state of emergency in the area.
Forced out of their
homes, thousands of Palestinians are now sleeping in classrooms and
makeshift shelters after a massive weeklong storm ravaged the region,
reports the Ma’an News Agency. This includes the nearly 30,000 who had
been staying at emergency housing after Israel’s 51-day summer
offensive.
“The flooding is exacerbating the
already-dire humanitarian situation in Gaza caused by blockade and the
unprecedented destruction from the latest Israeli offensive,” the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) said in a statement posted on its Facebook page.
As a result of the flooding, 63 schools across Gaza City and 43 schools
across the Northern Gaza Strip governorate were closed Thursday,
according to the UNRWA. The Washington Post reported that volunteers are
trying to stop the water with mud and sand-filled garbage bags.
A man looks out of his shop as Palestinians walk through a flooded road
following heavy rain in Gaza City November 27, 2014.(Reuters / Mohammed
Salem)
Gaza homes flood in heavy rains, "humanitarian catastrophe," mayor warns
Palestinians build a tent to protect them from rain ... there home was bombed in last Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Palestinians build a tent to protect them from rain ... there home was bombed in last Israeli aggression on Gaza.
Pumping
water out of flooded areas is particularly problematic due to the
severe lack of fuel in the Gaza Strip, aggravated by Israel’s eight-year
blockade. In addition, the area lacks adequate sewer management
facilities, making recovery from the crisis even more challenging.
On Wednesday, Gaza major Nizar Hijazi warned residents that the Strip’s lack of resources could trigger a “humanitarian catastrophe.”
“The
infrastructure of the Gaza Strip is weak and ill-equipped to receive
any increased rainfall because of the disaster caused by the increased
rainfall last year and the recent war which destroyed a large part of
the Strip,” he said.
The UNRWA vowed to provide “emergency
fuel to supply back-up generators for pumping stations, portable pumps,
municipalities, water, sanitation and health facilities” to combat shortages on Thursday.
WATCH: Widespread flooding in Gaza.
Severe flooding is not unusual for the region. Last December, heavy rains swamped the Strip and resulted in the displacement of some 40,000 Palestinians.
Though
international donors pledged $5.4 billion to help rebuild war-torn Gaza
at Cairo summit earlier this fall, reconstruction has not yet begun.
Raed Fattouh, a Palestinian official responsible for the entry of goods
into the Gaza Strip, however, told Ma’an that Israel has given the
go-ahead for the entry of 350 supply trucks into the region. - RT.
Israel sees rainiest season in center of country in 20 years - parts hit with up to 110 mm. of rain
Heavy rains battered Israel from north to south on Wednesday, as part of what the Israel Meteorological Society said is the wettest rainy season in central Israel in 20 years.
Some of the heaviest rain fall was in Petah Tikva, where over 110mm of
rain was recorded, while similar levels were recorded in the Negev,
flooding dry creek beds and causing serious road congestion. The North
saw significantly less rainfall, only between 20-50mm, the IMS said.
So far the amount of rainfall this season is far higher than average for this time of year, the IMS said, adding that over the past 75 years there have only been three years that saw more rain by the end of November.
By Wednesday morning, the overnight rains had caused the Sea of Galilee to rise by 3.5cm.
There were several incidents of damag caused by the heavy rains,
including felled trees and flooded houses and streets in towns across
Israel. In Herzliya, the wall of a supermarket parking lot collapsed and
caused severe damage to a few cars, while in Tel Aviv, a wall at a
construction site was felled by the storm, damaging cars on the street.
Tragedy was averted on Wednesday evening in Shorek River Nature
Reserve, where three men were driving in the afternoon when their car
was swept away when their path was flooded. They called police and a
team of firefighters and Border Police officers managed to arrive and
rescue them without harm.
The storm caused heavy gridlock
during Wednesday's morning rush hour, but by midday the National Traffic
Police said that all intercity highways were running as normal.
The rainy weather is expected to continue in the coming days, though by Saturday the skies are expected to clear up. - Jerusalem Post.
Up to 9 inches of rain across Central Florida
As
the rain continues to fall across Central Florida, temperatures will
steadily drop into the 50s by this afternoon due to a passing cold
front, meteorologists say.
Some areas in Brevard and Volusia counties saw 7 to 9 inches of rain since Tuesday morning.
As for Orange County, at least 6 inches have fallen in the attractions
area, Windermere, Pine Hills and Bithlo. And it's not done raining yet,
according to the National Weather Service in Melbourne. A flood watch
remains in effect for Volusia, Brevard, Lake, Orange and Seminole
counties through noon.
"[The rain] is slowly going to taper off
through late morning," meteorologist Tony Cristaldi said. In Volusia
County, one of the hardest hit areas Tuesday night was New Smyrna Beach
with crews of Public Works working all hours to dry the streets. Five
pumps were helping clear water throughout the city, with two pumps just
on Columbus Avenue, which historically gets the most damage, said Holly
Smith, spokeswoman for the city.
The city provided residents
with free sandbags to keep water away from homes. Two houses were
flooded, as well as a handful of garages, Smith added.
By Wednesday morning, roads were passable and little water remained on the city's streets.
In Port Orange, 6.2 inches of rain were recorded flooding one house and
10 garage or porch structures, spokesman Ken Donahue said. No major
issues or road closures were reported. Minor street flooding occurred
Tuesday night but was gone by the next morning.
Rain washes over University Boulevard as cars and people struggle through a mid-day rain storm in east Orlando on November 25, 2014.
George Skene, Orlando Sentinel
Officials in the city are also providing residents with free bags and dirt in two locations.
No reports of serious damage were reported in Orlando, where about
three inches of rain fell. Water temporarily closed down the
intersection of Timberleaf Blvd. and Poppy Avenue Wednesday morning.
At Orlando International Airport, 2.75 inches of rain were measured as
of midnight, setting a new record for Nov. 25. The old record was 1.44
inches set in 1972.
Daytona Beach International Airport also
set a new record of 6.22 inches for Nov. 25, beating its old record of
2.43 from 1972.
As of 6 a.m., the mercury read 72 degrees at the Orlando International Airport.
By 5 p.m., temperatures will fall to 58 degrees.
Wind gusts up to 30 mph could make the region feel even cooler at times.
Meteorologists predict a low near 44 degrees for tonight as the rain begins to clear.
Floridians heading north to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern states
for Thanksgiving should prepare for travel delays as a nor'easter
develops off the Gulf Coast.
The storm moving up the East Coast
is expected to bring rain along coastal areas and snow farther inland,
according to the National Weather Service.
Those staying in
Florida for the holiday will enjoy a sunny day with a high near 67
degrees. It will be a bit windy, with gusts as high as 25 mph. - Orlando Sentinel.
