Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Tuesday), 15.5.12, met with Sima
Avrahami, the widow of Border Police Chief Warrant Officer Pascal Avrahami
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2011/3/Pascal_Avrahami.htm
who was killed by terrorists' fire on the Israeli-Egyptian border, on
18.8.11, and with his father Eliyahu Avrahami.

At the meeting, which was held at the request of the family, Sima and
Eliyahu Avrahami asked the Prime Minister to assist in enshrining Pascal's
memory.

Sima Avrahami told Prime Minister Netanyahu that Pascal would have
celebrated his 50th birthday tomorrow. He left behind him three sons, two
of whom are doing their military service, one in the anti-terrorism unit.
She also told the Prime Minister that after her husband was killed, she lost
her father and her brother. She added that after Pascal fell, she joined
the Israel Police.

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "Pascal was a great hero, a great Zionist and
a great patriot, the best of the best. We will work to enshrine his
memory."

Speaking at military drill, top Egyptian leader warns regional countries; 'We will cut out the tongues of anyone who turns against our forces, peace is not assured,' he says

Roi Kais
Published: 05.16.12, 22:08 / Israel News

The Head of Egypt's Military Council, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, sent a menacing message to countries in the region, saying that his country is ready for war.

"God willing we will cut out the tongues of anyone who turns against our forces and troops," Tantawi said a week before Egypt heads to the polls once again, this time for the presidential elections.

Tantawi did not mention Israel explicitly but stressed: "Peace is not assured, as when the interests contradict each other, there is a state that is weaker than the other and turns to attack, so we need to be ready to do battle."

Egyptian media on Wednesday were reporting from the military drill, which was held in the area between Cairo and Suez and included the use of live fire.

Then if we have war, the cost for Israel will be less blood spilled.

Egyptian involved in mediating the deal says Israel agrees to ease conditions for prisoners • Likud MK Danny Danon: The deal is a "serious mistake" and a "prize for terrorism" • Israel to transfer 100 bodies of terrorists to PA.
Daniel Siryoti, Itsik Saban, Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails agreed on Monday to an Egyptian-brokered deal aimed at ending a mass hunger strike that challenged Israel's policy of detention without trial and raised fears of a bloody Palestinian backlash if any protesters died. Most of some 1,600 prisoners, a third of the 4,800 Palestinians in Israeli jails, began refusing food on April 17 although a few had been fasting much longer, up to 77 days.

Their protest centered on demands for more family visits, an end to solitary confinement and an end to so-called "administrative detention", a practice that has drawn international criticism on human rights grounds.

Palestinian officials said Egypt had drafted an agreement in Cairo with representatives of the Palestinian prisoners, and that inmates met during the day and had agreed to the terms.

There was no immediate word from the prisoners as to whether any had actually ended their strike.

An Egyptian official involved in the talks said that under Monday's deal to end the strike, Israel had agreed to end solitary confinement for 19 prisoners and lifted a ban on visits to prisoners by relatives living in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Israel also agreed to improve other conditions of detention, and to free so-called administrative detainees once they completed their terms unless they were brought to court, the Egyptian official said.

Gaza's Hamas leaders hailed the strike as a successful campaign against Israel and celebrations quickly spread to the streets where motorists honked horns, and passersby embraced and shouted "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is great."

"This is a first step toward liberation and victory," said Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for the Islamist group.

Israel saw the deal as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who holds sway in the West Bank, a territory separate from Islamist-ruled Gaza.

Mark Regev, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel had "negotiated an end to the strike" in response to a request from Abbas.

"It is our hope that this gesture by Israel will serve to build confidence between the parties and to further peace," Regev said.

The hunger strikers included terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, which reject peace with Israel, as well as members of Abbas' Fatah group.

Following the announcement of the deal, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh welcomed the end of the hunger strike and said, "We proved once again that our brave warriors have defeated the Zionist enemy even within prison."

The Israel Prison Service confirming the deal, saying, “An agreement has been signed to bring about the end of a 28-day hunger strike by Palestinian security prisoners."

