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1. IDF Retaliation: Three Gaza Targets Bombed
by Hillel Fendel
Retaliating for a Kassam rocket that damaged a factory building in the western Negev yesterday, Israeli jets bombed three targets in Gaza over the night. The IDF reports “precise hits.”
Among the hit targets were a terrorist tunnel leading to Israel, an arms-manufacturing lab in northern Gaza, and a terrorist headquarters in southern Gaza.
The destroyed tunnel's opening was located a kilometer away from the border fence with Israel. It was designed for terrorists to infiltrate into Israel to commit attacks against Israelis – similar to the type they perpetrated four years ago when they tunneled into Israel, killed two soldiers, and kidnapped Gilad Shalit.
In addition to the Kassam that hit a plant yesterday, Hamas terrorists in Gaza fired more than ten other Kassams and mortar shells at Israel over the past week, and several others in the days before that. No one was hurt in the attacks.
Over 90 rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israeli territory since the beginning of 2010, and over 330 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip into Israel since the end of operation Cast Lead 18 months ago.
Announcing its retaliatory attack, the IDF stated that it will “not tolerate any attempt to harm the citizens of the State of Israel and the soldiers of the IDF, and will continue to act with determination and strength against any element that activates terrorism against the State of Israel.”
“The IDF views the Hamas terrorist organization as exclusively responsible for whatever happens in the Gaza Strip and for maintaining quiet there,” the statement continued.
2. Lieberman Furious Over Turkish Talks in Zurich
by Hana Levi Julian
A crisis has developed between Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu over a clandestine foreign relations meeting held behind Lieberman's back.
The secret talks were held Wednesday in Zurich between Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Lieberman, whose Yisrael Beitenu (Israel Our Home) party is the second-largest member of Netanyahu's coalition, responded harshly Wednesday night to a report broadcast on Channel 2 television news that Defense Minister Ehud Barak had also been aware the prime minister sent Ben-Eliezer to the meeting.
“The foreign minister views very seriously the fact that this took place without informing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Lieberman said in a statement released by his office. “This harms the norms of accepted behavior and the feeling of confidence between the foreign minister and the prime minister.”
Lieberman made it clear in a radio interview Thursday morning, however, that his anger over the issue was not personal, but rather a matter of policy. The foreign minister explained that a meeting between Israel's political echelon and Turkish officials, after the list of demands sent by Turkey to Israel, is not beneficial to Israel's position.
Despite media speculation, Lieberman added that he has “absolutely no thoughts about quitting the coalition. We were the first to sign the coalition agreement and we will not give anyone the pleasure of seeing us abandon the coalition.”
Turkish officials with whom Ben-Eliezer has had strong ties for years allegedly asked for the meeting.
Netanyahu: No Reason to Block Meeting
The Prime Minister's Office also released a statement of its own Wednesday night, saying that Netanyahu saw no reason to prevent the meeting.
“Over the last few weeks there have been a number of initiatives for contacts with Turkey which the Foreign Ministry was aware of,” the PMO said, adding that Lieberman had been left out of the loop “for technical reasons only. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is working in full cooperation with the Foreign Minister and will clarify the incident with him.”
No details were made available about the content of the meeting between Ben-Eliezer and Davutoglu.
Ben-Eliezer was the only minister to demand an international inquiry into the May 31 flotilla clash in which nine terror activists died after attacking Israeli Navy commandos who boarded their vessel. Israel is also conducting an internal probe into the incident, monitored by two international observers and headed by a retired Supreme Court justice.
The seizure of the Mavi Marmara and five other ships took place after the maritime convoy ignored repeated warnings by the Navy to change course, and continued to head towards Gaza. The stated aim of the flotilla was to break Israel's sovereignty over the Hamas terrorist-ruled region.
3. Opinion: Proximity Talks: Questions for Washington
by Khaled Abu Toameh
Even if Israel and the Palestinian Authority were to reach a peace agreement sometime in the near future, it is certain that the Palestinian Authority would not be able to implement it or sell it to a majority of Palestinians.
Therefore the first and most important question that decision-makers in Washington and European capitals need to ask themselves these days is: Is there a majority of Palestinians who are prepared to make far-reaching concessions in the context of a peace treaty with Israel? Is there a Palestinian leader who is willing to make compromises on explosive issues such as Jerusalem, settlements and the "right of return?"
Frankly, there is no way that Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas could accept anything less than what his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, rejected at the botched Camp David summit in the summer of 2000. Back then, Arafat refused to sign a document pledging to "end the conflict" with Israel unless he got 100% of his demands.
