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1. Grand Theft Jihad: The Symbiosis Between Criminality and Terror
by Dr. Amiel Ungar
A French special court in Paris considering the case of a group of
eight Islamic suspects accused of using crime to aid Al Qaeda. The eight
are suspected of carrying out on robberies in 2004 and 2005 to serve
the cause of radical Islam primarily in Iraq.
A symbiosis has always existed between criminality and terrorism. For
the criminal the ability to wrap his exploits in a political banner
provides respect and rehabilitation. Revolutionary theorists such as
Mikhail Bakunin felt that those on the margins of society could make
excellent revolutionaries, both because of their psychology and their
vocational training. It is therefore not surprising to see this
development. In 2008, in France, other radical Islamists were found
guilty of financing their cause by racketeering and prostitution.
The group currently on trial is comprised of two Frenchmen, a French
Algerian, an Algerian and four Tunisians. According to the indictment,
the leaders had established contact with Al Qaeda members abroad in
Syria, Algeria and in Turkey where they discussed attacks in France. The
police claim to have found a complete arms cachet consisting of sticks
of dynamite, handguns, two assault rifles walkie-talkies and police
uniforms and body armor.
The gang unsuccessfully tried to hijack an armored car carrying cash
but by blowing up the side of the vehicle, but the breach that resulted
was too narrow. The gang did succeed in holding up a postal vehicle
carrying official documents from the government printing office.
The ringleader of the gang is Ouassini Cherifi, nicknamed "the Turk" a
36-year-old French-Algerian who was sentenced in 2002 to a five-year
prison term for dealing with false passports that were used in terrorist
activity. Upon his release, he acquired a gourmet restaurant that
served as a cover for his activities, notably recruiting British
nationals to fight for jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the
French police Cherifi was prepared to die as a martyr, but did not want
to take the usual suicide bomb route and instead sought his ticket to
Islamic paradise by fulfilling a financial mission on behalf of the
cause.
Another prominent member is Farid Boukemiche, a 34-year-old French
Algerian who spent three years in a British prison on terrorist charges
before trying to claim political asylum. When Britain refused to grant
him such status, he moved back to France and opened up a café called
Chat that has hosted British Islamists.
In both cases, we can witness the problematic development of prisons
serving as recruitment and training grounds for Islamic radicalism.
2. EU Likely to Decline Ahmadinejad’s ‘Magical Mystery Tour’
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Ahmadinejad has invited most Western powers – but not the United States
– to tour its nuclear sites, but the European Union says it probably
will decline.
Responding to the exclusion of the U.S. government, State Department
spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters sarcastically Tuesday, “We’re
just crushed,” adding that the invitation is “a publicity stunt.”
In answer to an equally sarcastic question if Crowley was upset that he
“didn’t get this invitation for the all-inclusive, all-expenses-paid
luxury tour of Iranian nuclear facilities,” Crowley said, “We keep
checking our inbox, and no invitation has materialized. So – but I mean,
these are antics that we’ve seen from Iran in the past where they try
to kind of flash a shiny object and said, 'No, don’t look over there;
look here.'
“This [is a] magical mystery tour…. If I understand, the invitation is
to visit facilities at Natanz and Arak. On the one hand, there’s no need
for a special tour to those facilities. The IAEA – which inspectors who
do know what they’re looking for, visit these facilities periodically.
But we should just be reminded that the IAEA has said that – and made
clear that the – Iran has not yet been able to fully answer the
questions that have been raised about its nuclear programs.”
The surprising invitation was published on the Iranian-based Hamsayeh
news website under the headline, “Iranian President Invites the Arrogant
Powers to Join Other Nations of the World.”
Ahmadinejad announced the invitation during a speech in which he said,
“The final victory is imminent and the Iranian nation will witness such a
day in the near future.’
European officials told Bloomberg News that they would likely decline
the invitation because it does not offer the cooperation that the EU has
requested.