In a statement, the service said prisoners who signed a commitment "not to engage in actions contravening security inside the jails" would have prison conditions eased, including the lifting of solitary confinement and the possibility of relatives visiting from Gaza. Relatives' visits from Gaza were suspended after Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit was abducted by Palestinian terrorists and taken to Gaza in 2006. He was released last October in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Israel did not say whether it would free any administrative detainees, but pledged in its statement that an interministerial team would look at prisoner requests and issue recommendations. Around 320 Palestinian prisoners are held in "administrative detention," a security measure Israel defends.

Many of the other prisoners have been convicted of serious crimes, including murder. Palestinian leaders say they should be treated as prisoners of war, something Israel rejects.

Israel says the detentions without trial are necessary because some cases cannot be brought to open court for fear of exposing Palestinian intelligence sources who have cooperated with Israel.

Two inmates who helped to launch the strike, Bilal Diab and Thaer Halahla of Islamic Jihad, were in the 77th day of their fast on Monday. Last week, Israel's Supreme Court turned down their request to be freed from detention without trial but said security authorities should consider releasing them for medical reasons.

A month ago, Israel released hunger striker Khader Adnan, an Islamic Jihad member, amid concern he would die. He agreed to end his fast after 66 days in exchange for a promise not to renew his detention.

Likud MK Danny Danon called the deal to end the hunger strike a "prize for terrorism" in an interview with Israel Radio on Tuesday morning.

"[The deal] is a serious mistake that we will have to pay for," Danon said. "The commitment signed by the prisoners to refrain from terrorist activities from within jail is not worth the paper it was written on."

Danon told Israel Radio that "the decision to continue with the 'summer camp' for security prisoners is outrageous and conveys a weakness which invites more pressure and demands from Israel."

The deal was coordinated by Netanyahu's special envoy for peace talks, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, who met with Abbas in Ramallah on Saturday. The prime minister's military secretary, Maj. Gen. Yohanan Locker, and officials from Jordan and Egypt were also involved in negotiating the deal. The official purpose of Molcho's visit to Ramallah was to deliver a special letter to Abbas outlining Israel's position on peace talks. However, it was later revealed that the envoy also brought with him the agreement reached between both sides to end the hunger strike.

Netanyahu on Monday also approved the transfer of some 100 bodies of Palestinian terrorists buried in Israel to their families in the Palestinian territories.

The Prime Minister's Office said the move was designed to "facilitate confidence-building [with the Palestinians] out of a desire to renew dialogue with [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas."

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=4343

This highlights why my position on talks with the enemy are something that Israel should not engage in.

But to hold a person without charges in my book is immoral.

Ahmed Shafiq, the former Egyptian air force chief running for president, boasts to have downed two Israeli planes during the War of Attrition • In that war, Egypt lost 109 aircraft, most in air-to-air combat; Israel lost 16.
Israel Hayom Staff

Ahmed Shafiq, former Egyptian prime minister under Hosni Mubarak, bolstering his campaign with his anti-Israel military achievements.

Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq's campaign headquarters boasted on Saturday that more than 40 years ago the former Air Force chief had shot down two Israeli planes, as it dismissed accusations of corruption, AFP reported.

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=4324

Some 200 right wing protestors faced 400 leftist protestors who sought to hold a Palestinian 'Nakba Day' ceremony – commemorating 'disaster' of foundation of State of Israel
Shahar Chai

Some 200 right wing protestors faced off with 400 leftist protestors who sought to hold a Palestinian 'Nakba Day' ceremony – commemorating the "disaster" of the foundation of the State of Israel – at Tel Aviv University, Monday.

Three protestors were arrested after the confrontations. The right wing protestors called out at the organizer of the event, who was arrested: "Traitor!"

Protestors from the right waved Israeli flags and signs that read: "When I came to Israel there was no Palestinian nation," and "I'm proud to be Israeli," they also sang Israeli songs. They also prevented the ceremony's organizers from speaking and booed them repeatedly.