1 dead and 3 missing following flash floods in south-east France: Over 7 inches of rain in 24 hours recorded
A heavy storm triggered flash floods in south east France yesterday, Thursday 27 November 2014.
Later on Thursday the French Interior Ministry confirmed that one woman
had died in the floods and 3 were still missing. Three other people
have been reported as injured.
The fatality occurred in the
village of La Londe, Var department. The woman was believed to have been
in her vehicle near a river at the time it was swept away. Her young
daughter was also in the vehicle at the time. Emergency services are
carrying out searches for the missing child. Two other people are
missing after being swept away by a swollen river in the same area.
Flooding also affected the tourist area of St Tropez, where around 30
students were trapped in a school building by flood water in Grimaud.
They were eventually rescued late in the evening.
On Wednesday 26 November, 5 people had to be rescued by helicopter from
their home in Roquebrune sur Argens. As many as 1,500 people had to
evacuate their homes in Hyères after the Gapeau river threatened to
burst its banks.
Flood
warnings remain in place today 28 November, for Ardeche, Gard, Le Var
and Herault. Further heavy rainfall is likely today.
The severe weather and heavy rainfall were predicted by forecasters. Earlier this week we reported that
the same weather system that caused widespread flash flooding in
Morocco was likely to hit southern France and northern Italy. The
region has endured endless flash floods and heavy rain throughout
November. Earlier this week Accuweather said "So far this month, Nice, France, has already received 614 percent of its normal November rainfall". That figure is likely to be significantly higher after the latest deluge.
Israel Air Force planes fly over Tel Aviv. (Photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
November 23, 2014 - ISRAEL -
Historic negotiations with Iran will reach an inflection point on
Monday, as world powers seek to clinch a comprehensive deal that will,
to their satisfaction, end concerns over the nature of its vast,
decade-old nuclear program.
But reflecting on the deal under discussion with The Jerusalem Post on
the eve of the deadline, Israel has issued a stark, public warning to
its allies with a clear argument: Current proposals guarantee the
perpetuation of a crisis, backing Israel into a corner from which
military force against Iran provides the only logical exit.
The deal on the table
World
powers have presented Iran with an accord that would restrict its
nuclear program for roughly ten years and cap its ability to produce
fissile material for a weapon during that time to a minimum nine-month
additional period, from the current three months.
Should Tehran
agree, the deal may rely on Russia to convert Iran's current uranium
stockpile into fuel rods for peaceful use. The proposal would also
include an inspection regime that would attempt to follow the program's
entire supply chain, from the mining of raw material to the syphoning of
that material to various nuclear facilities across Iran.
Israel's
leaders believe the best of a worst-case scenario, should that deal be
reached, is for inspections to go perfectly and for Iran to choose to
abide by the deal for the entire decade-long period.
But "our
intelligence agencies are not perfect," an Israeli official said. "We
did not know for years about Natanz and Qom. And inspection regimes are
certainly not perfect. They weren't in the case in North Korea, and it
isn't the case now – Iran's been giving the IAEA the run around for
years about its past activities."
"What's going to happen with that?" the official continued. "Are they going to sweep that under the rug if there's a deal?"
On
Saturday afternoon, reports from Vienna suggested the P5+1 – the US,
United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany – are willing to stop
short of demanding full disclosure of any secret weapon work by Tehran.
Speaking to the Post, a senior US official rejected concern over limited surveillance capabilities, during or after a deal.
"If
we can conclude a comprehensive agreement, we will have significantly
more ability to detect covert facilities – even after its duration is
over – than we do today," the senior US official said. "After the
duration of the agreement, the most intrusive inspections will continue:
the Additional Protocol – which encompasses very intrusive
transparency, and which Iran has already said it will implement – will
continue."
But compounding Israel's fears, the proposal Jerusalem
has seen shows that mass dismantlement of Iran's nuclear infrastructure
– including the destruction, and not the mere warehousing, of its parts
– is no longer on the table in Vienna.
"Iran's not being asked
to dismantle the nuclear infrastructure," the Israeli official said,
having seen the proposal before the weekend. "Right now what they're
talking about is something very different. They're talking about
Ayatollah Khamenei allowing the P5+1 to save face."
Officials in
the Netanyahu government are satisfied that their ideas and concerns
have been given a fair hearing by their American counterparts. They
praise the US for granting Israel unprecedented visibility into the
process.
But while those discussions may have affected the talks
at the margins, large gaps – on whether to grant Iran the right to
enrich uranium, or allow it to keep much of its infrastructure – have
remained largely unaddressed.
"It's like the chemical weapons
deal in Syria," the official said. "They didn't just say: Here, let's
get rid of the stockpile and the weapons, but we will leave all the
plants and assembly lines."
'Sunset clause'
Yet,
more than any single enforcement standard or cap included in the deal,
Israel believes the Achilles' heel of the proposed agreement is its
definitive end date – the sunset clause.
"You've not dismantled
the infrastructure, you've basically tried to put limits that you think
are going to be monitored by inspectors and intelligence," said the
official, "and then after this period of time, Iran is basically free to
do whatever it wants."
The Obama administration also rejects
this claim. By e-mail, the senior US administration official said that,
"'following successful implementation of the final step of the
comprehensive solution for its duration, the Iranian nuclear program
will be treated in the same manner as that of any non-nuclear weapon
state party to the NPT – with an emphasis on non-nuclear weapon."
"That has in no way changed," the American official continued, quoting the interim Joint Plan of Action reached last year.
But
the treatment of Iran as any other signatory of the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty –189 countries are members, including Iran –
would allow Tehran to ultimately acquire "an industrial-sized
capability," the Israelis say. "The breakout times [to a nuclear weapon]
will be effectively zero."
Israel and world powers seek to
maximize the amount of time they would have to identify non-compliance
from a nuclear deal, should Iran choose to defy its tenets and build a
bomb.
But in the deal under discussion in Vienna, Iran would be
able to comply with international standards for a decade and, from
Israel's perspective, then walk, not sneak, into the nuclear club.
"You've
not only created a deal that leaves Iran as a threshold nuclear power
today, because they have the capability to break out quickly if they
wanted to," the Israeli official contended. "But you've also legitimized
Iran as a military nuclear power in the future."
From the moment
this deal is clinched, Israel fears it will guarantee Iran as a
military nuclear power. There will be no off ramp, because Iran's
reentry into the international community will be fixed, a fait accompli,
by the very powers trying to contain it.
"The statement that
says we've prevented them from having a nuclear weapon is not a true
statement," the Israeli official continued. "What you've said is, you're
going to put restrictions on Iran for a given number of years, after
which there will be no restrictions and no sanctions. That's the deal
that's on the table."
