For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:06 PM | Permalink

Yesterday Jews around the world fasted to morn the destruction of the Temple twice on this day.

As hunger and thirst was pressing in on my mind since where I was was over 100 degrees and no air conditioning, I needed something to take my mind off the heat and thirst.

I watched an Arab documentary on Leila Khaled the Palestinian woman terrorist who twice hijacked aircraft and today is living out her life fighting for the Palestinian cause in Amman Jordan.

The woman who made the fill is a "palestinian" that was born and raised in Sweden.

I was struck by the dedication of Khaled and the other terrorist that were featured in this documentary.

I was then outraged that Israel has let so many terrorist die of old age, George Habash AKA al-Hakim the wise doctor who was the founder of the PFLP Popular Front For the Liberation of Palestine died last year not from Israeli actions but of old age.

I could not help but wonder since Israel became powerful enough to finish the job with the Palestinians why we have not done so. We allow terrorist to live normal lives in Syria, Jordan, Judea and Samaria and Gaza.

When was the last time you heard that Israel has eliminated a terrorist?

Does this go back to the deal that Israeli leaders made with Palestinian leaders if you don't target our leadership we will not target yours.

Abu Jihad was killed because he planned an attack to murder then Defense Minister Rabin during the first intifada because Rabin ordered soldiers to break the bones of the rock throwing Arabs. The terrorist attacked from the sea and only made it as far as the beach and then gave up, so the attack was not successful.

My question is do we really deserve Israel if we are willing to ignore past attacks on the Jewish people and our leaders cut deals with terrorist and maybe even profit from their relationships with the leadership of the Palestinians which are all 100% terrorist in my book.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:46 AM | Permalink

Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 29, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277924261&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Amid growing efforts to curb the rising numbers of draft dodgers, the IDF
noted on Wednesday a slight increase in motivation among youth to serve in
combat units.

On Sunday, the IDF started the August draft that will continue throughout
next week and send new recruits to almost all IDF field units. The
draft-dodging numbers remained the same with close to 25 percent of youth
born in 1990 not enlisting, some dodging the draft, others due to religious
and medical exemptions.

A total of 71.5% of the youths requested to serve in a combat unit ahead of
the August draft, compared with 67.6% who asked for combat units in the
draft last summer. Sources in the IDF Manpower Division said that the
increase was a result of Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip earlier this
year.

"The youth saw the combat units - infantry, armored, engineering and
artillery - in action during the Gaza operation," one source said. "This
contributes to the draw to these units."

The biggest surprise of the draft was the Artillery Corps which succeeded in
doubling requests to serve in its units. In 2008, there were 0.6 recruits
competing for each spot. In this week's draft, there was one recruit for
every spot. The Armored Corps also noted a sharp increase with 0.9 recruits
competing for each spot in comparison to 0.4 in 2008.

In the infantry brigades, Golani was in first place with 4.8 recruits
competing for every available spot. Givati overtook Nahal for the first time
in history with four recruits competing for every spot in comparison to 2.5
in Nahal. The Kfir Brigade lagged far behind with 1.7 recruits.

Givati's high showing was the result, sources in the brigade said, of the
unprecedented exposure it received during Operation Cast Lead. Then, under
the command of Col. Ilan Malka, the Givati Brigade took over two 15-story
buildings in search of Hamas operatives in the Tel el-Hawa neighborhood in
Gaza City.

The operation was the deepest push the IDF made into Gaza City and put
soldiers just 500 meters away from the home of senior Hamas leader Mahmoud
Zahar. During the raid, troops from the Givati Reconnaissance Battalion
killed over 40 Palestinian gunmen.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 08:50 PM | Permalink

PM to Jones: Gaza crossings to remain shut until Schalit free Jul. 29, 2009 Herb Keinon , THE JERUSALEM POST

Israel will continue to keep the crossings to Gaza closed, except for humanitarian aid, until the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told US National Security Adviser Jim Jones on Wednesday.

A decision by Defense Minister Ehud Barak earlier in the day to allow the shipment of hundreds of tons of cement into Gaza did not signal a change in policy on the crossings, sources in the Prime Minister's Office said. Rather, the cement was earmarked specifically for three humanitarian projects, including a sewage plant under construction in northern Gaza and a flour mill.

In total, the IDF will allow in more than 300 tons of cement.

Israel has been under mounting international pressure since Operation Cast Lead to allow cement and steel into Gaza to rebuild the area. The government has barred the entry of these materials out of concern they would be used to rebuild Hamas's terrorist infrastructure.

Defense officials stressed that the supplies would be transferred directly to the United Nations and other international organizations and not to Hamas.

Sources in Netanyahu's office said that while the prime minister wasn't directly involved in the decision, he supported it as a humanitarian measure.

Israel will also allow in metal pipes and monthly shipments of cash to be used to pay government salaries.

Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Amos Gilad gave his approval for the transfer several weeks ago.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office termed Netanyahu's meeting with Jones as "effective."

The talks, according to Israeli officials, dealt with a wide range of issues, from the diplomatic process with the Palestinians, to Iran and bilateral strategic issues.

I know that we could bring the terrorist threat down in Israel 99.99% after as little as six weeks work in the field if Israel took the gloves off.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:39 PM | Permalink

Protestor shot by Border Guard officer in Bil'in awarded damages

Limor Goldstein, who suffered debilitating head injury during 2006 anti-security fence rally in Ramallah adjacent village, awarded NIS 3.25 million restitution as part of settlement with State
Yael Levy

Three years after being shot by a Border Guard officer during an anti-security fence rally in the West Bank village of Bil'in, Limor Goldstein was awarded damages in the amount of NIS 3.25 million (about $860,000).

The case dates back to August 2006: Goldstein, an attorney, was taking part in a rally in the Ramallah adjacent village. A riot broke out, and while security forces were trying to control the scene, a Border Guard officer fired three rounds of rubber-coated bullets in Goldstein's direction. One of the bullets hit him, causing a severe head injury.

According to his statement of claim, the officers on the scene refused to call for medical assistance, despite his grave injuries. The entire incident was captured on video (view discretion is advised).

Goldstein's injuries resulted in brain damage and he sued the State, as was awarded damages as part of a State settlement, validated by the court.

"It was a non-violent rally, and the Border Guard officers were the ones to use violence by firing rubber bullets," Attorney Bishara Jabali, representing Goldstein, told Ynet. "The fact that the State agreed to pay damages without admitting liability proves that the security forces' actions were inappropriate."

Goldstein, added Jabali, frequented Friday protest rallies in Bil'in as a way to exercise his democratic right. "He paid a very high price for it… the footage showed exactly how security forces treat the protestors."

Martin Fox, the officer who fired at Goldstein, was charged with aggravated assault shortly after the incident. A subsequent petition asked the High Court to order the police to hold an inquiry into the conduct of the force's commander as well.

Goldstein said that the case in not finished and that he is still waiting for the criminal proceedings against Fox to end, as well as for the High Court decision in the case.

Goldstein deserves prison and Fox a medal.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:14 PM | Permalink

RAMALLAH, July 27, 2009 (WAFA- PLO news agency)- WAFA News Agency’s
Political Editor wrote, today:

“The Judaism of State, or People, or Land is a synonym of the black
nightmare of Racism. It is a war waged on us; a new war aimed at eradicating
Palestinians, with slogans first, then by practice. Such a practice is the
most dangerous in this land’s history; Exile, or ‘Transfer’ and eliminating
everything related to Arabism of this homeland, which has witnesses years of
organized transfer of its people.”

“We are still under occupation; we are still ruled, in every aspect of life:
livelihoods, sovereignty, and decision.”

“Judaism of State is clear in its objectives, even implementation and
application. It means eliminating 20% of the Jewish entity’s citizens; Arabs
and Palestinians. It probably means forcing them out; transferring them.”

“In terms of all this, should we expect that they are deliberately trying to
violate the inalienable right of return, considered a priority on the
negotiations agenda, by the United Nations and its Security Council?”

“Judaism of State endangers not only Palestinians, but also the Arab World,
and the global security. It is a call for legitimizing a racist entity,
built on pure ethnic and theocratic criteria. Would the world allow a
theocratic entity to inherit obsolete racist values?”

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:29 PM | Permalink

Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 27, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277897343&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

In the face of Hizbullah's heavy deployment inside southern Lebanese
villages, the IDF is creating a new training regimen for infantry troops to
prepare them for a combination of urban and guerrilla warfare by building
special training centers in military bases across the country.

Shortly after the Second Lebanon War in 2006, the IDF built a replica of a
Hizbullah "nature reserve" - a forested area where the group had dug bunkers
and deployed rocket launchers - to train IDF troops. Now, the IDF is
building an urban warfare center - consisting of a mock Lebanese village -
which it plans to connect to the replica of the nature reserve.

"Hizbullah has created most of its positions inside homes in southern
Lebanon," explained a senior IDF officer last week, adding that an example
of this had been demonstrated two weeks ago with the accidental explosion of
a Hizbullah rocket cache inside a home in the village of Khirbet Selm.

The home, the IDF later revealed, was also connected to an underground
series of tunnels that led to additional positions in nature reserves.

In footage taken several months before the explosion, an IDF aircraft caught
several senior Hizbullah operatives entering an underground tunnel near the
house and reappearing from an exit 700 meters away.

"During the Second Lebanon War, our biggest challenges were the nature
reserves that Hizbullah had created in the open," the officer said. "Now,
the challenge will be to fight against Hizbullah in an urban setting and
then to move through the tunnels into the forest."

In order to meet the operational challenge, the IDF is creating special
training centers like the one at Elyakim, which combine urban and guerrilla
warfare. In the coming months, the IDF will begin construction of a similar
center at the Lachish training base, near Beit Shemesh.