In addition the right wing protestors shouted: "Death to terrorists," and "terrorists out." One of them burnt a cardboard drawing of a Palestinian flag. Another shouted out: "Murderers, where were you when a little girl was killed." The left wing protestors responded with: "You're the murderers."
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4228989,00.html

94 Seats in the government, here is your first test.

Is Bibi the same old Bibi all talk and no walk ?

Front runner in May 23-24 election, Abdel Moneim Abul Fotouh, says 1979 peace treaty 'a national security threat'
AFP

A leading Islamist candidate in Egypt's presidential election has branded Israel a "racist state" and said a shared 1979 peace treaty was "a national security threat" that should be revised.

also denounced al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's assassination by US special forces as an act of "state terrorism," in a late Saturday Egyptian television interview.

Abul Fotouh, a front runner in the May 23-24 election according to polls, had earlier described Israel as an "enemy" in a televised debate with his main contender, former foreign minister and Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

In Saturday's interview with the private Egyptian CBC satellite station, he said he had opposed the treaty since its implementation. "I still view the peace treaty as a national security threat to Egypt, and it must be revised."

"It is a treaty that forbids Egypt from exercising full sovereignty in the Sinai and allows Israelis to enter Sinai without visas, while they need visas for Cairo," he said.

The treaty, in which Israel withdrew from the Sinai after capturing it in a 1967 war, does not allow Egypt a military presence in parts of the peninsula.

Abul Fotouh said Israel was "a racist state with 200 nuclear warheads" that continued to pose a threat to Egypt.

A moderate Islamist with support from both hardline fundamentalists and liberals, Abul Fotouh refused to describe Bin Laden as a terrorist, saying the term was used by the United States to "hit Muslim interests."

But he said the killing of the Saudi militant was an "act of state terrorism," and Bin Laden had deserved a fair trial, although he disagreed with Bin Laden's use of violence.

"If a just court sentenced him, then the sentence should be applied," he said.

Abul Fotouh's rival Amr Mussa has also argued for the revision of the treaty with Israel and described its policies towards Palestinians as an Egyptian "national security issue."

The election, which will go into a June run off if there is no outright winner in the first round, should end a military-led transitional period since an uprising toppled president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Mubarak is now standing trial on charges of ordering the shooting of protesters and selling gas to Israel at cheap price. The former air force chief was seen as a close regional ally of Israel, which is unpopular in Egypt.

After his overthrow, an attack by protesters forced Israel to close its embassy and Cairo annulled the controversial gas treaty, alleging lack of payment from Israel.

The Sinai pipeline that exported gas to Israel was bombed on an almost monthly basis by Bedouin militants following Mubarak's ouster.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4228607,00.html

The problem is that some of us pay in blood for America naivety.

A new plan approved by the government Sunday to address deepening social welfare problems faced by Israel’s 120,000-strong Ethiopian community was greeted with skepticism and anger by leaders of the sector who called it paternalistic and claimed it is not holistic enough.

“Its just cosmetics,” Michal Avera Samuel, Director of FIDEL – Association for Education and Social Integration of Ethiopian Jews in Israel, told The Jerusalem Post. “We are very angry about this and it just shows how the government plans to continue to make the same mistakes it did in the past.”

According to information released by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the new plan will include a significant increase to the housing grants allocated to new Ethiopian immigrants, as well as the creation of a new employment service created to help place Ethiopian immigrants in jobs that suit their skill and educational level.

In addition, some 30 new positions will be created in the civil service in order to increase the presence of Ethiopians in that sphere and the government will appoint two new Kessim, or spiritual leaders, to work with the community.

The new plan will include a comprehensive outreach program to tackle racism against the Ethiopian community, which increasing media reports indicate is growing rapidly in Israeli society in general.