Revisiting the use of force
Without
an exit ramp, Israel insists its hands will not be tied by an agreement
reached this week, this month or next, should it contain a clause that
ultimately normalizes Iran's home-grown enrichment program.
On
the surface, its leadership dismisses fears that Israel will be punished
or delegitimized if it disrupts an historic, international deal on the
nuclear program with unilateral military action against its
infrastructure.
By framing the deal as fundamentally flawed,
regardless of its enforcement, Israel is telling the world that it will
not wait to see whether inspectors do their jobs as ordered.
"Ten,
fifteen years in the life of a politician is a long time," the Israeli
said, in a vague swipe against the political directors now scrambling in
Vienna. "In the life of a nation, it's nothing."
Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened the use of force against Iran several
times since 2009, even seeking authorization from his cabinet in 2011.
Iran's program has since grown in size and scope.
According to
his aides, the prime minister's preference is not war, but the
continuation of a tight sanctions regime on Iran's economy coupled with a
credible threat of military force. Netanyahu believes more time under
duress would have led to an acceptable deal. But that opportunity, in
his mind, may now be lost.
Whether Israel still has the ability to strike Iran, without American assistance, is an open question. Quoted last month in the Atlantic magazine, US officials suggested that window for Netanyahu closed over two years ago.
But
responding to claims by that same official, quoted by Jeffrey Goldberg,
over Netanyahu's courage and will, the Israeli official responded
sternly: "The prime minister is a very serious man who knows the serious
responsibility that rests on his shoulders. He wouldn't say the
statements that he made if he didn't mean them."
"People have underestimated Israel many, many times in the past," he continued, "and they underestimate it now." - JPOST.
November 18, 2014 - JERUSALEM, ISRAEL
- Four Israelis have been killed and eight injured as two men armed
with a pistol and meat cleavers attacked a West Jerusalem synagogue,
police say.
The attackers - Palestinians from East Jerusalem - were shot dead.
There
have recently been several deadly attacks and clashes in Jerusalem,
which has also seen heightened tension over a disputed holy site.
Israel has vowed to respond "with a heavy hand" to the attack - the deadliest in Jerusalem in six years.
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed "incitement" by Hamas and
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and said the international
community had ignored their actions.
Tensions have been rising in Jerusalem recently
Hamas and Mr Abbas's Fatah
party - rival Palestinian factions - agreed to form a unity government
earlier this year, a move denounced at the time by Israel.
Mr
Abbas's office issued a statement saying: "The presidency condemns the
attack on Jewish worshippers in their place of prayer and condemns the
killing of civilians no matter who is doing it."
The Abu Ali
Mustafa Brigades, the military wing of the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine, says it carried out the synagogue attack.
Militants from the far-left-wing Palestinian nationalist group have been behind many previous attacks on Israelis.
The attack was brutal, scenes from the synagogue suggest
Emergency services clean the site outside the Jerusalem synagogue
Hamas
and another militant group, Islamic Jihad, praised the attack. Israel
has designated both groups as terrorist organisations.
Jerusalem has been a place of division fiercely contested by rival religious traditions for many hundreds of years.
In
the last few weeks tensions have risen sharply - largely as the result
of the revival of an ancient dispute over rights of worship at a site
within the walls of the Old City.
Muslims call the site al-Haram
al-Sharif and believe it is the place where the Prophet Muhammad
ascended into heaven - to Jews it is Temple Mount and marks the place
where the sacred temples of their faith stood in ancient times.
By a long-standing tradition, Muslims alone have the right to pray at the site although people of other faiths may visit.
In the Gaza Strip, Palestinians distributed sweets in celebrations, some holding aloft an image of the attackers
The
issue is of such sensitivity that even when Israel captured the Old
City of Jerusalem during the war of 1967 it handed control of the
compound back to an Islamic religious authority which continues to
administer it to this day.
In recent times some religious Jews
have begun to argue for a change in the status quo which would also
allow them to pray there - any hint of such change is viewed with deep
anger in the Islamic world.
The attack happened at a religious
seminary site on Harav Shimon Agassi Street - home to a largely Orthodox
Jewish community in the Har Nof neighbourhood. Among those killed was
Rabbi Moshe Twersky, head of the seminary.
Police say there was a shoot-out with the attackers when officers reached the scene. WATCH: Jerusalem synagogue attack reaction.
Pictures posted online by an Israeli military spokesman show a bloodied meat cleaver, bodies lying between desks and chairs on a blood-stained floor, their faces covered with their prayer shawls.
"I
tried to escape. The man with the knife approached me. There was a
chair and table between us... my prayer shawl got caught. I left it
there and escaped," one of the Israelis told Channel 2 television.
Palestinians
have identified the attackers as Uday and Ghassan Abu Jamal. In the
Gaza Strip, some people distributed sweets to celebrate the attack.
Hamas said it was in revenge for the death of a Palestinian bus driver found hanged inside a vehicle in Jerusalem on Monday.
Israeli police said it was a case of suicide, but his family did not accept the post-mortem findings. Jerusalem on edge
Tensions
in the city have risen in recent weeks, with two deadly attacks by
Palestinian militants on pedestrians in the city and announcements by
Israel of plans to build more settler homes in East Jerusalem.
The
compound - known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as al-Haram
al-Sharif - is the holiest site in Judaism, while the al-Aqsa Mosque is
the third holiest site in Islam.
Orthodox Jewish campaigners in Israel are challenging the long-standing ban on Jews praying at the compound.
Palestinians want East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel since 1967, as the capital of a future state. - BBC.
June 24, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - The Jordanian air force hit ISIS contingents, Monday night, June 23,
as they drove into into the kingdom through the Turaibil border crossing
which they seized Saturday, debkafile’s
military sources report. The jets destroyed 4 Islamist State of Iraq
and Levant (ISIS) armored personnel carriers, which were already on the
move.
Iraq asks Jordan to launch air strikes against ISIS rebels as battle for key oil refinery rages.
Also Monday, ISIS completed its capture of the strategic Tal Afar
and its environs in northern Iraq, capping its conquest in the last two
weeks of Nineveh Province and Mosul, all but one town (Ramadi) of the
western Anbar Province, and Iraq’s key border posts in the north, west
and southwest.
Jordan called up military reserves Sunday, after discovering that its capital Amman was to be the Islamist organization’s next prey.
Instead of making straight for Baghdad, ISIS turned west and south for what it saw as softer targets, deploying two forces for shooting into Jordan – one from Syria, for which they also captured Al Walid, through which to head into the kingdom from the north; and one pointing from Turaibil (which the Jordanians call Karame) and aiming for the eastern Jordanian towns of Zarqa, Irbid and Amman.