In addition to constructing the new training facilities, the IDF is
purchasing two rubber urban training centers - each consisting of 18
structures - in which soldiers will be allowed to carry out live-fire
exercises. In the current urban training centers, the IDF can only hold
dry-fire exercises, since live fire would generate shrapnel that could
injure the soldiers.

In the new centers, made completely of rubber, the soldiers will be able to
shoot live bullets, since they would be absorbed by the walls. The new
centers also come with built-in camera systems that enable quick examination
of the results of the exercise.

The two rubber centers will be stationed at the Kfir Brigade's training base
in the Jordan Valley and the Golani Brigade's training base near Binyamina.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:33 PM | Permalink

Five youths arrested by Palestinian police after putting on IDF uniform, declaring curfew in village near Bethlehem in attempt to rob houses

Ali Waked
Published: 07.26.09, 22:24 / Israel News

Five Palestinians aged 15 to 17 were arrested Sunday by the Palestinian police on suspicion of posing as Israel Defense Forces and raiding houses in the West Bank village of Marah Rabah, south of Bethlehem.

The police reported that the five youths did not live in the village, but were seized after raising the suspicions of local residents as they entered houses dressed in IDF uniform.

According to the village residents, the five had even tried to declare a curfew on one of the streets before entering a house and searching it. The owner of one of the houses called for help, and managed to hold onto the youths until the Palestinian police arrived.

The suspects were taken in for investigation by the Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence Service.

Although the circumstances of the incident are unclear, a PA security source believes the youths are members of a street gang which sought to rob houses. According to the source, when IDF soldiers raid houses they usually gather all family members in one room and roam freely in the other parts of the house.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:05 PM | Permalink

In his weekly sermon Shas' spiritual leader protests US pressure on Israel to halt settlement construction, says 'Messiah will throw them out'

Kobi Nahshoni
Published: 07.26.09, 16:31 / Israel Jewish Scene

In his weekly sermon Saturday evening, Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef slammed US President Barack Obama and other western leaders for pressuring Israel to freeze construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

"'You can't build here, you can't build there' – it's as if we were their slaves," the rabbi protested. "We are being ruled by slaves," he said," adding that, "Our messiah will come and throw them out."

Rabbi Ovadia also bemoaned the current reality in the Temple Mount, saying: "Where is our temple? There are Arabs there!" He then promised that the messiah "will throw all these evil ones out of here."

Rabbi Ovadia's sermon was mostly dedicated to the customs of the Fast of Tisha B'Av, which will be marked on Thursday. He stressed that reading the newspaper was forbidden on that day, because it was a distraction from the day's mourning. The rabbi stated that taking a walk on Tisha B'Av is prohibited as well.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:03 PM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 01:36 PM | Permalink

Evacuated settlers sue IDF commanders for deceitful practice

West Bank outpost Yad Yair dismantled in September 2008. Evacuated settlers
currently suing IDF, Border Guard for damages, not following protocol on
settlement evacuation, saying they were unlawfully tricked into believing
they would not be evacuated. IDF: We reject attempts to threaten our
commanders
Aviad Glickman YNET Published: 07.24.09, 09:28 / Israel News
www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3751539,00.html

Residents of illegal West Bank outpost Yad Yair filed a civil suit against
three senior IDF officers for NIS 290,432 (about $74,600), charging that
they revoked their right for a hearing during the evacuation of the outpost
and unjustly destroyed their property.

The suit was filed with the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court under the council
of Attn. Doron Nir-Zvi against Judea and Samaria Division Commander Brig.
Gen. Noam Tivon, Civil Administration Chief Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, and
Samaria Brigade Commander Colonel Aviv Reshef.

The complainants claim that the destruction of the outpost in September 2008
was carried out without any advance warning and through deceiving the
settlers residing there. Also according to the complainants, the night prior
to the evacuation, residents of nearby settlement, Dolev, noticed a buildup
of the IDF and Border Guard in the area. In a phone call to Colonel Reshef
to clarify the issue, the settlers were told they had nothing to be worried
about and that the forces were operating to halt terrorist activity, and not
to destroy the outpost.

Transcripts of the said phone conversation as well as others were also
submitted along with the suit in which the IDF commanders can allegedly be
heard making all efforts not to abide by the High Court order not to
dismantle the outpost.

The decision to file the suit was made after Deputy Attorney General Shai
Nitzan explained during a discussion in the Knesset Constitution, Law, and
Justice Committee that there are certain legally binding measures that must
be taken if an outpost is to be dismantled.

According to the complainants, the events leading up to the evacuation of
Yad Yair did not fit the description provided by Nitzan in the committee.
Not only was the evacuation carried out by surprise thus violating their
right to a hearing, but the authorities also turned a blind eye on the High
Court decree on the issue.

The evacuated settlers claim in their suit that the evacuation caused damage
to their buildings and property, trees were uprooted, and infrastructure was
intentionally damaged.

The IDF Spokesman Unit has said in response: "The damages claim is unknown
to the IDF. If it is received through accepted channels, the issue will be
checked thoroughly. The IDF rejects all attempts to threaten commanders and
deter them from carrying out their mission as charged upon them by the State
of Israel. Dismantling the illegal building in Yad Yair was carried out with
permission and authority, and no shortcomings were encountered in its
evacuation. Law enforcement officials will continue carrying out their
responsibility to protect law and order."

Following orders didn't work for the Nazi's and it must never work for the IDF.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 10:24 AM | Permalink

Jul. 20, 2009
Khaled Abu Toameh , THE JERUSALEM POST

Jordanian authorities have started revoking the citizenship of thousands of Palestinians living in Jordan to avoid a situation in which they would be "resettled" permanently in the kingdom, Jordanian and Palestinian officials revealed on Monday.

The new measure has increased tensions between Jordanians and Palestinians, who make up around 70 percent of the kingdom's population.

The tensions reached their peak over the weekend when tens of thousands of fans of Jordan's Al-Faisali soccer team chanted slogans condemning Palestinians as traitors and collaborators with Israel. Al-Faisali was playing the rival Wihdat soccer team, made up of Jordanian-Palestinians, in the Jordanian town of Zarqa.

Anti-riot policemen had to interfere to stop the Jordanian fans from lynching the Wihdat team members and their fans, eyewitnesses reported. They said the Jordanian fans of Al-Faisali hurled empty bottles and fireworks at the Palestinian players and their supporters.

Reports in a number of Jordanian newspapers said that the Jordanian fans also chanted anti-Palestinian slogans and cursed Palestine, the PLO, Jerusalem and the Aksa Mosque.

Prince Ali bin Hussein, chairman of Jordan's National Football Association, strongly condemned the racist slurs chanted by the Jordanian fans, saying those responsible would be severely punished.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:38 PM | Permalink

YAAKOV KATZ and HERB KEINON , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 23, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1248277866890&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Amid growing tension between Jerusalem and Washington, the IDF and Defense
Ministry have held brainstorming sessions to discuss the possibility that
the United States would cut military aid to Israel, The Jerusalem Post has
learned.

On Tuesday night, senior Defense Ministry and IDF officers gathered in Tel
Aviv for a discussion on US-Israeli relations, during which they discussed
new Pentagon regulations regarding the way Israel can use the almost $3
billion in military aid it receives from the US.

According to defense officials, the Pentagon informed the Defense Ministry
that the foreign military financing (FMF) needed to be used strictly for
weaponry and defense-related projects. In past years the Pentagon had made
exceptions and allowed the IDF to purchase nonessential items such as covers
for trucks, uniforms and even food for soldiers.

During the discussion, the officials also discussed the possibility that the
US would cut the FMF due to the political tension between the countries or
because of the global financial crisis.

The discussion in the Defense Ministry came just hours before a State
Department spokesman said at a press briefing that it was still "premature"
to talk about financial sanctions against Israel for its refusal to freeze
settlement construction.

Israeli defense officials said it was possible to interpret the remark as
meaning that now it is premature, but that at a later date sanctions might
be realistic.

Israeli diplomatic officials, on the other hand, completely discounted the
likelihood that the current disagreements with the US would lead to punitive
sanctions against Israel.

"This is nonsense,"one official said, responding to the State Department
spokesman's answer to a query on the matter.

"This US Administration believes in dialogue until the bitter end" the
official said. "There is no way that at the same time it wants to engage
with the Iranians, it is going to take sanctions against Israel. It just
doesn't make sense"

The official said there was no concern at this time in the Foreign Ministry
that Washington would use this weapon, especially since its pressure on the
Arab world to take gestures toward Israel is not bearing any fruit, but no
one is talking about potential sanctions against the Arab world for not
positively responding to the US president.

The US has in the past used loan guarantees as a lever to try to alter
Israel's construction policies in the settlements, withholding these
guarantees in the early 1990s, during the wave of Soviet immigration,
because of then-prime minister Yitzhak Shamir's settlement polices.

The US currently subtracts from loan guarantees to Israel money that the
government spends in the settlements.

The FMF is mostly spent in the US on advanced military platforms such as
fighter jets, attack helicopters and missiles.

At the meeting on Tuesday night, officials who were present discussed the
consequences of US financial sanctions but reached the conclusion that while
Israel would have difficulty replacing the $3b. in aid that it receives from
the Americans, it would be able to establish new relations with European
countries from which it could receive military equipment.

One official who was familiar with the discussion said that Israel was
recently approached by France to jointly develop an unmanned fighter jet.
Russia, the official said, has for years been urging Israel to purchase some
of its military platforms.