In addition, there are serious doubts as to whether Abbas would be able to persuade a majority of Palestinians living in refugee camps in the Arab world to accept any peace agreement with Israel that did not include the "right of return" to their original villages in pre-1948 Israel.
Abbas, however, is not in a position to accept even a "partial" agreement on the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees. No Palestinian leader has thus far dared to publicly make the slightest concession on this issue.
Further, Abbas could not sign any deal that excluded the Gaza Strip; he would then be accused of "solidifying" the split between the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Moreover, although the Palestinian Authority has said it would consider land swap, apparently many Palestinians are opposed to it.
The second question that Washington needs to ask is: Do Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad have enough credibility and support among Palestinians to be able to sell to a majority of them a peace deal with Israel?
Abbas and the Palestinian Authority cannot go to the Gaza strip; they have limited control over the West Bank, and are still lacking in credibility, at least as far as many Palestinians are concerned.
Three years ago, the Palestinian Authority was kicked out of the Gaza Strip by Hamas, thereby losing direct control over 1.5 million Palestinians.
The private and official residences of Abbas in the Gaza strip have been seized by Hamas, which sometimes uses them as interrogation and detention centers.
Just recently Hamas declared that Abbas would not be allowed to enter the Gaza Strip unless he receives permission from its government. This means that when and if Abbas strikes a deal with Israel, he would not even be able to travel to the Gaza Strip to implement it or try to sell it to the Palestinians living there.
Even though Abbas lives and works in the West Bank, many Palestinians have long been questioning whether he really has full control over the area. Moreover, it remains to be seen whether he and Fayyad, enjoy the support of a majority of Palestinians in the West Bank. Some Palestinians are convinced that if a free and democratic election were held tomorrow in the West Bank, Hamas would definitely emerge victorious. Hamas would win, they argue, mainly because most Palestinians still do not regard Abbas's Fatah faction as a better alternative to the Islamic fundamentalist movement.
The third question that the US Administration needs to ask itself is: Where is Abbas supposed to implement a peace agreement with Israel? In Tel Aviv?
So what is the point in launching "proximity talks" between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority while ignoring the fact that the partner in Ramallah would not be able to deliver his side of an agreement?
Also, why do the Americans and the Europeans continue to turn a blind eye to the fact that the Palestinians already have two states – one in the Gaza Strip under Hamas and the second in the West Bank under Fatah?
It is becoming increasingly hard to tell what the Palestinians exactly want. While once a majority of them appeared to support the idea of a two-state solution, many seem to think that the one-state solution, where Jews and Arabs would live together and not apart from each other, is not a bad idea after all. Then there is a third group that continues to believe that the only solution lies in the elimination of the Jewish state.
The only way to move forward with any peace process is by insisting that the Palestinians first get their act together and end the infighting between the two Palestinian states. Perhaps before we search for ways to make peace between Jews and Palestinians, we need first need to find a way to achieve peace between Palestinians and Palestinians.
(The author studied at Hebrew University and began his career as a reporter by working for a PLO-affiliated newspaper in Jerusalem, but currently works for the international media, serving as the 'eyes and ears' of foreign journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Abu Toameh's articles have appeared in numerous newspapers around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, US News & World Report and The Sunday Times of London. Reprinted with permission from Hudson-NY.org)
4. ‘Impartial’ UN Expert: Israeli Actions are ‘War Crimes'
by Hillel Fendel
A United Nations appointee termed by Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. as not “independent, impartial or objective” warns that Israeli actions against illegal construction and residence could amount to “war crimes under international humanitarian law.”
Richard Falk, who holds the position of “U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian territories occupied since 1967,” warned Israel against attempting to deport four top Hamas members from Jerusalem, and against the plan to demolish 22 illegal buildings – while retroactively authorizing 66 others – in a historic Jewish area of Jerusalem below the Temple Mount.
“These actions, if carried out, would violate international law, with certain actions potentially amounting to war crimes under international humanitarian law,” warned Falk, who was appointed by the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council.
Among the four Hamas members that Israel wishes to deport is the orange-bearded Muhammed Abu-Tir, who was convicted in the past of the attempted poisoning in the early 1990s of Israel's water supplies and running the murderous Hamas military arm, the Izz a-Din al-Kassam Brigades. That organization is responsible for the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, as well as many shootings, suicide bombings, and the like.