By seizing Turaibil, the Islamists were able to cut off the main Iraqi-Jordanian artery for trade and travel between the two countries. They may have been stopped for now by the Jordanian air strike, espcially if there is a follow-up.
Their capture of the key town of Rutba Saturday is seen by Western military sources tracking the Iraqi conflict as marking out the Islamists’ next target. That force split in two – one heading southwest toward the Saudi Arabia border and the other heading west to Jordan.
Sunday, June 22, the Islamists put on the world web a new site called “ISIS in Saudi Arabia.”
debkafile’s military and intelligence sources report that the US and Israel have laid on a battery of advanced intelligence-gathering measures in the last few hours, including military satellites, drones and reconnaissance planes for keeping track of the Islamist fighters’ rapid advance.
A 500-km broad expanse of desert separates the Iraqi border from Amman which would be no picnic for the ISIS to navigate without discovery. However, they were counting on al Qaeda cells planted in most Jordanian towns to help them make their way across.
It is important to remember that the US and Israel are both bound by military pacts to defend the throne of the Hashemite King Abdullah II.
As for Iraq’s southwestern neighbor, Saudi Arabia, our sources report that the main topic of conversation between King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Saturday, June 21 at Cairo airport, was the Iraq crisis and the threat the Islamist extremists threat present to the two kingdoms.
The Saudi king made it his business to stop over briefly at Cairo airport on the way to his summer palace in Morocco, and invite the Egyptian president aboard his plane for that conversation. He wanted to hear El-Sisi promise to reward the oil kingdom and Gulf emirates for the generous financial aid they bestowed on him with a pledge of Egyptian military commando units to the rescue in the event of an al Qaeda invasion.
Interestingly, the Saudi monarch’s companion on the royal flight - he also took part in the conversation with El-Sisi - was Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who five months ago was relieved of his posts as Director of General Intelligence and senior strategist of the Saudi campaigns in Syria and Iraq, the first of which failed in its goal to unseat Bashar Assad.
It looked very much as though the king had a change of heart and decided to restore Bandar to his inner circle of advisers under the looming threat of ISIS and its lightening advances in Iraq.
WATCH: Army liquidates ISIS radicals at Baiji oil refinery.
That threat also drove US Secretary of State John Kerry to pay an unannounced visit to Baghdad Monday, June 23, after discussing the Iraqi crisis in Cairo with the Egyptian president.
His arrival was accompanied by further rapid ISIS territorial gains in Iraq and actions to consolidate its grip. After talking to Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, Kerry said at the US embassy that US support will be “intense, sustained, and effective” – provided Iraq’s leaders came together to form a government representing the rival sects.
debkafile adds: Kerry canvassed Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish leaders for a consensual candidate to lead a government representing all of Iraq’s sects and communities. He had in mind a Shiite prime minister able to gain the endorsement of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani.
Secretary Kerry planned to visit Irbil Tuesday for talks on this and on Kurdish military aid against the ISIS offensive with the heads of the autonomous Kurdish region. However the Kurds wanted first to hear what they will get from Baghdad for sending their pershmerga militia to fight the Islamists in northern Iraq. Since Maliki is the object of Kerry’s maneuvers to replace him, he is not ready to offer the Kurds any concessions at this point. So Kerry’s Iraq mission has so far struck a high wall. - Debka.
June 23, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - The well-organized army of the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, claims it has access to nuclear
weapons and a will to use them to “liberate” Palestine from Israel as
part of its “Islamic Spring,” according to a WND source in the region.
Franklin Lamb, an international lawyer based in Beirut and Damascus, said the move is part of the ISIS aim of creating a caliphate under strict Islamic law, stretching from the Mediterranean Sea to Iraq.
Lamb, who has access to ISIS fighters and sympathizers, said ISIS has been working with a “new specialized” unit organized at the beginning of 2013 to focus “exclusively on destroying the Zionist regime occupying Palestine.”
Lamb added that the ISIS “Al-Quds Unit” is working to broaden its influence in more than 60 Palestinian camps and gatherings from Gaza, across “Occupied Palestine,” or Israel, to Jordan and from Lebanon up to the north of Syria “seeking to enlist support as it prepares to liberate Palestine.”
ISIS is also know as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham. “Sham,” or “Greater Syria,” refers to Cyprus, Palestine, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and southern Turkey.
ISIS also is known as DAASH, the Arabic acronym for al-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fi al-Iraq wa-al Sham.
The Sunni militant group, which has taken over much of the Sunni region of Iraq, could leave the Shiite-dominated region of the country and head toward Jordan and Turkey.
Lamb said that in Iraq alone, some 6 million Iraqi Sunnis recently have become supportive of the ISIS lightning strikes in the Sunni portion of the country.
Some of the Sunni supporters are secular, such as the Naqshbandia Army of former top officials of executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. As WND reported, the Sunni group may have given ISIS access to its ongoing sarin production facility in northwestern Iraq.
WND also reported ISIS already has captured towns bordering Iraq and Turkey.
The militant group also has steamrolled through the Iraqi desert in the west and taken over the major al-Walid crossing with Syria and the Turaibil crossing into Jordan.
Lamb said ISIS has established a capital for its caliphate in the Syrian city of Raqqa.
“The Islamist organization believes it currently has massive regional support for its rapidly expanding ‘revolution of the oppressed,’” Lamb said.
ISIS estimates it will take 72 months to “liberate” “Occupied Palestine,” or Israel, according to Lamb.
Lamb quoted an ISIS member as saying: “Zionists call us masked, sociopathic murderers, but we are much more complicated and representative of those seeking justice than they portray us.
“Are we more barbaric than the Zionist terrorists who massacred at Dier Yassin, Shatila, twice at Qana, and committed dozens of other massacres? History will judge us after we free Palestine.”
Lamb said ISIS can do what no other Arab, Muslim or Western backers of resistance have been able to accomplish.
He quoted the ISIS member as saying: “All countries in this region are playing the sectarian card just as they have long played the Palestinian card, but the difference with ISIS is that we are serious about Palestine and they are not. Tel Aviv will fall as fast as Mosul when the time is right.”
The WND source said ISIS appears “eager” to fight Israeli armed forces “in the near future despite expectation that the regime will use nuclear weapons.”
“Do you think that we do not have access to nuclear devices?” Lamb quoted the ISIS member as saying. “The Zionists know that we do, and if we ever believe they are about to use theirs, we will not hesitate. After the Zionists are gone, Palestine will have to be decontaminated and rebuilt just like areas where there has been radiation released.”
ISIS access to nuclear weapons could come from Sunni Pakistan, which is home to more than 30 terrorist groups. Pakistan possibly has transferred nuclear weapons to the chief bankroller of its nuclear development program, Sunni Saudi Arabia, as WND previously has reported.