"We turned down these offers because of our relationship with the US," the
official said. "If that relationship changes we could always renew the
partnership with France and other countries."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:33 PM | Permalink

Bulletin
July 21, 2009 Palestinian Media Watch

Palestinian cleric on PA TV:

"In all of Europe
there weren't 6 million Jews"
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Media Watch:
p:+972 2 625 4140 e: pmw@pmw.org.il
f: +972 2 624 2803 w: www.pmw.org.il

Since "it is known that in all of Europe there weren't 6 million Jews," the
Holocaust should be seen as one more example of Jews' exaggeration of their
sufferings, according to a senior Palestinian religious official. This
latest Palestinian Holocaust denial was expressed by Abd Al-Rahman Abbad,
Secretary General of the [Palestinian] Organization of Clerics and
Disseminators of Islam. This organization is headed by Ikrima Sabri, former
Palestinian Authority Mufti under Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas.

In another repugnant distortion of history, Abbad explained on official
Palestinian Authority TV that Jews possess "an attitude of superiority
towards others"
and therefore Jewish "culture and religion obligate them to have contacts
only among themselves." This, he explained, is the source of the historical
Jewish isolation in ghettos: Jews were not placed in ghettos by others, but
chose to build walls around themselves and live in ghettos to avoid
associating with non-Jews.

This attitude, which he called the Jewish "ghetto mentality," is not just
one Jewish trait among many, but dominates: "The Jewish mindset [is] a
mindset controlled by the [idea of the] ghetto."

President Barak Obama sees a direct connection between Holocaust denial and
Israel's security:

"I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security. Not when there
are still voices that deny the Holocaust. Not when there are terrorist
groups and political leaders committed to Israel's destruction." [AIPAC
Conference, June 4, 2008]

Click here to view interview with Palestinian official
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWlrICrghBY

Click here for examples of 10 years of PA Holocaust denial
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102646296595&s=4998&e=001LyxVSOIKq4y8fAxMWtbGbM1RvAHuFU-34NLQRExlCaFwe15WzrVx7iQeKHLmE-a0OTOapdG4x0dhITTST_Pvot6p-eRZP3aX3ZyqhuoYRyVTUQB3RLURjQP6h16hNF7TG7Yt4WvC3t0=

The following is the transcript of the interview on PA TV:
"[The Israeli separation fence is a symptom of] the Jewish mindset, a
mindset controlled by the [idea of the] ghetto. The ghetto means living in
an isolated neighborhood only for Jews. That's why they cannot live with
other groups because they believe that their culture and religion obligate
them to have contacts only among themselves, based on an attitude of
superiority towards others. That's why they did not live, for example, in
the West, in separate neighborhoods, but lived in what is called "a ghetto."
The ghetto was not forced upon them, as is thought, rather, they were the
ones who forced it upon themselves. This [separation] fence is not just one
fence, there are many fences. Look at the [Israeli] city Lod, for example,
or Ramle. There is no mixing between different population groups who are all
Israeli citizens. There is separation. The reason for this is the Israeli
mentality, the ghetto mentality, the mentality of rejection of 'the other',
and refusal to coexist with him...
[Jews] exaggerate every action that other [nations] do against any Jew in
the world. In this context is the Holocaust issue, which the whole world
still [deals with]. There is a place [in Israel] called "Memorial for
Holocaust and Heroism," which tells of the killing of 6 million Jews, but it
is known that in all of Europe there weren't 6 million Jews."
[PATV (Fatah) July 17, 2009]

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:30 PM | Permalink

Senior Fatah official: We won't recognize Israel Fatah official: Movement to display commitment to armed struggle in upcoming convention Ali Waked YNET Published: 07.22.09, 23:06 / Israel News www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3750930,00.html

As the Fatah movement prepares for its upcoming leadership convention, a
senior group member says the event will be used to display Fatah's
commitment to the armed struggle against Israel.

Preparations for the convention, scheduled for August 4, are in full force
at this time. During a series of preliminary meetings ahead of the event,
senior Fatah official Rafik al-Natsheh said that the group will not be
recognizing Israel.

'We will maintain the resistance option in all its forms and we will not
recognize Israel," he said. "Not only don't we demand that anyone recognize
Israel; we don't recognize Israel ourselves. However, the Palestinian
Authority government is required to do it, or else it will not be able to
serve the Palestinian people."

"I am certain that we will hinder all the traitors who wish to remove the
resistance option from the movement's charter," Natsheh added.

Last week, a senior Egyptian official claimed that tensions within Fatah
ahead of the movement's convention had a negative impact on reconciliation
talks with Hamas. In a conversation with Ynet, the Egyptian source said that
Fatah officials were maintaining tough positions because they fear the
prospect of appearing at the convention with a disputed reconciliation
agreement.

I for one say great if it is war you want it is war you shall get and let's get it on. No holds barred, No Marcus of Queensberry rules just a down and dirty street fight to end it once and for all.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:13 PM | Permalink

Police set up operations unit ahead of outpost evacuation By Anshel Pfeffer and Jonathan Lis Haaretz Last update - 01:42 22/07/2009 www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1102026.html

The police's Shai District, which is responsible for the West Bank, has set
up a special dedicated command to handle preparations for a large-scale
evacuation of illegal settlement outposts.

The government has not yet formally ordered the defense establishment to
start preparations, so the command is not up and running officially.
However, the settlers have already set up their own "counter-command" to
handle resistance to the anticipated evacuations.

The new unit will be headed by Brig. Gen. Amitai Levy, commander of the
Border Police forces in the West Bank. It will follow the model of the
special commands set up in the Gaza Strip and northern West Bank prior to
the evacuation of settlements there during the 2005 disengagement.

Though the command was set up by the police, all police operations in the
West Bank are formally under the authority of the Israel Defense Forces.
Therefore once the government gives the order for preparations to start, any
IDF units involved in the evacuations will presumably be attached to the
command.

The first exercise conducted by the new command took place two weeks ago at
an army base, as reported Tuesday in Haaretz. That exercise, which simulated
the simultaneous evacuation of several outposts, involved three Border
Police companies and various police units - including a team of mounted
policemen and a team from the elite anti-terror unit Yamam - as well as some
army forces, including a team from the IDF Medical Corps.

Even though all police activity in the West Bank takes place under the
auspices of the IDF, and both GOC Central Command Gadi Shamni and Brig. Gen.
Noam Tibon, commander of the IDF forces in the West Bank, observed the
exercise, the army is trying to minimize its involvement in outpost
evacuations. IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi has said publicly and
repeatedly in recent months that he believes policemen should evacuate the
outposts, while soldiers should be responsible only for guarding the
perimeter of the area being evacuated. Dealing with civilians is the job of
the police, Ashkenazi argues, while the army's job is to handle security.

For this reason, the army is unhappy with a plan now being drafted by the
defense establishment for the simultaneous evacuation of all 23 outposts
established after March 2001, which Israel has repeatedly promised
Washington it will dismantle. Since the police do not have enough manpower
to evacuate 23 outposts on their own, this plan would require soldiers to
participate in physically removing the settlers as well.

But the army's concerns do not relate solely to the formal definition of its
mission. Its real fear is that IDF involvement in a new round of large-scale
evacuations would spark a massive wave of refusal to serve on the part of
settlers and their supporters, and perhaps even physical clashes between the
evacuating forces and the soldiers and officers who themselves reside in the
outposts.

Not everyone in Defense Minister Ehud Barak's office is comfortable with
Ashkenazi's stance. "The decisions will be made by the government, and the
army does not choose its own missions," one said.

For the record, however, Barak's office insisted that "The defense minister
and the chief of staff see eye to eye on this issue."

A more technical problem with the simultaneous evacuation plan is that the
army's chances of keeping it secret from the settlers - thus denying the
settlers a chance to mobilize their forces, and thereby minimizing clashes -
are almost nil. The exercise conducted two weeks ago was leaked to the
settlers by border policemen who participated in it, and word of the new
command also quickly made its way to the outposts.

In recent days, West Bank roads have been plastered with signs urging anyone
who observes a suspicious movement of forces or learns of a planned
evacuation to call an outpost hotline that will operate 24 hours a day -
even, thanks to a special permit from Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba, on
Shabbat, when Jewish law normally forbids use of the telephone. Once word of
a planned evacuation is received, settler activists will mobilize thousands
of people to go to the outposts to fight the evacuation, as well as others
who will block roads and engage in other protest activities inside the Green
Line.

In preparation for that day, activists have opted not to exhaust themselves
by clashing with security forces over every minor evacuation of a few
caravans here or there. Instead, they have opted for a "price tag" policy:
attacking Palestinians or their property in retaliation for such
evacuations.

Tuesday, however, settlers of the veteran West Bank settlement of Bat Ayin
did clash with policemen who came to arrest two residents suspected of
disturbing the peace. One settler was lightly injured and another was
arrested.

When will we win the battle of the hearts and minds of the Jewish people that what G-D gave us really belongs to us.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:40 PM | Permalink

21/07/2009 The Palestine Media Center under the direct supervision of PLO Executive Committee Member Mr. Yasser Abed Rabbo www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=2675

The Al Dostour Jordanian newspaper reported that Bassam Abu Sharif, the
former advisor of the late President, Yasser Arafat, revealed new
information regarding the assassination of Arafat.

Abu Sharif said that Arafat was poisoned by Israel, without any help from
any Palestinian party, and slammed the statements of Farouq Qaddoumi, who
claimed that the current president, Mahmoud Abbas, was involved in the death
of Arafat.

Abu Sharif said that the poison was administered to Arafat through his
medications, and added that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad,
replaced Arafat's medications with similar poisoned medications manufactured
in Israel.

He added that while Arafat was besieged by the Israeli army in his Ramallah
headquarters, all medications that he took, and the food and drinks were
brought to him by a Palestinian ambulance, and that the army forcefully held
the driver away from the vehicle for at least 30 minutes while the soldiers
searched it.

Abu Sharif then stated that this incident facilitated Israel's plot to
replace Arafat's medications with poisoned ones.