Abu Tir was sentenced to life in prison on terrorism charges; Amira Hass of Haaretz lamented last week that "his parents died, his daughters were married, and his grandchildren were born and grew up while he was in prison." Released in 2005 and allowed to run for a seat on the PA Legislative Council, he was held most recently as a bargaining chip for the release of Shalit. MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) expressed his “shock” at hearing that Abu Tir was to be released from prison. “In any normal country,” Ben-Ari stated, “a man like Abu Tir, whose hands are soaked with the blood of Jews, would find himself deep in the ground - or at least in jail for the rest of his life.”
Despite the above, Mr. Falk said it was “disturbing” and “shocking” that Israel is considering revoking the residency permits of Abu Tir and his three Hamas comrades and “appears ready to forcibly transfer these individuals based on their supposed lack of loyalty to the State of Israel.” He called Israel “an occupying Power” that is “prohibited from transferring civilian persons from East Jerusalem, and is prohibited from forcing Palestinians to swear allegiance or otherwise affirm their loyalty to the State of Israel.”
Background Explains All
Falk’s background includes the following: He described his family as “assimilationist Jewish with a virtual denial of even the ethnic side of Jewishness,” has stated that the United States wars in Vietnam and Iraq were either war crimes or in violation of international law, and is a former advisory board member of the American Movement for World Government.
Well before his appointment to his current position in March 2008, Falk said it would not be an "irresponsible overstatement to associate the treatment of Palestinians with the criminalized Nazi record of collective atrocity." He also took part in a U.N. fact-finding mission that found that suicide bombings were a valid method of “struggle.”
When Falk was appointed to the U.N. body, Israel’s then-Ambassador to the U.N. Yitzchak Levanon lambasted the appointment using terms such as "hopelessly unbalanced" and “malicious.” Levanon said that someone with views like Falk’s “could not possibly be considered independent, impartial or objective." Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said about Falk's appointment, "He was picked for a reason, and the reason is not to have an objective assessment; the objective is to find more ammunition to go after Israel.”
Whose Garden?
Confusing events of 2,500 years ago with those of today, Falk said, “International law does not allow Israel to bulldoze Palestinian homes to make space for the mayor’s project to build a garden, or anything else.” In fact, the area in question is known as The King’s Garden because it is mentioned by that name in the Biblical Books of Kings and Jeremiah.
Jewish tradition and historians agree that the area, located below the City of David, also known as Silwan or Shiloach, served Kings David and Solomon. Though it was purposely kept pristine by the Ottoman and British governments, and remained that way under Jordanian rule as well, Arabs have built nearly 90 pirate buildings there since 1967, without authorization and without basic infrastructures.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat's plan, which has now been approved by the city’s governing coalition, calls for the retroactive approval of 66 of the illegal houses, land grants for the remaining illegal squatters for the construction of new and larger houses, and turning much of the King's Garden area into a green area that will be preserved as a historic treasure.
5. Hizbullah: Lebanese Telecom Exec is an Israeli Spy
by Hana Levi Julian
A Lebanese telecommunications executive has been accused by the Hizbullah terrorist organization of working for the Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency.
According to a report published in the daily Al-Liwaa newspaper, Lebanese Army forces arrested Charbel Qazzi, an executive at Lebanon's Alfa mobile phone network, on suspicion of spying for Israel. A second newspaper, the Ad-Diyar daily, said that two of Qazzi's assistants had also been arrested by security forces, and their equipment had been confiscated.
Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah announced the arrest Tuesday at a news conference in Beirut. "Israel has managed to seize technical control of the telecommunications network and to harm national security thanks to information provided by the collaborator over past years," Fadlallah told reporters. "This is an Israeli collaborator who has been active since 1996 and who for 14 years has been giving the enemy vital information on Lebanese communications and security."
Qazzi allegedly confessed to planting programs and special electronic chips provided to him by Israel in the company's transmission stations, according to a report published by the As-Safir newspaper.
Lebanese President Michel Sleiman commented in a statement issued by his office on Tuesday that Qazzi was just one link in a chain of Israeli agents arrested by the Lebanese Army. Earlier in the week, Lebanon's Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas told the AFP news agency that an Alfa technician had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Israel.
More than 70 people have been arrested in Lebanon in the past 15 months, all on charges of spying for Israel – including a number of highly-placed military officials.
A Lebanese Army colonel who was accused of collaborating with Israel told a military tribunal Tuesday that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and has been taking medication for more than 20 years. The Daily Star reported that Colonel Shahid Tournieh refused during interrogation to be referred to as an agent, and told investigators, “I am not an agent. The confessions from my first statement are not at all true.”
Israel has not commented on the arrests.