Information provided by the PMO said that the new plan is to be incorporated into an already existing five-year plan established in 2008 and also aimed at improving the absorption of the Ethiopian community. However, that plan, according to Avera Samuel and other leaders of the community, never officially became a reality after its initial budget was slashed and it, in turn, was incorporated into previously existing immigrant absorption programs in each government ministry.

“That five-year plan is not even working properly and yet the government just wants to take something that is not working and revive it,” said Avera Samuel, who joined several other heads of Ethiopian NGOs and Kessim in sending a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and other government ministers last week urging them to hold off before approving the newest plan.

“We are very angry about what has happened,” stated Avera Samuel. “The Prime Minister promised to include us in the decision-making process and not to continue on with the failed programs that have been used in the past.”

She explained that the community would like to see a more holistic and comprehensive approach to immigrant absorption. The government has not responded to the letter, said Avera Samuel.

Over the past few months, since media reports revealed a growing number of incidents of social and institutionalized racism against Ethiopian Jews, the Prime Minister has held several meetings with both senior and junior leaders from the community.

In announcing the new plan, Netanyahu said that his goal was to address all the issues raised in these meetings.

“I have personally met with members of the Ethiopian community from Kessim to young people and I understand the deep problems facing the community,” he said in a statement. “Today we are presenting a comprehensive program to improve the immigration and absorption of Ethiopian immigrants.”

He said that as well as the new plan, the government would no longer allow segregation in schools for Ethiopian and non-Ethiopian students and will increase efforts to integrate new immigrants into the
mainstream.

“We want to bring a message to the Israeli people, there is no room for racism here,” continued Netanyahu, highlighting that Ethiopian Jews are part of Israeli and Jewish history.

In response to Sunday’s announcement, Ethiopian MK Shlomo Molla said the new plan lacks any innovation and fails on every level to solve the difficult problems of discrimination facing the community.

“Unfortunately there is nothing new that will serve all those young people who protested against discrimination and social problems a few months ago,” he said.
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=269757

We must do better, we must hear what the Ethiopian community is saying.

The haredi neighborhood continues to fly black flags to mourn the 'sad' day Israel was born, and they're due to stay up until Jerusalem Day
Ari Galahar

Remembrance Day and Independence Day have already been and gone this year, but black flags "mourning" the founding of the state of Israel remain aloft in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood.

Activists from the Neturei Karta sect first hung the flags above an apartment building in Geula's Shabbat Square to protest Independence Day celebrations.

Despite the fact that more than two weeks have past since the festivities, the flags are still flying, and residents say that they were initially unfurled to remain in place until Jerusalem Day (May 20), which marks the reunification of Jerusalem in the Six Day War.

Simple, the police must assault ever home or business flying a black flag and the people need to be deported.

If Tel Aviv University should loose all State funding for marking Nakba, then these anti Israel taliban should be deported.

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

In the first ceremony of its kind at Tel Aviv University, students plan to commemorate the "catastrophe" of Israel's creation • Student union: We do not support event in its current format • University says it approved the ceremony according to the law and its own regulations.
Yael Branovsky

A group of students at Tel Aviv University is up in arms over the upcoming Nakba Day commemorative ceremony, scheduled for Monday. They turned to the Tel Aviv University Student Union to request that the university cancel the ceremony. The student union opposes the event in its current format, and said that it, too, had asked the university to reconsider allowing the event as it would offend the sensibilities of many students on campus.

The ceremony is slated to include a moment of silence and the reading of an alternative version of Yizkor (a Jewish memorial prayer) which will end with the words, "Remember the people of Israel, remember the people of Palestine, remember all people." Among the organizers of the ceremony are student members of the Jewish-Arab Hadash party. The ceremony is the first of its kind at the university.

Nakba Day is commemorated annually on May 15, the day after Israel declared its independence in 1948. The ceremony in question is scheduled for May 14.

In March 2011, the Knesset passed the controversial Nakba Law, which grants the government the authority to block state funds from being transferred to organizations and institutions that commemorate the Nakba.