He also slammed the statements of Fateh's secretary-general, in which he
accused Jordan of arranging the press conference of Farouq Al Qaddoumi, and
defended the nation, adding that Jordan always welcomed the leaders of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization, and always supported the Palestinian
rights.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:38 PM | Permalink

By Akiva Eldar, Barak Ravid and Jack Khoury Haaretz Last update - 04:05
20/07/2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1101353.html

The United States views East Jerusalem as no different than an illegal West
Bank outpost with regard to its demand for a freeze on settlement
construction, American sources have informed both Israel and the Palestinian
Authority.

This clarification came in the context of a growing crisis in U.S.-Israel
relations over the planned construction of some 20 apartments for Jews in
the Shepherd Hotel, in East Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. The U.S.
has demanded that the project be halted, but Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu told the cabinet meeting Sunday that "Israel will not agree to
edicts of this kind in East Jerusalem."

"United Jerusalem is the capital of the Jewish people in the State of
Israel, and our sovereignty over the city is not subject to appeal," he
continued. "Our policy is that Jerusalem residents can purchase apartments
anywhere in the city. This has been the policy of all Israeli governments.
There is no ban on Arabs buying apartments in the west of the city, and
there is no ban on Jews building or buying in the city's east. This is the
policy of an open city."

Saying that Israel could not accept Jews being forbidden to live in anywhere
in Jerusalem, Netanyahu added: "I can imagine what would happen if someone
proposed that Jews could not live or buy in certain neighborhoods of London,
New York, Paris or Rome. A huge international outcry would surely ensue. It
is even more impossible to agree to such an edict in East Jerusalem."

Asked to comment on these remarks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
who was in New Delhi, said the administration is trying to reach an
agreement with Israel on settlements, and "the negotiations are intense,"
the Associated Press reported.

Later Sunday, Netanyahu met with his advisors to discuss Israel's response
to Washington's demand.

"I was surprised by the American demand," a source present at the meeting
quoted him as saying. "In my conversation with [U.S. President Barack] Obama
in Washington, I told him I could not accept any restrictions on our
sovereignty in Jerusalem. I told him Jerusalem is not a settlement, and
there is nothing to discuss about a freeze there."

"In my previous term [as premier], I built thousands of apartments in the
Har Homa neighborhood of Jerusalem, defying the entire world," Netanyahu
added. "Therefore, it is clear that I will not capitulate in this case -
especially when we are talking about a mere 20 apartments."

Other ministers also criticized the American stance at the cabinet meeting.
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, for instance, termed it "puzzling,"
while Interior Minister and Shas Chairman Eli Yishai declared that "no
agency in the world can stop construction in Jerusalem."

And Shin Bet security service chief Yuval Diskin told the ministers that the
PA and its security services are engaged in widespread efforts to keep
Palestinians from selling land in Jerusalem to Jews. He also said that
Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi of Qatar has allocated $21 million to Hamas activists
to buy buildings and establish infrastructure in Jerusalem.

Washington's objections to the Shepherd Hotel project were first voiced by
senior State Department officials at a meeting with Israeli Ambassador
Michael Oren last Thursday, in response to a request by PA President Mahmoud
Abbas. The officials complained that the construction would change the
neighborhood's demographic balance and harm its Palestinian residents.

Oren responded that the land in question was privately owned, having been
purchased in 1985 by American Jewish tycoon Irving Moskowitz, and the
project has received all the necessary permits from the Jerusalem
municipality.

Also Sunday, Abbas' bureau chief, Rafiq Husseini, said he hoped the U.S.
would not back down on its demand for a complete settlement freeze,
including in East Jerusalem.

In an interview with the Nazareth-based radio station A-Shams, Husseini
said, "from our standpoint, there is no room for a compromise [on this
issue], and we expect the American administration to stick to the determined
stance that envoy [George] Mitchell expressed as far back as 2001. Any
compromise that enables continued construction ... will do nothing
whatsoever to advance the diplomatic process."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:14 PM | Permalink

Sunday, July 19, 2009

PMO blasts Erekat-Mottaki meeting
herb keinon and jpost.com staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 19, 2009

www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443849816&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

The Prime Minister's Office blasted top Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat
for a meeting he held with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki,
saying it stands in stark contrast to the Palestinian refusal to negotiate
with the Netanyahu government.

"The Palestinian side has refused to allow the resumption of peace talks by
placing pre-conditions on such a resumption," said Prime Minister Binyamin
Netanyahu's spokesman Mark Regev, referring to the Palestinian demand that
Israel declare a total settlement freeze and accept a two-state solution
before negotiations can be renewed.

"It appears, however, that they have no qualms and place no pre-conditions
upon dialogue with the most extreme and violent enemies of peace."

Erekat earlier on Sunday played down the recent meeting with Mottaki in
Sharm el-Sheikh, wondering what all the fuss was about.

"We saw each other, it was just a regular meeting," he told Israel Radio,
laughing off a suggestion that there was "normalization between Fatah and
Iran."

He said he was dismayed that "two people shaking hands and meeting for 10 or
15 minutes," had hit the headlines.

"After all," he continued, "it's not the first time; it's not something
new," noting that the two had met recently in Davos and Riyadh.

A senior Palestinian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had told
AFP on Sunday that the Erekat-Mottaki meeting took place three days ago, and
claimed that it was the first high-level meeting between the Palestinian
Authority and Iran since the PA was established in 1994.

"They discussed the internal Palestinians situation and the need for
successful negotiations between Hamas and Fatah," he said.

The two also discussed "the need for a balance between Fatah and Hamas, the
need for support of dialogue [between the two groups]... regional conditions
and how to strike a balance in support between Hamas and Fatah," he
continued.

Meanwhile, Egypt has set August 25 as a new deadline for a power-sharing
deal between Hamas and Fatah.

Senior Fatah official Azzam al-Ahmed said Sunday that Egyptian mediators
will hold separate talks with both sides in coming

Nothing more, nothing less.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 08:21 PM | Permalink

By DPA Last update - 00:30 01/01/2009
www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1101004.html

Egyptian police seized half a ton of explosives in a cemetery in the town of
Rafah, an Egyptian security official said on Saturday.

Police discovered eight large plastic bags full of TNT in the Maqronatien
cemetery in the divided town of Rafah, which is bisected by Egypt's border
with the Gaza Strip, a source in Egypt's Interior Ministry said, requesting
anonymity.

Tanks shells and ammunition left over from the 1967 and 1973 wars with
Israel were also found in the cache, he said.

Egyptian security officers also discovered 10 mortar rounds and a horde of
ammunition of different calibers buried in a trash bag in a warehouse in
Rafah, the source said, adding that police were investigating, but had not
yet made arrests in connection with the find.

Egypt has been under consistent international pressure, particularly from
the United States and Israel, to curtail weapons smuggling across its border
with the Gaza Strip.

Last week, four Palestinians were injured when a smuggling tunnel they were
building under the border collapsed, suffocating them, Palestinian medics
said.

Palestinian security officials said the tunnelers had apparently been
working to replace smuggling tunnels Egyptian police had recently destroyed.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 10:04 AM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:45 PM | Permalink

Press TV (Iran)Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:21:43 GMT
www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=100784§ionid=351020202

The Viva Palestina humanitarian convoy enters the Gaza Strip, breaking the
deadly Israeli blockade imposed on 1.5 million Palestinians for a second
time.

The American aid convoy carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of
supplies for the people of Gaza crossed the Rafah border on Wednesday upon
receiving permission from Cairo after a 10-day delay.

The 200 activists are allowed to stay in the coastal territory only for 24
hours, a Press TV correspondent reported.

Viva Palestina activists, all Americans, including Charles Barron, a New
York City Councilman, say that they have been stranded on the Egyptian side
of the Rafah crossing for about 10 days despite earlier arrangements.

The humanitarian aid convoy consisting of 50 vehicles is the second
organized by British Member of Parliament and Press TV presenter George
Galloway.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 02:42 PM | Permalink

Qassam rocket explodes in open area Thursday evening, no injuries reported in attack

Shmulik Hadad
Published: 07.16.09, 20:20 / Israel News

Rockets are back? Palestinian terrorists fired a Qassam rocket from the northern Gaza Strip Thursday evening. The rocket landed in an open area in southern Israel.

No injuries or damages were reported in the attack.

Southern residents reported hearing a loud explosion a short while after the Color Red alert system was activated.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 10:53 AM | Permalink

German intel denies Iran nuclear report
benny weinthal, jerusalem post correspondent in BERLIN , THE JERUSALEM POST
Jul. 15, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443818905&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

BERLIN - Iran has the ability to build and test a nuclear weapon within six
months, the Stern newsweekly's online edition on Wednesday quoted an
unidentified agent at Germany's foreign intelligence service (BND) as
saying.

"If they wanted to, they could detonate an atomic bomb in a half a year's
time," a BND official said, according to the report. Agency experts told the
magazine Iran could test a device underground, as North Korea has done.

While federal court decisions in January and May involving illegal
German-Iranian trade with respect to Teheran's nuclear weapons program cited
BND expert opinions saying the Islamic republic has an active nuclear
weapons program, the Stern article highlighted the accelerated pace of
Iran's efforts to become a nuclear power.

"No one would have believed it a few years ago," a BND expert told the
magazine.

But there appears to be conflicting reports from BND officials. A BND
spokesman told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that "we are not talking
about months, but years."

He said a six-month threshold is a "shortened" period that does not
correspond with the BND's assessment of Teheran's atomic bomb program. The
spokesman added that Iran could reach nuclear weapons capability within a
"four-to-seven-year" period.

Asked if the BND is cooperating with Israeli intelligence, the spokesman
declined to comment. According to observers, Germany's longstanding business
and political relations with the Islamic republic provide intelligence
gathering opportunities.

However, the Stern report said mid-level German firms are supplying Iran
with technology and components to build ballistic missiles, and that Iran is
intensively building missiles that can be armed with nuclear warheads.
According to the newsweekly, German companies are working with Said Mohammad
Hosseinian, who is coordinating Iran's efforts to acquire components that it
cannot purchase legally.