6. Chabad's R. Krinsky Named Most Influential Rabbi, Credits Rebbe
by Gil Ronen and Hana Levi Julian
Rabbi Yehudah Krinsky has been named the most influential rabbi in the U.S., in an annual list of 50 Most Influential Rabbis in America published in Newsweek. The list is compiled by Sony Pictures chairman and CEO Michael Lynton and Gary Ginsberg, an executive vice president of Time Warner Inc.
Rabbi Krinsky, administrative head of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement's educational and social services divisions, has been on the Top 50 Rabbis list since its inception in 2006, but this is the first time he has reached the number one spot.
The movement has had no top spiritual leader since the passing of the highly venerated Lubavitcher Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, in 1994, whose teachings and guidance continue to be effective today for millions around the world.
In 1957, Rabbi Krinsky was recruited by the Rebbe to serve as a member of his secretariat, later serving as corporate secretary of his three central organizations. These positions would give him unique access to the Rebbe over the next decades.
Israel National News asked Rabbi Krinsky why he thinks was he chosen for the number one spot in the Newsweek list.
"This is really about recognizing the Rebbe's gift to Jewish life,” he replied. “It is about the Rebbe's Shluchim [global Chabad emissaries], who work relentlessly to realize his vision. The Shluchim are 'soldiers in the trenches' who devote themselves with passion and creativity and genuine kindness to the material and spiritual well-being of their respective communities; it would be hard to imagine Jewish life today without the achievements of the Shluchim. They are the face of Chabad-Lubavitch today."
INN: How has the Mumbai terror attack influenced the activity of Chabad's shluchim?
Rabbi Krinsky: "It underscored the far-reaching impact that Shluchim have within their communities, and how enormously appreciated and needed they are. The outpouring of solidarity made it rather clear that Chabad Shluchim are universally recognized for what they represent, and for what they bring to their communities. Gabi and Rivki illustrated, by the examples they set in the way they lived their lives, the meaning of selfless living. So they were a tremendous inspiration not only to the thousands who've come through their door, but also to their fellow Shluchim.
"The murder of Gabi and Rivki in their Chabad House was a personal tragedy for the Shluchim, but they regrouped immediately; the tragedy enlarged their sense of camaraderie which was always very strong; instead of becoming defeated, they deepened their faith, their identity as Shluchim, and their commitment to their life-work."
The Chabad movement has seen dramatic growth in the last 15 years. Baila Olidort, editor-in-chief of Lubavitch.com, told Israel National News that by continuing to follow the Rebbe's directives, the movement has doubled in size in just about every area during this period, including the numbers of young men and women who joined the ranks of Shluchim. “More than half of the Shluchim working in the field today – there are well over 3500 couples – have joined since 1994,” she explained. “The same is true for Chabad Centers – with more than 1,100 new ones having opened since 1994. Likewise, the number of countries on the Chabad map has grown from 38 in 1994, to 73 today.”
Several weeks ago, Rabbi Krinsky announced the development of an Early Childhood Initiative, one of the first projects launched in the recent revival of Chabad's Machne Israel Development Fund, which was established by the Rebbe.
“The initiative is reflective of the Chabad-Lubavitch approach to engaging Jewish people in Jewish life,” Mrs. Olidort said. “Chabad Centers nationwide have earned a reputation for their outstanding preschools, and their success in creating a positive Jewish experience for these preschoolers means that parents are drawn in as well, so the circle of people who become involved in Jewish life widens.”
The project, funded in part by a $5 million grant from David Slager -- "who recognized its value" -- is aimed at opening new preschools in the U.S., as well as additional slots in already established preschools, Mrs. Olidort said. "This is one of many projects on the drawing board, but the thinking behind it is inherent to all of Chabad's activities, which is to fulfill the Rebbe's vision by reaching every Jewish demographic and empowering everyone, from children to adults, from the marginally involved to the assimilated, with the tools to access their Jewish heritage."
7. "Flotilla Incident Increased Interest in Israeli Security Expo"
by Yoni Kempinski
Arutz Sheva TV visited Security Israel 2010 – the 24th International Homeland Security Exhibition. In the following video, the event's organizer, Ze'ev Omer, explains that the idea of "Safe City" is becoming more common throughout the past few years.
"Safe City" refers to the security of the civilians in their own immediate localities as opposed to the entire nation's security issues when facing threats such as enemy armies and terror organizations.
Omer explains that Israel's vast experience in the field of "Homeland Security" is being used to benefit the field of "Safe City". Regarding the cooperation of international representatives, Omer states that the flotilla incident actually increased the interest of foreign authorities in the event.
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