The WND source said ISIS denies any interest in training and directing foreign fighters to attack Europe, claiming its goals are to establish the al-Sham caliphate and “liberate Palestine.”
The source said the West, and especially the Israelis, may already be aware of ISIS plans and tactics to take over “Palestine.” He said Western intelligence sources were in possession of an “encyclopedia of information” obtained by Iraqi intelligence less than 48 hours before Mosul fell two weeks ago.
He said an ISIS messenger who was captured and “under Iraqi torture” turned over more than 160 computer flash sticks with the detailed information.
“The U.S. intelligence community is still decrypting and analyzing the flash sticks,” Lamb said.
He indicated that the information already has been handed over to members of Congress, some of whom are sharing it with the Israeli Embassy in Washington.
“The current sense on Capitol Hill is reported to be that the Obama administration is not in the mood to share anything with Israel these days and certainly not with the Netanyahu regime which it loathes,” he said.
Lamb said only time will tell whether or not ISIS reaches both of its objectives. He added that if the “Zionist regime” can be ejected from Palestine, it will set in motion “historic currents” that will be “rather different from the Ehud Olmert-Condoleezza Rice fantasy of ‘a New Middle East.’
“In any event,” Lamb said, “it is unlikely that Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Lebanon among other countries in this region are going to look much like what George Bush and Dick Cheney and their still active neo-con advisers had in mind when they were beating the drums for a U.S. invasion of Iraq, Libya and now Syria and Iran.” - WND.
June 22, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - Nine Syrian military targets have been hit by Israeli jets and guided
missiles, the IDF says, claiming it was a decisive response to a series
of cross-border shootings to protect the citizens of Israel.
The strikes on targets in Golan Heights were carried out shortly after midnight, Haaretz reports citing an IDF official, who called it a direct response to Sunday’s deadly incident when an anti-tank projectile fired from Syrian territory struck near the border fence on the Israeli occupied Golan Heights.
“The shooting [on Sunday] was a very serious act of provocation, and a continuation of a series of attacks carried out over the past several months against IDF forces throughout the border region, and in this area specifically,” the statement reads.
A military command headquarters reportedly was among the targets hit in Syria.
Earlier on Sunday, in response to the killing of Israeli teen Mohammed Karaka, IDF artillery pounded military outposts on Syrian territory, with speculations about possible strikes against other targets.
The killed teenager was an Arab citizen of Israel, accompanying his father, a Defense Ministry civilian contractor, to the Golan, the ministry said, uncertain whether the boy was 15 or 13 years old. The father and two more people we injured in the incident.
An Israeli soldier prepares to load shells into his Merkava tank
positioned near the Quneitra checkpoint on the border with Syria in the
Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on June 22, 2014. (AFP Photo / Menahem
Kahana)
It was not clear who exactly fired the anti-tank missile that hit the Israeli border from an area contested by the Syrian army and the rebels.
Relations between Syria and Israel have been tense since the civil war erupted in the country more than three years ago.
Ripped by internal warring factions, numerous cross-border shooting and shelling have become a common occurrence in the Israeli controlled Golan Heights, which Tel Aviv secured following the Yom Kippur War of 1973.
IDF aerial retaliatory strikes were reported in January 2013, when Israeli planes allegedly struck deep within Syrian territory, reportedly targeting anti-aircraft weaponry outside Damascus.
Israeli warplanes also struck a Syrian air-defense base near the port city of Latakia in October 2013, as confirmed by US officials, with some experts speculating that the target was missile equipment that may have been transferred to Lebanese Hezbollah.
In May 2013, Syrian media reported "Israeli airstrikes" targeting military positions in Damascus, following bombing in Rif Dimashq governorate. In July 2013, RT reported that Israel used a Turkish military base to launch one of its recent airstrikes against Syria from the sea, a week after July 5 depot attack in Latakia. - RT.
June 11, 2014 - ISRAEL - Militants fired a rocket from the Gaza Strip at Israel on Wednesday, a
first since a Palestinian unity government headed by Western-backed
President Mahmoud Abbas was put in charge of Gaza — at least formally —
after seven years of Hamas rule.
No one was hurt, but Israel has warned it would hold Abbas responsible for any attacks from Gaza after he established a technocrat government last week. The 17-member Cabinet is to administer both Gaza and parts of the West Bank. Hamas, which remains the de facto power in Gaza, backs the unity government but has no members in it.
Abbas' office condemned the rocket fire and urged Gaza militants to abide by previous cease-fire deals with Israel.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev dismissed the condemnation as "empty rhetoric," saying Abbas must instead disarm Gaza's militants.
Those militants, including members of Hamas, have fired thousands of rockets at Israel over the years, though Hamas mostly observed an informal truce in recent years. The West considers Hamas a terror group because of scores of deadly attacks on Israel, though Abbas has said the new Cabinet will follow his pragmatic program.
Israel's deputy defense minister, Danny Danon, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to retaliate for Wednesday's rocket attack by withholding transfers of taxes Israel collects on behalf of the Palestinians.
An Israeli border policeman holds a Palestinian protester by the neck during a demonstration. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
"This rocket fire is the direct result of the Hamas-supported government" Danon said.
The unity government was meant to end a crippling split between Abbas and Hamas, but the road to reconciliation has been bumpy, with many issues unresolved.
Salary payments for more than 40,000 government employees hired by Hamas during the past seven years are a key point of contention. Hamas wants them to be paid by the unity government, though donor countries would likely balk at the idea of seeing aid go for salaries for members of the Hamas security forces.
Hamas kept Gaza's banks closed for the past week in an attempt to pressure Abbas to find a solution, but allowed the banks to reopen Wednesday amid rising public anger against the group. Long lines formed at cash machines as people rushed to withdraw their salaries.
Tens of thousands of Abbas loyalists who worked for his Palestinian Authority in Gaza before the Hamas takeover have continued to receive salaries since 2007 on condition they not work for the Hamas administration.
Hamas officials said no solution to the problem has been found and suggested the opening of the banks is temporary.
Meanwhile, Palestinian protesters in the West Bank found a timely way to show support for dozens of Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails. A day before the start of the World Cup in Brazil, they dressed up in the jerseys of the Palestinian football team and kicked a ball around outside Ofer, an Israeli lockup in the West Bank.
A group of helmeted soldiers prevented them from advancing. Troops fired stun grenades and pushed some of the protesters who dribbled and kicked the ball over the heads of soldiers.
Some of the Palestinian prisoners began their hunger strike on April 24, with others joining later, and more than 70 have been hospitalized. The hunger strikes demand that Israel end the practice of administrative detention in which nearly 200 Palestinians are currently held without charges.