The federal republic conducted roughly EURO 4 billion in commerce with Iran
in 2008, and is its largest European Union trade partner. Germany has faced
criticism for its lax export control system, and its refusal to crack down
on the flourishing trade relationship with Iran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a June 5 report that Iran's
stockpile of low-enriched uranium had jumped 33 percent since a report by
the UN agency on February 19, which had showed a 20% increase over the
previous quarter. Iran had also installed 31% more centrifuges for enriching
uranium, bringing the total to 7,221.

Bloomberg contributed to this report.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 10:13 AM | Permalink

Published today (updated) 15/07/2009 16:43
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=212107

Al-Jazeera is the news network of choice for Palestinians

Bethlehem - Ma'an - The Palestinian Authority (PA) decided on Wednesday to
sue the popular Qatar-based satellite channel Al-Jazeera station and shut
down its operation in the West Bank, accusing them of "incitement and false
information."

The Palestinian Information Ministry said in a statement, "Al-Jazeera has
always dedicated a wide portion of its broadcasts to incitement against the
Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority. Despite
repeated requests to be impartial in its coverage of Palestinian affairs,
the station continued to incite against the PLO and the PA. The latest false
news was aired yesterday."

At the same time, the PA stated a commitment to freedom of the press in
Palestine. "We expect all media outlets operating in Palestine to go about
their work in a way that does not contradict the Palestinian national
interest and rule of law," the statement read.

For its part, Al-Jazeera expressed astonishment at the PA decision.

Responding to the decision, the Palestinian Media Forum (PMF) called on
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to reverse the decision describing it as
restricting freedom of press.

"The Palestinian information ministry should honor Al-Jazeera teams for
their efforts in exposing Israeli crimes in the Palestinian territories
rather than shutting down its offices just as Israel did before," a
statement by the PMF said.

The statement pointed out that Al-Jazeera was the only station to expose
"the false democracy which some Arab countries claim."

The closure of Al-Jazeera offices, the PMF asserted, was a political
decision which has nothing to do with the professional performance of
Al-Jazeera teams.

There is speculation that the suit is related to comments aired by the
station on Tuesday by senior Fatah member Farouq Qaddoumi, who accused
President Abbas of involvement in an alleged plot to kill Yasser Arafat.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 09:32 AM | Permalink

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Published today (updated) 15/07/2009 15:12
www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=212141

Bethlehem - Ma'an - Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak has approved the
transfer of 2,600 calves from Israel into the besieged Gaza Strip ahead of
the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

According to Israel Radio, Barak made the decision after meeting with
Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon

The head of the defense ministry's military-political bureau, Amos Gilad,
had previously rejected a shipment of cows to Gaza, angering Israeli cattle
ranchers, who said that the decision would result in millions of shekels of
lost potential revenue.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 09:31 AM | Permalink

July 14, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Morton A. Klein
Phone: 212-481-1500
ZOA

For annotated version:
www.zoa.org/sitedocuments/pressrelease_view.asp?pressreleaseID=1666

"Refugees" - owed $140 billion

Palestinian Authority (PA) senior official and head of its negotiations
department, Saeb Erekat, has said in a detailed interview with an Arabic
newspaper that no Jews should be permitted to stay in a Palestinian state,
that Palestinians have an "absolute right" to the eastern half of Jerusalem
and that, as Israel's negotiating positions have weakened and been
concessionary over the years, the Palestinians should agree to nothing now
and allow Israel to concede still more.

Erekat's remarks in an interview with Jordanian daily, Al-Dustour:

· "[Likewise], nobody should agree to Israeli settlers remaining in
the Palestinian [state]. We must not compare a Palestinian [whose family]
lived in Palestine [long] before Netanyahu or his forefathers arrived, and
who is still living there, to a settler who is living on Palestinian soil
[and maintaining his presence there through] coercion, oppression and
unacceptable [use of] force. We must not talk of land swap before we
establish our sovereignty in practice...

· "We have an absolute right to east Jerusalem. We cannot not listen
to the voices that ask who will run Al-Aqsa. We revere and sanctify the
Al-Aqsa mosque, as well as the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, but they are no
different from Rafah, Jericho, and the refugee camp of Aqbat Jabr. All these
places were occupied by Israel, and I must not distinguish between them. No
one should say that Al-Aqsa must be managed by a 'Muslim' or 'Arab,' [rather
than by a Palestinian].

· "Many people say that the [Israeli-Palestinian] negotiations of the
last 10 or 15 years were useless and yielded nothing, but [that is not
true]. In 1994 [i.e. during the Oslo negotiations] the Palestinian side
could have capitulated and gained an achievement within one month. [That
is,] we could have agreed to undertake the management of the education and
health [systems] in the West Bank. [Likewise] Yasser Arafat could have
accepted what was offered him at Camp David [in 2000], instead of [letting
himself] be besieged in the Muqata'a and then murdered for no reason.
President Mahmoud 'Abbas could have accepted [Olmert's] December 2008
proposal, [but he preferred to wait] ... [Some ask] where the negotiations
with the Israeli side have brought us. First [the Israelis] said we would
[only have the right to] run our own schools and hospitals. Then they
consented to give us 66% [of the occupied territories]. "At Camp David they
offered 90%, and [recently] they offered 100%. So why should we hurry, after
the all the injustice we have suffered? The agreement will not be stable
anyway, unless it is based on international law and on justice."

· "The problem of the [Palestinian] refugees is not the result of a
volcano [eruption], earthquake, or flood. Someone caused it. Before we talk
of international law, we must pinpoint the element responsible, and Israel
must acknowledge this responsibility. The Palestinian decision makers do not
have the right to decide the fate of the refugees; only the refugee himself
can decide his own fate. It is not up to the international [community]
either. It is the refugee who has the right to choose whether to return to
Israel, return to Palestine, or remain where he is - and in all of these
cases [he is entitled to] compensation. It is not the Right of Return or
compensation; it's the Right of Return and compensation. Should Israel
acknowledge its responsibility, and should the world want to resolve the
conflict, there would be a need to establish an international mechanism to
bear the cost. I estimate that we are talking about $140 billion."

· "We do not see Iran as posing a threat to us. Iran is a country in
the region with whom we [sometimes] disagree and [sometimes] agree. I want
Iran to stand by the Palestinians and support the Palestinian cause without
favoring one side [i.e. Hamas] over the other [i.e. the PLO/Fatah]. But Iran
does not pose a threat to the region; that is an invention used by
Netanyahu to convince the world."

· "Obama must launch his initiative for reviving the peace [process]
as soon as possible, for otherwise the region will be driven into an abyss
of violence, chaos, and extremism, and that is a serious problem that must
be addressed..." ('MEMRI: Saeb Ereqat: Over the Years, Israel Has Gradually
Withdrawn from Its Positions; Therefore, We Have No Reason to Hurry,' Middle
East media Research Institute (MEMRI), July 13, 2009).

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, "Saeb Erekat has demonstrated
in detail that the PA remains opposed to Israel's right to exist as a Jewish
state. He has provided further proof -though none is needed - to show that
the PA demand that Judea, Samaria and eastern Jerusalem become judenrein is
official Palestinian policy. Conversely, he has shown that the PA's Salaam
Fayyad's recent words in English to an American audience which implied that
Jews would be allowed to live in a future Palestinian state were fraudulent.

"If Palestinians cannot accept a Jewish presence in a future Palestinian
state, then that fact itself is indication enough that they are not prepared
to live in peace with Israel. Who is prepared to argue that a people that
resolutely insists on throwing all Jews out of their country, that
criminalizes the sale of land to Jews and that lynches those deemed guilty
of "collaborating" with Israel by having sold land to Jews is actually ready
to live in peace alongside the Jewish state of Israel?

"Erekat also shows that the PA is accustomed to getting Israeli concessions
over time without having to give anything in return. His candid words on
this subject underscore the great harm Israel has done itself by pursuing a
course of concessions -especially unilateral ones - with the Palestinians
before demanding that they adhere to their own signed commitments under the
Oslo agreements and the 2003 Roadmap peace plan to arrest terrorists, outlaw
terrorist groups and end the incitement to hatred and murder in their
controlled media, mosques, schools and youth camps that feed terrorism.

"In all other respects - demanding a so-called 'right of return' for
Palestinian refugees of the 1948 war and their millions of descendants;
demanding that the heart of the Jewish people and Judaism - Jerusalem - be
torn out and given to a Palestinian regime that has never ruled the city or
had its own capital there; pretending that Iran poses no threat to Israel,
the region or the united States even giving voice to the incendiary
falsehood that Israel murdered Yasser Arafat - Erekat provides several
indications of the continuing Palestinian refusal to accept Israel as a
Jewish state and to seek pretexts and strategies to vilify her."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 06:30 PM | Permalink

Israeli living in Russia shocked to find anti-Semitism in capital's most popular circus as four monkeys enter ring for 'Jewish Wedding' skit. Embassy spokesman says heads of Jewish community in Russia found skit 'bad taste at worst'. Monkeys' trainer: Representatives of Jewish cultural center approved everything
Yael Levy

Micky Saidov, an Israeli businessman living in Russia never would have imagined that a trip with his daughter to one of the most talked about circuses in Moscow would go from an entertaining experience to a full-blown anti-Semitic one.

During one of the Nikulin Circus skits, the performers simulated a "Jewish Wedding", with the leading roles being filled by four monkeys, acting as the bride, groom and their parents.

"It was humiliating, embarrassing and even spine-chilling. My 14-year-old daughter Linoy was shocked, with her mouth wide open. She was so upset she wanted to throw trash into the ring to make it stop," Saidov told Ynet.