Im Tirtzu, a nongovernmental organization that works to strengthen Zionist values in Israel, on Wednesday sent a letter to Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and MK Alex Miller (Yisrael Beitenu), chairman of the Education, Culture, and Sports Committee, to act in accordance with the law and cut funding to the university if the ceremony is held. Im Tirtzu claims that the ceremony negates Israel's existence as a Jewish and democratic state.

"Unfortunately, some universities in Israel have turned into breeding grounds for anti-Israel activity," said Ronen Shoval, chairman and founder of Im Tirtzu. "The Knesset and the government need to put an immediate end to these subversive activities."

The university's student union issued a statement clarifying that it has no connection to the Nakba Day event scheduled for next week on campus. "The student union vehemently opposes its existence in the current format. The union has requested that the university reconsider allowing the event to take place because it has the potential to offend the sensibilities of most of the students on campus."

The ceremony's moderator, "Big Brother" star Saar Szekely, who is studying for his master's degree at the university, explained that the ceremony is aimed at understanding the suffering of the Palestinian people. "By recognizing it [the Nakba] we can better understand history," Szekely said.

The university said that it approved the request by a group of students to hold the event. "The process of approving the event was conducted in accordance with the law and university regulations."

If the University allows such a act of treason, then I call on the government of Israel to stop all funding of Tel Aviv University.

If a private person does not want to hold these views fine, but if you receive funds from the government you must toe the line.

09/05/2012
By Abdul Sattar Hatita and Yusri Mohamed
http://www.asharq-e.com/news.asp?section=1&id=29561

Cairo, Asharq Al-Awsat – Egyptian security sources have informed Asharq
Al-Awsat that the security apparatus in Cairo believe that Iran may be
funding the smuggling of arms – belonging to the former Libyan arm – into
the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. The source added that the lack of security
along the Egypt – Israeli border has increased the concerns that a new
attack on Israel could be launched from Egypt’s Sinai.

For his part, an Egyptian government official who spoke to Asharq Al-Awsat
on the condition of anonymity revealed that Cairo, over the past few weeks,
has received some indications from Israel and from western countries,
regarding the issue of the Sinai Peninsula. He said “the situation in Sinai
is under control…the [Egyptian] Defence Minister has visited, as has the
prime minister…and we are in charge of deciding what is to be done there.”

All high-level meetings between senior officials over the past few days in
Cairo have discussed the grave situation in the Sinai Peninsula, which has a
strategically important position, being close to the Gaza Strip, Israel, and
the Suez Canal.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr spoke with Director-General of
the Multinational Forces and Observers David M. Satterfield on Monday. The
Multinational Forces and Observers have been responsible for monitoring the
Egypt – Israel borders since the signing of the Camp David Accord.

The Egyptians are also closely monitoring what is taking place on the other
side of the borders, where the Israeli army is preparing to install an
early-warning missile system in the city of Eliat, which has been subject to
rocket attacks by hard-line groups operating from Egyptian territory.

Unidentified armed groups have also been able to thwart Egypt’s export of
gas to Israel, targeting the oil pipelines 14 times over the past months. An
Egyptian security source revealed that the Egyptian authorities have
observed increased activities by jihadist groups that are moving across
Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip, as well as the Egyptian border with
Israel, via the Sinai Peninsula. The security source claimed that weapons
smuggled from Libya, including BM-21 Grad missiles and other missile
systems, have increasingly appeared in the hands of extremist groups since
the beginning of the year.

As for the suspicions that Iran is involved in the smuggling of arms from
Libya into the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian security source informed Asharq
Al-Awsat that Iran might continue its attempts to incite Egyptian – Israeli
tensions by utilizing hard-line groups operating from the Sinai Peninsula.
The source also revealed that Egyptian authorities had observed Iranian
businessmen and nationals, carrying western passports, entering the country
following the collapse of the Mubarak regime.

It is well known that Iran is facing economic sanctions and pressure by the
international community due to its nuclear program, particularly as there
are suspicions that Tehran would seek to transform a peaceful nuclear
program into a means to produce nuclear arms.