A Palestinian protester plays football during a demonstration in support
for dozens of Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails, outside
Ofer military prison, near the West Bank city of Ramallah, Wednesday,
June 11, 2014. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed)
Also Wednesday, pathologists performed an autopsy on the exhumed body of a 17-year-old Palestinian who was killed May 15 during a lull in a confrontation between Israeli troops and Palestinian stone-throwers.
The Israeli rights group B'Tselem said at the time that security camera footage and witness testimony raised grave suspicions he was killed in a wilful shooting.
Nawara's body was exhumed early Wednesday and taken to a Palestinian forensics institute. The autopsy was conducted by the chief Palestinian pathologist, but was also attended by two Israeli pathologists and two from abroad, said Sarit Michaeli of B'Tselem. - Yahoo.
June 02, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - Israel is to deploy three submarines equipped with nuclear cruise
missiles in the Persian Gulf, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
A dolphin submarine.
Photo by Tomer Appelbaum
According to the Times report, one submarine had been sent over Israeli fears that ballistic missiles developed by Iran, and in the possession of Syria and Hezbollah, could be used to hit strategic sites within Israel, such as air bases and missile launchers.
Dolphin, Tekuma, and Leviathan, all German-made Dolphin class submarines of the 7th navy Flotilla, have been reported as frequenting the Gulf in the past, however, according to the Sunday Times report, this new deployment is meant to ensure a permanent naval presence near the Iranian coastline.
A flotilla officer told the Times that the deployed submarines were meant to act as a deterrent, gather intelligence and potentially to land Mossad agents.
"We're a solid base for collecting sensitive information, as we can stay for a long time in one place," the officer said.
The flotilla's commander, identified only as "Colonel O," was quoted by the Times as saying that the submarine force was "an underwater assault force. We’re operating deep and far, very far, from our borders."
The submarines could be used if Iran continues its program to produce a nuclear bomb. "The 1,500km range of the submarines’ cruise missiles can reach any target in Iran," a navy officer told the Times.
Apparently responding to the reported Israeli activity, an Iranian admiral told the Times: "Anyone who wishes to do an evil act in the Persian Gulf will receive a forceful response from us."
Last July, defense sources reported that an Israeli submarine had sailed the Suez Canal to the Red Sea last month, describing the unusual maneuver as a show of strategic reach in the face of Iran.
Israel has long kept its three Dolphin-class submarines, which are widely assumed to carry nuclear missiles, away from Suez so as not to expose them to the gaze of Egyptian harbormasters. - Haaretz.
May 28, 2014 - TEMPLE MOUNT, JERUSALEM, ISRAEL- Less than 48 hours after Pope Francis beseeched Jerusalem's Grand Mufti
to condemn violence on the Temple Mount, rioting ensued there Wednesday
morning as thousands of Jews gathered at the Western Wall in observance
of Jerusalem Day.
According to police, upon opening the main gate to the holy site,
rocks and bottles were thrown at officers, forcing them to disperse the
crowd with stun grenades and temporarily cordon off part of the site to
visitors.
“Police immediately responded to the rioting and pushed them back into Al-Aqsa Mosque,” said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, adding that one officer sustained a light injury.
After containing the scene, Rosenfeld said over 1,000 tourists and 250 Israelis entered the compound to tour under police protection.
Although no arrests were made during the riot, Rosenfeld said police are studying the surveillance footage taken of it and plan to apprehend those involved.
WATCH: Angry mob on the Temple Mount.
The violence comes after the pontiff's historic Monday visit to Al-Aqsa Mosque to discuss tolerance and non-violence as a means of resolving long held differences with Jews.
According to Muslim media reports, during a private 15-minute meeting with the mufti, Mohammed Hussein, Francis beseeched him and his followers to disavow violence and “work together [with Jews] for justice and peace.”“May we respect and love one another as brothers and sisters,” the pope reportedly said during the discussion. “May we learn to understand the suffering of others. May no one abuse the name of God through violence.” - JPOST.
April 04, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - Israeli Air Force fired on Gazan terror targets after four rockets were launched into Israel and snipers opened fire on Israeli security personnel.
Photo Credit: IDF Spokesperson's OFfice
Israeli Air Force aircraft targeted and struck four terror sites in
the central Gaza Strip as well as one in the northern section of Gaza in
the very early morning hours on Friday, April 4.
The Israeli Defense Forces issued a statement that the strikes were in retaliation for an upsurge in violence directed towards civilian areas of Israel over the past month. Most recently, Palestinian Arab snipers targeted security personnel near the security fence in the northern Gaza strip which caused damage to an armored vehicle.
On Thursday evening, four rockets launched from Gaza struck southern Israel.
In the wake of Thursday’s attacks, the IDF responded.
“Civilians in southern Israel were forced to begin this month with an unacceptable barrage of rockets,” said IDF Spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner.
“Hamas has a responsibility to cease and prevent acts of aggression emanating from the Gaza Strip. The IDF will retaliate, reciprocate and when required initiate the use of force in order to defend the civilians of the State of Israel from these unlawful terrorist actions,” Lerner stated.
Nearly 125 rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip towards Israel during the month of March. Of that number, 77 struck Israel. Between March 12 – 14 alone, 70 rockets fired from Gaza hit southern Israel.
Israel Cancels Prisoner Release As Palestinian Authority Make Demands
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni announced on Thursday that the planned upcoming fourth release of terrorists has been cancelled, ostensibly because the Palestinian Authority broke the terms of the peace talk and unilaterally tried to join 15 UN connected international conventions.
In further response, Israel has cancelled all high level communications between Israeli ministers and the PA, and all communications will now be handled an IDF representative.
In addition, Israel has frozen various ongoing cellular communications projects with the PA.
Livni said that if the PA backs down from their unilateral moves, Israel would sit back down with them for further peace talks.
But the PA isn’t interested in talking more, and instead has come up with a list of new preconditions for continuing talks, including: releasing 1200 terrorists, releasing terror chief Marwan Barghouti, a building freeze in eastern Jerusalem, Israel recognizing East Jerusalem as the PA capital, Israel acknowledging the 1967 armistice line with Jordan as the border with the PA, granting Israeli citizenship to 15000 Palestinian Authority citizens, barring the IDF from Area A, giving the PA more authority in Area C, and stopping the weapons blockade on Gaza, and a few more – and that’s just as a precondition to talk.
Later in the evening, the Gazans launched 3 rockets towards Sderot. They landed in open fields, and no damage or injuries were reported.
Bayit Yehudi Minister Naftali Bennett had his own response to the PA’s threat to join more UN groups, and that is that Abbas is financing terror, and Bennett plans to put Abbas and the PA in the international legal and diplomatic cross-hairs.- Jewish Press.