Following the incident, he decided to send a letter to the Israeli embassy in Moscow to inform them of the show's content. "I wanted to bring their attention to this very anti-Semitic, offensive, strident and chilling point with regards to Jewish feelings," he said.

The "Jewish Wedding" is part of the Nikulin Circus production, that puts on many shows each week on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow.

'Crowd was entertained; we were in shock'
"I had my daughter in town and wanted to take her to the circus that is considered the best one here. Nikulin is very famous and attracts many tourists," Saidov said.

"The circus really was great, and we had a smile on our faces during the whole show, until suddenly, a religious man wrapped in a tzitzit wearing a hat and long side-locks walks in along with a few other guys dressed as Hassidics wearing white skullcaps.

"They were leading in a carriage with a quartet of monkeys – the groom and bride and their parents wearing skullcaps. For five minutes they performed before the crowd, and acted out a scene of a Jewish wedding with a chuppah, wine, and everything that comes with it. As a Jew, it was very unpleasant," Saidov said.

According to the father, the crowd knew exactly what was going on on the stage: "The crowd was entertained for five minutes, and we were in shock. I have been working in Moscow for three years as an Israeli real estate company's representative.
"I am not ashamed of being Jewish or Israeli and I have never come across such a thing. I have never come across anti-Semitism here and that's why I was amazed. Linoy was shocked as well."

Alex Goldman-Shaiman, a spokesman for the Israeli embassy in Moscow said in response: "We dealt with the issue when the show started a few months ago. Among other things, we went to the heads of the Jewish community in Russia in May.

'Matter of bad taste, not anti-Semitism'
"They said this was not an anti-Semitic show, and at worst was just a matter of bad taste and/or poor humor. Therefore, they saw no need for any further intervention by the embassy. On our part, as Israel's embassy in Moscow, we will continue to follow and handle anti-Semitic phenomena throughout Russia."

The circus's Assistant Director-General Lidia Samoilova told a Russian entertainment website that this is the first time the show gets such an outraged reaction: "It would be funny if it wasn't so sad. Do the police have nothing better to do? Are there no problems in the country? They actually came here two days ago and laughed."

She continued to say, "For years now the moneys have been also dancing Georgian dances. They have also been dressed in traditional Russian clothing and sang, 'How drunk I am', but no one complained."

Maxim Nikulin, own of the circus' owners said, "I have a Jewish friend and he told me that every people has its fools." The monkeys' trainer Aziz Askarian said, "We consulted with representatives of the Jewish cultural center and they approved of everything. Moveover, they gave us advice on lighting that was imported from Israel."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 08:16 PM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:28 PM | Permalink

THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 10, 2009 www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443770831&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

The IDF is considering allowing the Palestinians to establish a specially
trained counterterror squad - a scaled down version of the IDF's elite
reconnaissance units - qualified to carry out pinpoint operations against
Hamas terrorist cells in the West Bank, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Such an elite commando force would be able to carry out special operations
against Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank
more effectively than could existing Palestinian security forces. The French
have already offered to train such a team.

The decision to consider the establishment of such a team was made following
the Palestinian Authority's operation against a Hamas cell in Kalkilya last
month, during which five Hamas terrorists and four members of the US-trained
Palestinian security force were killed.

The four Palestinian battalions trained by the United States in Jordan and
already deployed in the West Bank were taught how to enforce law and order
and conduct regular police-like operations, but were not given military
training. Their equipment consists of pistols and Kalashnikov rifles, and
the content of their training is approved by Israel.

The IDF is therefore considering allowing the establishment of a small,
elite Palestinian squad that would be capable of conducting operations like
the one in Kalkilya more effectively and with fewer casualties.

The army recently vetoed a PA request to receive explosives training. The
Palestinians also asked Israel for permission to set up an advanced military
communication system. This too was denied by the army, due to concern that
the Palestinian system would interfere with IDF communications.

While the IDF Central Command, under the direction of Maj.-Gen. Gadi Shamni,
has succeeded in dramatically reducing the level of terrorist activity in
the West Bank, a top officer warned on Thursday that the army fears that
Hizbullah will activate terrorist cells and have them attack Israel..

This is just crazy stupid, and fits the definition of Einstein of insanity.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:24 PM | Permalink

09/07/2009
The Palestine Media Center henceforth the (PMC) - under the direct
supervision of PLO Executive Committee Member Mr. Yasser Abed Rabbo
www.palestine-pmc.com/details.asp?cat=1&id=2615

Palestinian ministers will approach the US and the World Bank demanding a
halt to construction plans for a canal linking the Dead sea to the Red sea
including the confiscation of more than a hundred thousand dunums of
Palestinian land in the Jordan Valley.

The Ministers say two recent Israeli moves, first to announce a "go ahead"
from the World Bank for the construction of a multi-billion dollar project
to link the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, and second to begin the process of
registering 139,000 dunums of Palestinian land between the Israeli
settlement of Ma'ale Adumim and the Dead sea as "abandoned," with the intent
to annex the land to the settlement, constitute a grand move to push the
canal project forward.

Apropos to the recent Israeli moves, the Council of Ministers issued a
statement demanding the US Administration and the International Quartet
Committee adopt a firm position regarding the Israeli government actions.
"The illegal annexation of Palestinian land between Ma'ale Adumim and the
Dead Sea tightens Israeli control over the area," the statement said.

The canal plans may cause severe damage to the water systems in the Dead Sea
basin, environmentalists warned two years ago when a World Bank feasibility
study took off. Palestinians also expressed grave concern that the project
would effectively cut Palestinian residential areas off yet another water
source and leave the government out of crucial decision making over the use
of natural resources.

"If Israel does not stop this scheme, the PNA will approach the World Bank
and demand the halt of the project and will resort to the UN Security
Council and the International Court of Justice to prevent Israel as an
occupation state from confiscating the lands and transforming them into
municipality and state property in accordance with the international law,"
the statement said.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:38 PM | Permalink

July 9, 2009 Palestinian Media Watch

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Media Watch:
p:+972 2 625 4140 e: pmw@pmw.org.il
f: +972 2 624 2803 w: www.pmw.org.il

The Hamas TV children's program Tomorrow's Pioneers produced a special
broadcast in which the two young children of a female suicide terrorist were
invited to the TV studio to watch a video re-enactment of their mother's
suicide bombing. The terrorist, Reem Riyashi, killed four Israelis in a
suicide bombing in 2004.

Click here to view
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XELcNMhkKCo

Calling the terrorist a "Martyr," the bear puppet and star of the program,
Nassur, introduces Riyashi's children to the other children in the studio:
"[Our guests are] the children
of the Shahida [Martyr] Reem Riyashi."
Then Muhammad and Duha, the young son and daughter of Riyashi, together with
the children in the studio, watch a music video re-enactment of their
mother's suicide bombing. While the video is shown, the TV camera shows
close-ups of Riyashi's children as they stare at the screen images of their
mother's bombing and death.
The re-enactment:
An actress representing Riyashi is shown preparing a bomb in front of a
child actress representing her daughter. The daughter follows her mother
around and sings:
"Mommy, what are you carrying in your arms instead of me?
A toy or a present for me?"
Mother Riyashi does not answer and soon is seen leaving home while the
daughter sings:
"Come back quickly, Mommy."
The actress-daughter then sees the TV report of her mother's suicide
bombing, and sings to her dead mother:
"Instead of me you carried a bomb in your hands.
Only now I know what was more precious than us."
As the daughter sings this revelation in the re-enactment video, the TV
camera in the studio shifts for a moment to a close-up of Riyashi's son
staring at the video of his mother. Then the camera goes back to the video,
showing his mother with the Israeli soldiers, who all suddenly disappear in
the smoke of the massive explosion of her bomb.
The broadcast of the video re-enactment stops before the end of the full
music video, and the camera returns to the children in the studio.

Child hostess Saraa summarizes for the children and viewers:
"These are the children of the Shahida [Martyr], the heroic Jihad fighter
who sacrificed all that she had for the sake of her homeland. She cared less
about her own flesh and blood, and for their sake, she sacrificed [herself]
for Allah...
We say to the occupier, that we will continue in the footsteps of the
Shahida, the Jihad fighter Reem Riyashi, until we liberate our homeland from
your hands, usurper."
Click here to view this Hamas children's show.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XELcNMhkKCo

PMW note: In the full music video re-enactment, the daughter promises to
follow in her mother's footsteps and become a suicide terrorist, and the
video ends as the daughter opens her mother's drawer and picks up a stick of
dynamite. The full video has been broadcast regularly on Hamas TV from 2007
through 2009.

Click here to view the complete Hamas music video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy8fbkOHMKU

Two years ago, Hamas TV interviewed terrorist Reem Riyashi's two children
about their mother's suicide attack, discussing with the children how many
Jews their mother had killed.

Click here to view the interview with Riyashi's children.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdG3PZndV_4

The following is the transcript of the 2007 interview with Riyashi's
children on Hamas TV:
Interviewer: "We are now going to the two children of Reem Riyashi, the
Martyrdom-seeker, and Jihad fighter [mother of] Duha and Muhammad.
Duha, do you love Mommy? Where did Mommy go?"
Duha: "To Paradise"
Interviewer: "What did Mommy do?"
Duha: "Became a Shahida [Martyr]."
Interviewer: "She killed Jews, right?
How many did she kill, Muhammad?"
Muhammad: "What?"
Interviewer: "How many Jews did she kill?"
Muhammad: "Five."
[Al Aqsa TV (Hamas), March 8, 2007]

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:37 PM | Permalink

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

'We want the Golan on a gold platter'
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 7, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443744038&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

A day after President Shimon Peres said Syria could not expect to receive
the Golan Heights from Israel on a silver platter, Syrian Foreign Minister
Walid Moallem said the country actually wanted the territory back on a "gold
platter."