Egyptian – Iranian relations were severed more than 30 years ago due to
their different opinion regarding the issue of war and peace in the region.
An official working in the Iranian Interests Office in Cairo said “we do not
interfere in the affairs of Egypt, and we do not have any links to any
groups in Sinai.”

Egyptian army and police forces have reinforced their presence in the Sinai
Peninsula after military personnel were attacked by unknown elements that
most likely belong to jihadist groups in Rafah and Sheikh Zuwayd in the
Sinai Peninsula.

It is well known that the presence of the Egyptian Armed Forces in the Sinai
Peninsula is restricted according to the peace treaty with Israel, which was
signed following the October 1973 war. Despite the fact that Israel, when
necessary, allows the Egyptian Armed Forces to deploy additional forces to
the Sinai Peninsula, the Egyptians say that they require more freedom to
move and act in Sinai in order to counteract the recent developments. The
Egyptian presidential candidates have all pledged to amend the peace treaty
with Israel in order to increase Egyptian sovereignty and control over the
Sinai Peninsula.

The Egyptian authorities have become stricter regarding the movements of
Egyptians and foreign nationals in the Sinai Peninsula or between Egypt and
the Gaza Strip. Around 150 Arab and foreign businessmen who were on their
way to Gaza to take part in an investment forum were prevented from crossing
into Gaza via the Rafah Border Crossing on Monday. An Egyptian security
official said that the delegation failed to obtain the necessary approvals
to cross into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah Border Crossing, and this is why
they were prevented from attending the forum.

Local officials in Benghazi have claimed to have no knowledge regarding
whether or not Iranian businessmen are financing any arms smuggling
operations from Libya into Egypt. However, some security sources in Benghazi
have revealed that there are links between military battalions with ties to
the Muslim Brotherhood which were formed after the collapse of the Gaddafi
regime in the Cyrenaica region of eastern Libya, and Islamists in Egypt and
the Gaza Strip.

Security sources in the Sinai Peninsula have claimed that the types of
weapons being used by hard-liners “come from Libya”. The source also
revealed that Egyptian authorities had arrested 2 jihadist elements earlier
this week for photographing an Egyptian armed forces security station in the
al-Ahrash district of Rafah city. The source added that it was clear that
the two suspects who had been arrested subscribe to jihadist ideology, and
perhaps have links to the recent attacks on the Egyptian armed forces in the
Sinai Peninsula.

Kadima Council head Haim Ramon quits party, says it has strayed from its ideological principles

Attila Somfalvi
Published: 05.09.12, 21:16 / Israel News

Former Knesset Member Haim Ramon, who has been serving as the head of the Kadima Council, has submitted his resignation from the post and the party on Wednesday evening.

Hours after Kadima Chairman Shaul Mofaz was sworn in as deputy prime minister and minister without portfolio, Ramon told Ynet that Kadima has lost its way as the centrist party he had envisioned.

"From an ideological standpoint, Kadima no longer exists for me," he said.

He admitted that perhaps Mofaz's decision to join the Coalition was a natural progression, considering many of its members sought the change.

"Kadima has reverted to being Likud," he added. "Many (members) have wanted this to happen the whole time. They voted out Tzipi Livni… They prefered a Kadima that wants to be a part of Likud. Kadima is done being a centrist party."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4227130,00.html

I think either Haim Ramon or me is crazy.

This is left wing defeatist thinking and both parties are guilty of it.

Arab newspapers interpret new Netanyahu-Mofaz alliance as preamble for war
Roi Kais

Newspapers across the Arab world could not ignore Israel's political drama and the declaration of a unity government on Tuesday. Benjamin Netanyahu and Shaul Mofaz were described as conniving war mongers and corrupt politicians as editorials declared war was looming.

"Netanyahu is forming a war government," al-Quds al-Arabi's headline cried. "No one knows what goes on through the mind of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on many regional issues these days. One can predict that this man is scheming and planning wars after murdering the peace process with the settlement policy in the occupied Arab territories," the London-based paper said.