March 27, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - When the Syrian uprising turned into a civil war in
2011, most of the trouble stayed inside Syria's borders, but that's
changing.
Syrian troops have been deployed to quell the pro-democracy protests [AFP]
This week armored personnel carriers rushed to Beirut, Lebanon, to prevent fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. It's a sign the war has spread well beyond Syria's borders.
Another sign: at an election rally last Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan praised the Turkish air force for shooting down a Syrian plane after it violated Turkey's air space.
"If you violate our border, our slap will be hard. Therefore, I congratulate firstly our chief of general staff, and our pilots," Erdogan said.
Also last week, Israeli warplanes struck Syrian military posts in the Golan Heights after a roadside bombing wounded four Israeli soldiers. It was some of the worst fighting on Israel's border with Syria in decades.
Israel doesn't want a war with Syria, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has tried to steer clear of the fight between Assad and his opposition. But the conflict is expanding anyway.
"I think we can already consider now that the Israeli-Syria border is back, is a conflict border once again," Middle East expert Jonathan Spyer, with the Gloria Institute, said.
"And what we're going to see I think as in common with Israel's other conflict borders -- for example vis-a-vis the Hamas statelet -- is that we will have periodic rounds of violence in which the Hezbollah or the Assad regime or whoever it is or perhaps in other sectors of the border the Sunni jihadists on the rebel side will try and redress the balance against Israel," he explained.
Muslim rebel groups, some backed by al Qaeda, are gaining ground near the Turkish border. Recently, they entered a deserted Armenian Christian town.
"Victory from God, we shall soon conquer!" they shouted.
A short time later, they gained their first foothold on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, Israel has been treating Syrians injured in the fighting.
WATCH: Syrian civil war expands to Israel and Turkey.
In February, Netanyahu visited a field hospital and met with some of the Syrian wounded. He also pointed to Iran as Assad's chief sponsor in the widening war.
"Who is supplying these bombs? Who's supplying these weapons? Iran. Who's giving the instructions? Iran. Who's giving the backing for this butchery? Iran," the prime minister said.
Middle East analysts like Spyer warn an Assad victory in Syria is a victory for Iran.
"This would be an enormous victory for the Iran-led regional block. It would mean Iran then conclusively established of a single pro-Iranian block stretching effectively from western Afghanistan from the Iranian-Afghan border all the way to Mediterranean Sea," Spyer said. "This would be an immense victory for the Iranians, and therefore, an immense defeat for the U.S. interests, which sees, or at least ought to see -- I'm not quite sure if the U.S. does right now see it this way -- but ought to see the Iranian regional block as the most potent and powerful challenge to Western interests and Western allies in the Middle East," he warned. - CBN.
March 26, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - The Arab League has refused to recognize Israel as a Jewish state,
backing Palestine’s stance on the issue. The demand by Israel threatened
to destabilize US-Palestinian peace talks, according to Arab leaders.
Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khaled al-Sabah (R) and
Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil al-Araby
(L) speak to the
Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah during the 25th
Arab League summit at Bayan
palace in Kuwait City on March 26, 2014 (AFP
Photo / Yasser Al-Zayyat)
“We express our total rejection of the call to consider Israel as a Jewish state,” said the declaration, issued at the close of the two-day long meeting which has been taking place in Kuwait City. The leaders also criticized “the continuation of settlements, Judaization of Jerusalem and attacks in its Muslim and Christian shrines and changing its demographics and geography.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the necessity for Israel to be recognized as a Jewish state is at the forefront of the peace talks. He states that both Palestinian Arab dismissals of the plans are the “root of the conflict”.
Palestinians recognized Israel at the beginning of the peace talks some two decades ago. However, Netanyahu wants the Palestinian Authority to recognize Israel as a “national homeland” – a move which would obliterate the right of return for Palestinians.
The problem is considered closely connected to the fate of Palestinian refugees who were forced from their homelands in 1948, and they regard Netanyahu’s demands as a means by which to address the question of Palestinian internally displaced persons.
The Palestinian Solidarity Committee-Seattle claims that the international community "has already recognized the Palestinian right of return. There is no reason that this right should not be fully recognized by the State of Israel.”
Their right of return, they argue, is entrenched in both the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 13, 2) and The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Article 1, C).
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the summit Tuesday that during the previous eight months of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, Israel has only been working to throw obstacles in the way of peace.
Netanyahu told visiting world leaders in January:
“The root of the conflict is not the settlements. The root of the conflict is not and has never been the lack of a Palestinian state. The root of the conflict is the consistent refusal to accept the existence of an independent nation state for the Jewish people.”
Arab League leaders rejected the recognition of the Jewish State earlier this month in a statement in Cairo.
"The council of the Arab League confirms its support for the Palestinian leadership in its effort to end the Israeli occupation over Palestinian lands, and emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state,” Arab foreign ministers said.
The US has already requested that Abbas make the move of recognition as a framework agreement is negotiated.
“In recognizing the Jewish state [the Palestinians] would finally make clear that you are truly prepared to end the conflict,” Netanyahu stated in a concurrent speech to the pro-Israel AIPAC lobby.
Abbas has been clear in stating that he will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state. - RT.
Hamas PM Haniya Extols Martyrdom, Vows To Rock Tel Aviv With Suicide Bombers
At a rally held on March 23, 2014 in Gaza to mark the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Sheik Ahmad Yassin, Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya said: "We yearn for martyrdom for the same goal for which our leaders died, just as the others love their seats of power." Haniya cried: "Out of the ruins, we shall rock Tel Aviv," and the crowds responded with chants of "Strike, strike Tel Aviv."
Following are excerpts from the speech, which was broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV. Ismail Haniya: From paralysis, Hamas will set out on its path.
From weakness, the giant Al-Qassam [Brigades] will arise. Out of
hunger, we shall create steadfastness, perseverance, and defiance. Out
of pain, we shall weave the fabric of hope.
Out of deprivation, we shall establish the balance of terror. Out of the ruins, we shall rock Tel Aviv.
We our bare hands, we shall dig into the rock and do the impossible.
Man: Allah Akbar. All praise to Allah.
Crowds: Allah Akbar. All praise to Allah.
Man: March on, oh Hamas.
Crowds: March on, oh Hamas.
Man: March on, oh Hamas.
Crowds: March on, oh Hamas.
Man: You are the cannon, and we the cannonballs.
Crowds: You are the cannon, and we the cannonballs.
Man: Oh beloved Qassam fighter...
Crowds: Oh beloved Qassam fighter...
Man: Strike, strike Tel Aviv.
Crowds: Strike, strike Tel Aviv.