"Let's face it - it's our land and our right to have it back is the most
normal thing in the world," he added after a meeting Tuesday with German
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Syrian President Bashar Assad,
according to AFP

On Monday, Peres had asked Steinmeier to made it clear that Assad must
understand he could not expect to receive the Golan on a silver platter
while he continued to strengthen Hizbullah and maintain contact with Iran.

At Tuesday's joint press conference, Steinmeier called on Syria to "do its
part" in promoting the success of the Middle East peace process, noting the
need to restrict Hizbullah and Hamas, which had shown "no interest in the
success of the peace talks."

"The peace process can only proceed when destructive elements in the region
are reined in," the German foreign minister said.

Moallem rejected the notion of breaking ties with the terror groups.

"As for the issue of our relations with Hizbullah or Iran, that's a
precondition," he said, dismissing the Israeli demands for a clean break as
part of a normalization of ties under any peace deal with the Jewish state.

"You have to join negotiations to know what will happen afterward," he
added, cautiously putting the ball in Israel's court. "We think a resumption
of indirect contacts with Israel through Turkish go-betweens is the best way
of getting to direct negotiations, but first and foremost, we have to be
confident that there is a political will in Israel to achieve peace."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:52 PM | Permalink

JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 8, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443749323&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

The natural gas reserve discovered off the shores of Haifa is approximately
25 to 30 percent richer than previously assessed, US oil operator Noble
Energy Inc., said after drilling to verify the find.

The site, previously assessed to hold more than 142 billion cubic meters
(BCM) of natural gas, may in fact hold as much as 180 BCM.

The potential revenue from selling gas from the offshore reserve may reach
$30-35 billion.

At the end of April, drilling to verify the size of the reserve was
conducted at a site dubbed Tamar 2, north of Tamar 1. Over the last few
days, electronic testing suggested that the amounts of gas at the Tamar
reserve were higher than initially expected.

In related news, a site called Dalit, west of the coast of Hadera, was
assessed to hold some 14 BCM of natural gas.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:51 PM | Permalink

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

International Law and Military Operations in Practice
Col. Richard Kemp -

[Watch the Video]
www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/showpage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=701&FID=765&PID=0
[Read the Full Transcript]
www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DRIT=0&DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=378&PID=0&IID=3026&TTL=International_Law_and_Military_Operations_in_Practice

Former commander of British forces in Afghanistan Col. Richard Kemp told a
conference in Jerusalem on June 18, 2009:
Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

The battlefield - in any kind of war - is a place of confusion and chaos, of
fast-moving action. In the type of conflict that the Israeli Defense Forces
recently fought in Gaza and in Lebanon, and Britain and America are still
fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, these age-old confusions and complexities
are made one hundred times worse by the fighting policies and techniques of
the enemy.

Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict
carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli
commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of
engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they
view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is
built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by
the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating
consistently outside international law.

Civilians and their property are routinely exploited by these groups, in
deliberate and flagrant violation of international laws or reasonable norms
of civilized behavior. Protected buildings, mosques, schools, and hospitals
are used as strongholds. Legal and proportional responses by a Western army
will be deliberately exploited and manipulated in order to produce
international outcry and condemnation.

Hamas' military capability was deliberately positioned behind the human
shield of the civilian population. They also ordered, forced when necessary,
men, women and children from their own population to stay put in places they
knew were about to be attacked by the IDF. Israel was fighting an enemy that
is deliberately trying to sacrifice their own people, deliberately trying to
lure you into killing their own innocent civilians.

And Hamas, like Hizbullah, is also highly expert at driving the media
agenda. They will always have people ready to give interviews condemning
Israeli forces for war crimes. They are adept at staging and distorting
incidents.

When possible the IDF gave at least four hours' notice to civilians to leave
areas targeted for attack. The IDF dropped over 900,000 leaflets warning the
population of impending attacks to allow them to leave designated areas. The
IDF phoned over 30,000 Palestinian households in Gaza, urging them in Arabic
to leave homes where Hamas might have stashed weapons or be preparing to
fight.

Many attack helicopter missions that could have taken out Hamas military
capability were cancelled if there was too great a risk of civilian
casualties in the area. During the conflict, the IDF allowed huge amounts of
humanitarian aid into Gaza, even though delivering aid virtually into your
enemy's hands is to the military tactician normally quite unthinkable.

By taking these actions the IDF did more to safeguard the rights of
civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 03:48 PM | Permalink

Date: 07 / 07 / 2009 Time: 11:11
www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&ID=39066

Bethlehem - Ma'an - At least 100 Americans arrived in Egypt Sunday and made
their way up to the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah with a rumored 1 million US
dollars in medical supplies for the besieged Strip.

Less than a week after Israeli naval boats seized and boarded the Free Gaza
ship, the Spirit of Humanity, and as activists from half a dozen countries
remain in Israeli prison from the first group of activists, the Americans,
with the Viva Palestina movement, will try to enter the Strip via Rafah.

Following the first British Viva Palestina convoy which was allowed into the
Strip in early October 2008, the American group - also lead by British MP
George Galloway - will attempt to deliver supplies and show solidarity with
the closed-off coastal area.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 01:59 PM | Permalink

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Bulletin
July 7, 2009Palestinian Media Watch
PA boasts of past terror attacks
by security forces
currently being trained by the US
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Palestinian Media Watch:
p:+972 2 625 4140 e: pmw@pmw.org.il
f: +972 2 624 2803 w: www.pmw.org.il

This week Israel approved the transfer of 1,000 AK-47 rifles to the
Palestinian Authority security forces that are being trained by American
Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton. This comes at the same time as former PA Minister of
Prisoners, Ashraf al-Ajrami, is honoring these very same PA security forces
for being the backbone of Palestinian terror during the five-year Terror War
(Intifada).

Defending these soldiers, whom Hamas mockingly calls "Dayton Forces," the PA
minister gloated that they carried out "the greatest and most important
operations [terror attacks]" in the war. Moreover, he also taunted Hamas for
not immediately joining the Fatah forces in their war in 2000.

The PA takes pride in its "Intifada" in which more than 1,000 Israelis,
mostly civilians, were killed by the PA (Fatah) and Hamas from 2000-2005.
Depicting murder and suicide terror by the PA security forces as a sign of
honor sends a clear signal to Palestinians: These PA forces, currently being
trained by the US, are not to be mocked because they could be the backbone
of the next war against Israel.

The following are the words of the former PA Minister of Prisoners Ashraf
al-Ajrami:

"Now they [Hamas] are speaking [disparagingly] about the [PA's security
forces, calling them] 'Dayton Forces.' These [security] forces paid the
heavy price in the second Intifada, both as Shahids [Martyrs] and as
prisoners. The greatest number of prisoners is from the security forces
sector. They are the ones who bore arms and carried out the greatest and
most important operations [terror attacks] against the Israeli occupation -
and especially against soldiers, and some of the most famous operations
[terror attacks] in the West Bank - Ein-Arik, Wadi Al-Haramiyeh, Sorda, and
others. These were carried out by the heroes of the Palestinian security
forces, who protected the homeland and the national interest, while Hamas
merely looked on for many months before embarking [on terrorist attacks]."
[PA
TV, June 29, 2009]

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 01:57 PM | Permalink

Al Qassam website 6 July 2009
www.alqassam.ps/english/?action=showdetail&fid=1880

The leader in Al Qassam Brigades and the prisoner in the Zionist jails,
Hassan Salama said that Hamas prisoners will not wear the orange uniform
which the Zionist prison service tries to impose on the prisoners even if
they pay their lives for this.

Salama, who is sentenced to 48 years, said that the prisoners of his
movement may be exterminated at all in the darkness of the Zionist cells,
but they will not put this uniform on their bodies.

He added:"Hamas as all the liberation movements around the world wage the
same battle against occupation and arrogance powers which try to entitle the
resistance with terrorism. Hamas will foil this imperialistic scheme through
the steadfastness of her prisoners.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:42 PM | Permalink

Fatma al-Zaq found guilty of attempted murder, affiliation with Islamic Jihad, illegal paramilitary training after state proves she planned to carry out suicide bombings along with her niece
Ilana Curiel

The Beersheba District Court convicted Fatma al-Zaq, a resident of the Gaza Strip, of attempted murder after she was found guilty of helping her niece plot a suicide attack in Israel, and agreeing to carry one out herself.

According to court documents, al-Zaq was recruited by the Islamic Jihad four years ago. Two years ago, she was approached by her niece, who was planning to carry out a bombing in Israel. The two met with a third party, procured a fictitious medical file saying the girl needed medical treatment in Ramallah and planned to have her smuggled into Israel from the West Bank.

The women's handler convinced al-Zaq to carry out a second suicide attack at the same time. They also made a video tape, which showed them holding a rifle and a grenade, and reading a passage from the Koran. They also read out their wills.

Both, argued the state, were trained to operate an explosive belt, and were supposed to meet a co-
conspirator in either Ramallah or Beersheba in order to procure the explosives.

Al-Zaq and her niece were each supposed to arrive at a crowded location in Israel and blow themselves up "with the intention of hurting as many Israelis as possible." They were arrested as they entered Israel through the Erez border crossing.

The defense told the court that the prosecution failed to prove that al-Zaq did, in fact, plan to see the attack though; but the court found her guilty of attempted murder, membership in a terror organization, illegal military training and various gun charges.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:40 PM | Permalink

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

You can listen to the show by going to the MERF web page
http://www.middleeastradioforum.org/

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:50 PM | Permalink

In first public appearance since being appointed to post, Dr. Michael Oren says Iran moving fast towards having nuclear bomb that 'could wipe Israel off map in seconds,' Israel concerned about timing of Obama's engagement with Iranian regime
Yitzhak Benhorin

WASHINGTON – Israel's Ambassador to the US Michael Oren warned this week of an Iranian nuclear bomb that could wipe Israel off the map in seconds. "They could accomplish in a matter of seconds what they deny Hitler did, and kill six million Jews, literally," said Oren in his first public appearance in the US since being appointed to the post.

