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1. Al-Qaeda Bombing Plot Foiled
by Hillel Fendel
Two women have been arrested in Yemen in connection with an apparent Al-Qaeda plot to blow up either an airplane or a Chicago synagogue – or both.
Two synagogues in Chicago were the addresses of explosives packages sent from Yemen and discovered en-route in the United Arab Emirates and Britain. One, discovered at a British airport, contained enough explosives to bring down an airplane, according to British Home Secretary Theresa May. The other, found in Dubai, the UAE's largest city, was similarly powerful.
The plot was uncovered when police were informed of the possibility of an explosive device in packages aboard a FedEx flight to Dubai. The Saudi Arabian government provided the tracking numbers of the packages, which were then tracked down and neutralized.
Yemeni sources, including a government official, said that a woman believed to be connected to the plot had been arrested in Sanaa,Yemen's capital, where the packages originated. It was later announced that the woman's mother was also arrested.
It is not clear where the bombs were meant to be detonated. "We believe that the device was designed to go off on the airplane," British Prime Minister David Cameron said, but added that there can be no certainty where this was to take place – or whether the terrorists themselves would have been able to know where the bomb was at any given time.
CNN reported that a U.S. law enforcement official said that all the packages from Yemen that authorities were looking for have been found and "no longer pose a threat." Yemen is the stronghold of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
The bombs contained PETN, a highly explosive organic compound used in last year's would-be bombing of a Northwest Airlines flight near Detroit. It is estimated that each bomb contained some 400 grams of PETN – nearly 70 times the amount needed to blow a hole in the fuselage of an aircraft.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the plot appears to be an Al-Qaeda scheme. "We know that the perpetrators of this -- and it has the hallmarks of al Qaeda, the AQAP -- they are constantly trying things to test our system," she said.
The bombs, packed in toner cartridges and designed to be detonated by a cell phone, were connected via electric circuit to a mobile phone chip tucked in a printer.
U.S. President Obama thanked King Abdullah for Saudi Arabia's key role in disrupting the plot, the White House announced, while a Yemen Embassy spokesman in Washington said that Yemen is cooperating with the U.S. and England in investigating the plot. Obama's counterterrorism advisor John Brennan spoke to Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh, stressing "the importance of close counterterrorism cooperation, including the need to work together on the ongoing investigation into the events over the past few days."
Meanwhile, Jewish organizations in England have been placed on high alert.
2. Court May Shorten Sentence of Man Who Threw Shoe at Beinisch
by Gil Ronen
The court system appears to be preparing to ease the sentence of Pinchas (Pini) Cohen, 52, who hurled a shoe at Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch during a court hearing in January. In a session of the Magistrates' Court Sunday, Judge Musia Arad asked representatives of the State Prosecution and Cohen's attorneys to try and reach agreement regarding a shorter sentence.
Cohen, who was motivated by frustration over court decisions regarding child support payments he was unable to meet, threw the shoe with impressive accuracy from a range of about 22 feet, hitting Beinisch squarely on the face, knocking her off her buck-leather seat and breaking her glasses.
Cohen was roughed up by security men, arrested and speedily brought to trial. In June, Magistrates' Court Judge Shimon Feierberg ruled that Cohen would spend three years in jail, after determining that “through the deed of hurling an object at the President of the Supreme Court, in the course of a court session, the defendant challenged the entire judicial system.”
The three-year sentence came under fire from various quarters as unnecessarily harsh and vindictive.
In the court session Sunday morning, it appeared that the prosecution was also not opposed to shortening the sentence. The prosecution, not normally known for leniency when it comes to attacks on judges, informed the court that a shorter sentence could still be effectively deterrent. “Even a shorter sentence than three years can have these qualities,” it stated, “i.e. it can be prolonged, painful, effective and protective. If the court decides upon such a sentence, it will not be a lighter punishment but a less heavy one."
3. Gunmen Ambush Couple Driving in Car, Miss Their Targets
by Gil Ronen
Terrorist gunmen opened fire Saturday evening at a Jewish couple from Har Gilo who were driving in a car south of Jerusalem. The couple escaped unhurt.
The terror ambush took place near the Arab village of Walajeh and was first reported by Arutz Sheva's Hebrew news service at around 9:00 PM. Saturday evening. After the incident, the driver kept on going and reported the incident to the authorities upon reaching the IDF's Ein Yael checkpoint.
One bullet reportedly struck the rear part of the vehicle.
Terrorists carried out a a similar ambush against a Jewish couple on a road south of Hevron in late September, just over a month ago. Netta Zucker, who was pregnant, suffered light to moderate wounds, and her husband Sharon was lightly hurt. They reached Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva by car on their own and immediately afterward, Netta gave birth to her firstborn son by Caesarean section.
In late August, four people – Yitzchak Imes, Talia Imes, Kochava Even-Hayyim and Avishai Schindler – were cruelly murdered by Arab terrorists at the Bani Nayim junction in the same area. They were all from the community of Beit Haggai. One day later, terrorists carried out a gunfire ambush at the Rimonim junction in the Binyamin area, north of Jerusalem. A Jewish couple – Moshe and Shira Moreno – suffered moderate and light wounds, respectively.