[...]
Ismail Haniya: All the decision-makers within Palestine and
abroad must understand the message conveyed by this rally: Yes, we are a
people that yearn for death, just as our enemies yearn for life. We
yearn for martyrdom for the same goal for which our leaders died, just
as the others love their seats of power.
We do not seek jobs or positions. I say to them: Take your jobs and
seats of power, and leave us the homeland. Leave us the homeland.
March 25, 2014 - ISRAEL - Employees of Israel's Foreign Ministry went on an all-out strike
Sunday for the first time in the country’s history over a dispute
surrounding workers' salaries and conditions.
The dispute has been going on for nearly two years. Seven months of negotiations ended on March 4, when workers rejected a proposal by the Finance Ministry.
Israeli ambassadors abroad will not go to work, no consular services will be available, and Israel will not be represented at any international gatherings during the strike. Even the Foreign Ministry’s political leadership and management will be locked out.
The strike is indefinite and will affect everyone, including employers bringing foreign workers to Israel for work, immigrants, and anyone who wants to travel to Israel – including foreign dignitaries.
“Today, for the first time in Israel’s history, the foreign ministry will be closed and no work will be done in any sphere under the ministry’s authority,” a statement by the ministry's workers' committee reads.
It added that the strike would be “open ended” because of the “employment conditions for Israeli diplomats and because of the draconian decision by the Treasury to cut workers’ salaries.”
A number of visits have already been canceled or put on hold, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s planned trip to Mexico, Panama, and Colombia next month, as well as Pope Francis’ planned visit to Israel in May.
Avigdor Lieberman said the worker’s committee has “lost its head” in what was a “miserable decision.”
“This move has no benefit, and will only cause more damage to the ministry’s workers. I’m sorry that these irresponsible steps will come at the expense of the country’s citizens,” he said.
The diplomats are demanding an increase in their monthly salaries and want compensation for their spouses who have to quit jobs because of foreign postings. They say that one-third of Israeli diplomats have already quit over the past 10 years because of low salaries.
“The Treasury is determined to destroy the foreign ministry and Israeli diplomacy,” said Yacov Livne, a spokesman for the Israeli diplomats' union.
Yair Frommer, the head of the worker's committee, implied that the Treasury does not value the crucial work that diplomats do.
He said the Treasury will not be able to “prevent boycotts of Israel, will not foster business transactions that yield huge economic benefits and will not raise our voices at the UN Security Council.” - RT.
March 22, 2014 - MIDDLE EAST - Back in 2013 it was Syria where the world was gearing for imminent
military action after a relentless series of false flag provocations by
the United States (intent on securing a Qatar gas pipeline to Europe)
which in the last minute was deftly diffused by Vladimir Putin.
In 2014,
it was the Ukraine's turn, and after a prolonged campaign orchestrated by Victoria Nuland and
the US State Department (again) which succeeded in the now traditional
violent coup (see Egypt and Libya), once again saw Putin victorious,
after yesterday's annexation of the all important Crimean peninsula,
achieved without the firing of one shot. So now that Putin has succeeded
in trouncing the US twice in a row, it is time to poke some old,
well-known geopolitical wounds, such as Iran. And who better to do it
than Israel, where as Haaretz reports, "Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon have
ordered the army to continue preparing for a possible military strike on
Iran’s nuclear facilities at a cost of at least 10 billion shekels
($2.89 billion) this year, despite the talks between Iran and the West, according to recent statements by senior military officers."
To be sure there is a tangible benefit for all those involved: moar war means more military spending means more "broken windows" means more "GDP."
Three Knesset members who were present at Knesset joint committee
hearings on Israel Defense Forces plans that were held in January and
February say they learned during the hearings that 10 billion shekels to
12 billion shekels of the defense budget would be allocated this year
for preparations for a strike on Iran, approximately the same amount
that was allocated in 2013.
Yet unlike the US where warmongering has become an art, if not a science, in Israel these things are taken far more seriously:
The IDF representatives said the army had received a clear directive
from government officials from the political echelon – meaning Netanyahu
and Ya’alon – to continue readying for a possible independent strike by
Israel on the Iranian nuclear sites, regardless of the talks now
happening between Iran and the West, the three MKs said.
As for the diplomatic cover for a potential attack, it is well-known,
and the same one used for the past 3 years - attack Iran before it can
nuke Israel and obliterate it from the face of the earth.
Ever since the interim accord between Iran and the six powers was
reached, Netanyahu has stressed that Israel will not consider itself
bound by it. In the last few weeks, as talks on a permanent accord have
resumed, Netanyahu has upped his rhetoric on the Iranian issue, and is
again making implied threats about a possible unilateral Israeli strike
on the Iranian nuclear sites.
“My friends, I believe that letting Iran enrich uranium would open up
the floodgates,” Netanyahu said at the AIPAC conference earlier this
month. “That must not happen. And we will make sure it does not happen.”
Ironically, this time Israel may see pushback from none other than
the US itself, which mysteriously over the past 6 months has transformed
itself from Iran's most hated enemy to a willing partner who sees Iran
as nothing short of a frontier market (not to mention source of natural
resources).
However, the US too realizes that it needs "military outs" with
Ukraine seemingly diffused for the time being. Which is why yesterday, a
few hours after Russia peacefully annexed Crimea, the US made its
feeble response known, when it suspended operations of the Syrian
Embassy in Washington and its consulates and told diplomats and staff
who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents to leave the country.
The justification of this oddly timed move came from the U.S. special
envoy for Syria Daniel Rubinstein who said that Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad had refused to step down and was responsible for atrocities
against Syrians.
"We have determined it is unacceptable for individuals appointed by
that regime to conduct diplomatic or consular operations in the United
States," said Rubinstein, whose appointment was announced by the State
Department on Monday.
"Consequently, the United States notified the Syrian government today
that it must immediately suspend operations of its embassy in
Washington, D.C., and its honorary consulates in Troy, Michigan, and
Houston, Texas," he said in a statement.
In other words, the US tried to impose its "moral superiority" codex
on yet another country, which for all intents and purposes was a proxy
of Russian strength in the middle east, i.e., punish the Kremlin by
kicking out Syria. Surely Putin was in tears.
The only problem is that it is now beyond obvious to virtually
everyone in the world that the framework of Pax Americana is only
applicable to the increasingly self-deluded United States, and of course
the Group of 7 most insolvent nations, whose debt ponzi schemes are
ever more reliant on a centrally planned regime of low interest rates
and free money. For everyone else it is now just as obvious that when
provoked, the best the US can do is simply impose some sanctions, and
shut down embassies... while it prints trillions of dollars in "paper
wealth" each year of course. - Zero Hedge.