The UAE paper al-Bayan printed an editorial titled "A government challenges peace." The headline in Saudi Arabia's al-Madina paper read: "Israel prepares for war."

The paper analyzed Netanyahu as a statesman and ruled he was "concerned about his status in Israeli history and wants to be remembered as the leader who destroyed the Iranian nuclear program and solidified Israel's nuclear monopoly in the region."

Lebanon's popular as-Safir newspaper chose to address the political drama from a different perspective. Titled "Israeli recklessness," its editorial explained that the "news (of early elections) turned out to be random fraud but it captured the attention of the entire world and became the focus of analyses and estimates that war is looming."

"The country once described as the only democracy in the Middle East is slowly emerging to be nothing more than a yard-sale, not just because some of its Arab neighbors are trying to establish true democratic models but because its current statesmen are behaving like crime bosses."

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4226912,00.html

Posted on May 8, 2012
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What’s so special about Flight 571?

On May 8, 1972, a flight from Belgian airline Sabena set off from Vienna towards Tel Aviv, named Flight 571. Twenty minutes after takeoff, it was hijacked by four terrorists–two men, two women–from the Black September terror group. This set off a series of events leading up to Operation Isotope–one of the most daring rescue operations in the history of Israel.

Following the terrorists’ attempt to break into the cockpit, Reginald Levy, the plane’s captain, kept his cool and attempted to relax his passengers by entertaining them through a loudspeaker conversation with the terrorists, about everything from navigation to sex.
Captain Reginald Levy, Sabena Flight 571

Captain Reginald Levy, who piloted the Sabena Flight 571. "I talked about everything under the sun, from navigation to sex."

Aboard the plane, the terrorists were demanding the release of 315 Palestinian prisoners being held in Israeli jails, claiming they would blow up the plane if their demands were not met.

Captain Levy sent in distress signals, which were received by Israeli Security Minister Moshe Dayan. Dayan immediately began negotiations with the terrorists, while simultaneously planning a covert rescue operation: Operation Isotope.

The Sabena flight reached Tel-Aviv, landing in Lod Airport (now Ben-Gurion Airport). Captain Levy was sent out to show the waiting Israelis a sample of the explosives on the plane, to convince them of the threat. Aboard the plane, passengers were crying or hysterical.

A team of 16 elite commandos (Hebrew: Sayeret Matkal) approached the grounded aircraft in white overalls, disguised as airplane technicians. They convinced the terrorists that the aircraft was in desperate need of repairs.
Sabena Flight 571

Elite commandos disguised as airplane technicians in white attempt to board the aircraft.

Within ten minutes of boarding the plane, the squad of elite commandos managed to kill the two male terrorists, arrest the two female terrorists, and neutralize the threat to the passengers. Nearly all civilians on board were unharmed, except for three, one of whom later died from her injuries. Among the commandos were Ehud Barak and Benjamin Netanyahu–both of whom eventually became Israeli prime ministers.
Sabena Flight 571

Ehud Barak, third disguised airplane technician from the left holding the handgun, walks off the plane after successfully completing the operation with his team.

The surviving female terrorists were sentenced to life in Israeli prison, but were later released in the prisoner exchange deal following the 1982 Lebanon War.

Black September members were also involved in the notorious 1972 Munich massacre, where 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were taken hostage and eventually murdered.
Black September Munich Massacre

Black September terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre of the Israeli Olympic team

Black September operatives were also targeted in Operation Spring of Youth, which involved elite Sayeret soldiers sneaking into Beirut dressed as women.

What happened to the plane after the hijacking?

The same airplane that was victim to the hijacking was flown for an additional five years before being sold to the Israeli Air Force (IAF). The IAF ended up using it to carry out spy missions.
Benjamin Netanyahu Operation Isotope

Current PM Benjamin Netanyahu is congratulated by former Israeli President Zalman Shazar during a ceremony honoring the elite commandos who rescued the hostages from the Sabena Flight 571.