Arab terrorists routinely target Jewish civilians intentionally, but no international commission of inquiry has investigated the matter. Instead, Israel has often been investigated for its counter-terror operations.
4. Saudi Prince Opposes 'Ground Zero Mosque'
by Maayana Miskin
Saudi Arabia's Prince Al-Waleed announced Thursday that he is not behind the “Ground Zero Mosque” in New York City, and on the contrary, he does not support the project in its current location. The prince spoke to the Arabian Business news website.
“I heard and saw a lot of news about me being associated with it, and it is all wrong. We did not finance this thing,” Al-Waleed said.
He said he opposes the location of the planned facility, close to Ground Zero, the site where the World Trade Center was demolished in the 9/11 attack nine years ago. “First of all, those people behind the mosque have to respect, have to appreciate and have to defer to the people of New York, and not try to agitate the wound by saying, 'we need to put the mosque next to the 9/11 site,'” he said. “The wound is still there... I am against putting the mosque there out of respect for those people who have been wounded over there.”
He also expressed opposition to the location due to the businesses nearby. “The mosque has to be in a dignified location. It can't be next to a bar or strip club, or in a neighborhood that is not refined and good,” he explained.
Muslims have the right to built a mosque where they want, the prince said, but should show respect and move it by choice. “Ten years ago is nothing when you talk about history," he added.
The proposed Muslim community center and mosque near the Ground Zero site has been met with controversy and protests. Some have questioned the project due to investors' ties to terrorism.
5. 25,000 in Hevron for the Sabbath
by Hillel Fendel
"Hevron Sabbath" has ended, and the 25,000 visitors and guests are making their way home after spending Shabbat in the City of the Patriarchs.
The annual event attracts guests even from abroad. Among those who took part this year were Rabbi Chaim Druckman, Tzfat's Chief Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, and MKs Uri Ariel, Ze'ev Elkin, Tzipi Hotobeli, and Gila Gamliel.
The event is held each year on the Sabbath of Parashat Chaye Sarah (Genesis 24 and 25), when the story of the Patriarch Abraham's purchase of the Machpelah Field and Cave is recounted. The three Patriarchs, as well as three of the Matriarchs - Sarah, Leah, and Rebecca - are buried there; the Matriarch Rachel died near Bethlehem, and was buried along the way in what is now Rachel's Tomb.
This year's "Hevron Sabbath" was marked, for the first time in 12 years, by the official opening of the streets of the Kasba – the old city marketplace and former Jewish quarter – to crowds of Jewish visitors. The guests saw 19th-century Jewish homes and institutions, now occupied by Arabs.
"We thank the myriads of visitors," a statement by the Jewish Community of Hevron said, "as well as the security forces and the residents of Hevron and Kiryat Arba who opened their homes and their hearts. We await the day when 25,000 Jews will live in Hevron, and will not be just visitors."
6. PM on FedEx Attack: Terrorists Showing Greater Chutzpah
by Gil Ronen
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu indirectly mentioned, in a statement opening Sunday's weekly Cabinet meeting, the suspected attempt by Yemeni terrorists to strike Chicago synagogues by sending explosive packages via FedEx .
“It matters not whether the attempt is to strike a synagogue in Chicago, a train station in Madrid, or [targets] in Mumbai or Bali,” Netanyahu said. “We are facing a terror wave that is growing, both in terms of the weapons it uses and in terms of trends and chutzpah vis-a-vis the world,” he said.
Each of the bombs reportedly contained some 400 grams of PETN, a highly explosive substance.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano said the plot “has the hallmarks of al-Qaeda” and added: “They are constantly trying things to test our system.”
The bombs, packed in toner cartridges and designed to be detonated by a cell phone, were connected via electric circuit to a mobile phone chip tucked into a printer.
The US has recently warned of an increased Al Qaeda threat in Europe. The terror organization was reported last year to be "building an army" of thousands in Yemen.
On Friday, the Prime MInister criticized the UNESCO vote labelling Rachel's Tomb a mosque and calling for it and the Cave of the Patriarchs to be removed from Israel's Heritage Site list.
7. Arabs Chop Down Olive Trees at Netzer
by Chana Ya'ar
A gang of 12 Arabs was discovered Friday chopping down olive trees that were planted last week in the Jewish Judean community of Netzer.
At least three of the big trees fell to the axes and saws wielded by the attackers before Jewish activists discovered what was happening. The defenders managed to stop the Arabs from further action, and stayed with the trees until an IDF unit arrived to inspect the damage. (Israel news photo: Women in Green / Netzer)
“They saw the damage and promised to catch the Arab perpetrators,” said the Women in Green and Netzer (Judean Action Committee) organizations in a joint statement. “The story of this plot of land is obviously not over.”