Dr. Oren was a guest of the high-profile conference, which hosts senior past and present US administration and Middle Eastern officials.

He warned that, on the Iranian issue, "There are clocks ticking all around. One of those clocks is the uranium enrichment clock, which will show that by a certain date the Iranians will have sufficient, highly enriched uranium materials to create a bomb that could literally wipe Israel off the map in a matter of seconds."

Oren said that Israel was anxious to see Iran change its policy in the region and "cease its support of terrorist groups like Hizbullah and Hamas that are also trying to wipe Israel off the map."

He added: "It's very important that we watch carefully what happens in Iran… the events in Iran have unmasked to the world the true nature of this regime. This is a regime that's willing to kill its own citizens; it will certainly have no compunctions killing other people in the region, Jews and Sunni Arabs alike."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 04:48 PM | Permalink

Herb Keinon , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 2, 2009 www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443703546&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

There are no guarantees the Arab world would move forward with steps of
normalization toward Israel if Jerusalem declared a settlement freeze,
according to assessments reaching Jerusalem, even though US President Barack
Obama still believes he can convince Saudi King Abdullah to make some
gesture toward Israel.

The assessments come amid reports that Israel and the US are working on a
package deal that may include a time-limited moratorium on settlement
construction in return for gestures from the Arab world.

According to these assessments, however, the Persian Gulf and North African
states are unlikely to make significant moves unless Saudi Arabia does, and
the Saudis believe they made their gesture toward Israel in the form of the
2002 Arab peace initiative.

Obama, according to these reports, still believes the Saudis can be
persuaded to moved on the issue.

Among the gestures being discussed are opening trade offices, direct
economic links, public cultural and educational ties, as well as overfly
rights for Israeli airlines.

Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Thursday on Israel Radio that
Israel could not be expected to take immediate steps such as a settlement
freeze "when the other side isn't prepared to make a small step."

Ayalon echoed what Defense Minister Ehud Barak had been saying in recent
days, that any move on settlements needed to be seen as part of a wider
regional picture.

He also said, in regards to calls for a freeze for natural growth
construction, that Israel "cannot strangle 300,000 residents."

Ron Dermer, the director of policy planning in the Prime Minister's Office,
said in a wide-ranging interview that appeared in The Jerusalem Post, "I
think if people want to reach an understanding, they can reach an
understanding on the issue."

Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who returned Wednesday from his meeting a day
earlier with US envoy George Mitchell in New York, has briefed Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on the talks. Netanyahu and Mitchell are
expected to meet in two weeks.

In the meantime, a government official said the discussions with Washington
on the issue were continuing. "The policy goal at the moment is to try
reaching common ground with the US, which is where the effort is being
placed. We hope that it is successful."

The official also said it was Israel's hope that if an agreement was
reached, it would be endorsed by the Europeans, who have become increasingly
vocal in their calls for a complete settlement freeze.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday called on Israel to end
settlement construction, saying such activity jeopardized efforts toward a
two-state solution.

"I think it is now important to get commitments from all sides and that
includes the issue of settlement building," Merkel said in a speech to the
Bundestag. "I am convinced that there must be a stop to this. Otherwise we
will not come to the two-state solution that is urgently needed."

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:22 PM | Permalink

Yaakov Katz , THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 3, 2009
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1246443708481&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

After a long hiatus, the Israeli Navy has returned to sailing through the
Suez Canal, recently sending one of its advanced Dolphin-class submarines
through the waterway to participate in naval maneuvers off the Eilat coast
in the Red Sea.

IDF sources said the decision to allow navy vessels to sail through the
canal was made recently and was a definite "change of policy" within the
service. In 2005, then OC Navy Adm. David Ben-Bashat decided to stop sending
Israeli ships through the canal due to growing threats in the area.

However, the Dolphin-class submarine sailed through last month to get from
the Mediterranean to the Red Sea. Israeli officials said it passed through
the canal above water, and that it was not done covertly.

"It is a question of policy," a senior officer explained. "Navy vessels have
sailed through the canal on several occasions recently."

The significance of the move was debatable, but it could be interpreted as a
message to Iran and a demonstration of strengthening ties between Egypt and
Israel.

In the event of a conflict with Iran, and if Israel decided to involve its
three Dolphin-class submarines - which according to foreign reports can fire
nuclear-tipped cruise missiles and serve as a second-strike platform - the
quickest route would be to send them through the Suez Canal.

The only way to get to the Gulf of Oman without refueling would be to go
through the canal. With their reported 4,500 nautical mile range, taking the
long way, around Africa, would require the Dolphins to make at least two
stops for refueling at a friendly port, or for fuel to be replenished at
sea.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 12:21 PM | Permalink

(Communicated by the IDF Spokesperson) 2 July 2009

We find it both questionable and objectionable that a well-respected and
ostensibly objective international organization such as Amnesty could
produce a report on Operation Cast Lead without properly recognizing the
unbearable reality of nine years of incessant and indiscriminate rocket fire
on the citizens of Israel. The slant of their report indicates that the
organization succumbed to the manipulations of the Hamas terror
organization.

Operation Cast Lead was a result of nine years of Hamas' unrelenting Kassam,
Grad and mortar shell fire on more than a quarter of a million of Israel's
citizens. Rocket fire was Hamas' preferred terror tactic, and they
ruthlessly used populated areas of the Gaza Strip in order to carry out
their attacks.

We did not find in the report a proper reference to the reality of the
Israeli home front or to Israeli security concerns, and therefore the report
seems unbalanced. It presents a distorted view of the laws of war that does
not comply with the rules implemented by democratic states battling terror.

It also ignores the efforts of the IDF to minimize as much as possible
harming uninvolved noncombatant civilians. During Operation Cast Lead, the
IDF utilized various fighting methods and advanced technology to minimize
harm to the civilian population, while engaging terrorists who were
operating from densely populated areas and using the local population as a
"human shield."

In many cases, areas in which strikes of legitimate targets were to take
place, as required by international law, the IDF warned the local population
prior to the attack, via leaflets, radio broadcasts, and direct calls to
private cellular telephones. It should be stated that the IDF only targeted
military targets and avoided harming civilians, sometimes to the detriment
of its own military interests.

In addition, during Operation Cast Lead, the IDF enabled for the transfer of
humanitarian aid and also instated a daily several hour cease fire so that
the goods could be safely distributed.

The Amnesty report ignores a critical aspect of Operation Cast Lead - Hamas
consistently, deliberately and routinely violated International Law,
specifically the prohibition against the use of "human shields." While Hamas
was using Palestinian civilian centers to fire rockets at the citizens of
Israel, the IDF went to great lengths to combat their terrorism while
maintaining a firm commitment to the laws of war.

Documented evidence, from aerial drones, ground footage and independent
accounts, prove, beyond all doubt, that Hamas deliberately exploited
population centers - including medical, educational, recreational and
religious facilities - to provide tactical cover for their terror
activities.

It is to Amnesty International's discredit that the report they issued,
focuses so intently on any and all IDF infractions, and ignores the blatant
violations of international law perpetrated by Hamas.

Out of a professional, ethical and judicial obligation to thoroughly inspect
certain claims made regarding Operation Cast Lead, the IDF conducted a
number of investigations following the operation. The investigations proved
that the IDF operated throughout the fighting in accordance with
international law, maintaining high ethical and professional standards and
in many incidents, for the sake of avoiding harm to unassociated civilians,
even limited itself beyond existing judicial obligations. Nonetheless, the
investigations found a few, unfortunate incidents that are unavoidable
during combat - especially the type of combat Hamas forced upon the IDF
during Operation Cast Lead, when it chose to fight from within civilian
population centers.

In addition to the investigations ordered by the Chief of the General Staff,
Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, the IDF is currently looking into complaints that
were received from various sources - private lawyers, human rights
organizations (including Amnesty) and media outlets (both domestic and
international) - that raise different questions regarding the way in which
the IDF operated during Operation Cast Lead. In certain cases, the Chief
Military Advocate has already ordered the opening of a criminal
investigation.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 05:12 PM | Permalink

Detained peace activist: We slept with cockroaches

Israeli peace activist detained en route to Gaza Strip slams treatment by authorities
Daniel Edleson

An Israeli citizen who was among 21 peace activists apprehended by the IDF en route to the Gaza Strip says she was held under conditions resembling a "horror movie."

Houida Araf, who was released on Wednesday, told Ynet that she and a fellow Israeli peace activist were separated from the group and taken to the Ashdod Port.

Peace activists (Photo: Movement for the Freedom of Gaza)

"They put us in a warehouse, where we slept on a cockroach-infested cement floor, as armed soldiers were monitoring us," she said. "They didn't say a word to us. They confiscated all our personal belongings and phones, and they didn't let us contact anyone. A day later they left us at the Ashdod central bus station without any money or belongings."

"What they did to us is unforgivable, but we're not the story here," Araf said. "The fact they threatened us with violence because we wanted to transfer medical supplies and drawing equipment for children is simply absurd."

'We'll be back'
Meanwhile, 19 foreign peace activists detained on board the Gaza-bound ship are still behind held by the Immigration Authority at Ben Gurion Airport. The activists, whose vessel was seized, will soon be expelled from Israel, but they say they are determined to come back.

One of the initiative's organizers, Ramzi Kysia, told Ynet: "We'll be back again and again…the Israeli regime should be careful, because we're coming. We won't stop until this blockade is broken forever and Gaza residents have access to the rest of the world."

Kysia added that the group's attorney will demand that Israel hand over the vessel it seized.

Posted by Yoni Tidi at 07:52 AM | Permalink