The big olive trees are part of a grove that has become a new battlefield on the Path of the Patriarchs in Gush Etzion. Tthe plot is part of an area considered to be state land by Israel's Civil Administration.
Local Palestinian Authority Arabs from the surrounding area, who consider state land to be theirs whether officially designated as such or not, uprooted grapevines there more than a week ago. A few days later, in response, activists planted a group of large olive trees donated by a farmer from the north. (Israel news photo: Women in Green / Netzer)
The trees were not in the ground for even 24 hours before Arabs came and uprooted them. By Sunday evening, however, Jewish activists returned and began a complicated operation to replant the big trees – three of which are now dead. (Israel news photo: Women in Green / Netzer)
While Jews and Arabs battle for control over the land in Judea, a similar fight continues less than an hour north in Samaria, along the same road, Highway 60, where several brutal terrorist attacks by PA Arabs have taken place in recent months.
Slanted Coverage Continues by International Media
Meanwhile, the international media led by various foreign and Arab leftists continue to report on the Palestinian Authority Arabs who “go out to harvest their olives” and the “Israeli settlers [who] go down from the hilltops to stop them.”
Most recently, TIME Magazine claimed in an article published October 29, “The current harvest is the most violent in years, with attacks by settlers on Palestinian property largely to blame.” The damning statement was not substantiated with photos, nor with specific quotes from any IDF official, other than a paraphrased claim that “more than 50% of Israeli forces there (in Judea and Samaria) are patrolling the groves.” (Below: IDF personnel inspect damage inflicted by Arabs at Netzer olive grove / Israel news photo: Women in Green / Netzer)
The writer continued with the explanation that the deployment came following a decision six years ago by Israel's Supreme Court, instructing the IDF to safeguard Palestinian Authority Arab farmers as they harvest their olives.
However, the annual reports of conflict over the olive harvest have become an annual rite of Israel-bashing, according to Gershon Mesika, chairman of the Samaria Regional Council. “It's become about ways to defame Israel,” he told Israel National News in a recent interview. “No Jews living in Judea and Samaira are interested in stealing or damaging the olives of any of our Arab neighbors. It is the radical leftists and Arabs themselves who are doing the damage.”
Frame-up for Jewish 'Price Tag' Libel
Last Friday, members of the Tazpit Unit -- a group of Jewish activists -- spotted Arabs and leftist anarchists aggressively chopping down olive trees in a Samaria grove near the Jewish community of Neve Tzuf. The attackers waved the buzz saw at the Jews as they approached with a video camera. Tazpit photographer Ehud Amiton, who documented the attack, said it was clear this was no pruning, but rather an attempt to frame Jews in a “price tag” scenario.
“Some of the branches broke and other trees were cut off entirely,” Amiton noted. “When I approached closer with my camera, the Palestinian waved his saw at me threateningly. I became worried, and so I backed off.”
Although there is no proof of this occurring at all, an attacks allegedly perpetrated by Jews against Arabs in Judea and Samaria have been denounced by Jewish leaders, including prominent nationalist spokesman attorney Elyakim Ha'etzni, who lives in the Judean Jewish town of Kiryat Arba. However, Haetzni himself did not cite evidence that they were indeed perpetrated by Jews.
8. Arab Mob's Reaction to Accident:Hurl Rocks at Ambulance
by Gil Ronen
Arabs with Israeli citizenship reacted violently Saturday to a traffic accident caused by an Arab driver, who was killed in the crash. They pelted security forces and emergency crews with rocks, for no apparent reason other than the knowledge that they could get away with it.
The accident took at the Musheirfeh junction in Wadi Ara, just a few kilometers away from the archaeological site of Megiddo. Police volunteers who were manning a checkpoint spotted a driver who was driving without a seat belt, and talking on a cellular phone. They motioned him to stop over at the side of the road and began approaching his car. Instead of doing as he was told, the driver tried to get away, executing a sudden U-turn on Highway 65 and getting in the way of a bus that was speeding northward. The bus hit the car, killing the car's driver, Ahmed Jabareen, 21, of Umm El-Fahm. The force of the collision threw the bus into a shallow ditch at the side of the road, which is a major artery that connects the Galilee with the coastal Hadera area.
The bus was reportedly carrying workers from a security-related factory in central Israel. Fifteen of them were lightly hurt in the crash. It is not known why the workers were being transported on Saturday, the Jewish day of rest.
According to the bus's driver, immediately after the accident, hundreds – perhaps thousands – of local Arabs from surrounding villages and the city of Umm El-Fahm came out to the site of the crash. Instead of offering help to the passengers of the bus, some of them began hurling rocks at security forces, fire trucks and ambulances that arrived on the scene.
Highway 65 was sealed off for a period of time until police cleared the locals from the road. The road was blocked for an entire week in the October 2000 riots, proven later to have been a well planned event that was timed to coincide with the launching of Yasser Arafat's barbaric terror war against Israel, known by Arabs as the Second Intifadah.
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| Campaign to Memorialize the Munich 11 |