The invitation is part of a “strategy to try and prevent further
sanctions and to get Russia and China to consider rescinding some of the
existing ones,” London-based security specialist Jonathan Paris added.
Iran has agreed to talks with the international community but has said
it would “absolutely not” suspend the production of enriched uranium, a
key material for a nuclear weapon, which Iran denies it wants to
produce.
%InAd1%
3. UN Nixes Lebanese Attempt to Stop Israeli Offshore Drilling
by Chana Ya'ar
The United Nations has rejected an attempt by Lebanon to stop Israel
from drilling for oil and natural gas in the Mediterranean.
U.N. Spokesman Martin Nesirky said Wednesday that the mandate of the
U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) “does not include delineating
maritime lines. We are talking about two different things: coastal
waters and a disputed boundary.” Nesirky added that the U.N. position
was “what UNIFIL said.”
Lebanon submitted its request to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in
the wake of last week's news that confirmed preliminary estimates of gas
reserves in the massive energy field discovered beneath the Jewish
State's northern coastal waters.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Ali Shami sent a letter Tuesday, asking Ban
to “do everything possible to ensure Israel does not exploit Lebanon's
hydrocarbon resources, which fall within Lebanon's economic zone and
delineated in the maps the foreign ministry submitted to the United
Nations in 2010,” Shami wrote.
Shami added that Israel's exploration for energy in the Mediterranean
“is a flagrant violation of international law and an attack on Lebanese
sovereignty.” Lebanon and Hizbullah claim that the fields extend into
waters off the Lebanese coast.
Last week, the U.S.-based Noble Energy firm announced the Leviathan gas
field, located northwest off the Haifa shoreline, holds some 16
trillion cubic feet (450 billion cubic meters) of natural gas.
The discovery far surpasses an earlier find, the Tamar gas field, also
located off Haifa's northern port, and positions the Jewish State to
become an exporter of the natural resource.
Confirmation of the estimated reserves in the Leviathan gas field and
several other newly-discovered gas and oil fields in the Mediterranean
in recent years has raised new tensions between the two nations as
Lebanon accuses Israel of encroaching upon its territory.
Israel for its part has asserted that the discoveries of this and
several previous gas fields were made well within its borders and has
warned it will do what it must to protect its natural resources.
Since no formally-marked maritime borders exist between the two
nations, Lebanese Energy Minister Gebran Bassil told the AFP news agency
Tuesday that Beirut plans to map what it considers to be its sea
borders. The country will then auction off the rights to explore its
potential natural gas and oil reserves sometime in 2012, he said.
There was no mention of any negotiation process with Israel over the maritime borders.
The Lebanese government plans to submit its claim under the U.N.
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), according to energy expert
Roudi Baroudi.
He told The Daily Star that Lebanon must turn to the U.N. to delineate
any offshore exclusive economic zone, adding that Lebanon has been party
to UNCLOS since 1995. Israel is not a member.
“Diplomacy offers the most logical solutions for any potential problems
in this area, and we should exhaust this option before considering any
other options,” he said, adding that the Leviathan field “could well
straddle our maritime borders with Israel – and possibly Cyprus too.
“Disputes over oil and gas fields are not new; they exist all around
the globe, and there will be more disputes to come... we should use
every diplomatic tool at our disposal, assisted by our major allies in
the Arab world, in Europe, and even the United States to define our
maritime boundary and to force the Israelis to respect UNCLOS even if
they aren't members of it.”
4. Another Day, Another Mortar Attack from Gaza
by Chana Ya'ar
Terrorists from the Hamas-controlled Gaza region struck the western
Negev with another mortar attack Wednesday morning. Two shells exploded
in an open area of the Eshkol Regional Council district. No damage was
reported, and no one was injured.
The attack came hours after IAF warplanes bombed a Hamas training base
in Gaza as a continuation of the government's policy of retaliating for
every attack launched from Gaza.
Gaza terrorists have escalated their rocket and mortar fire in recent
weeks, launching dozens of missiles and shells at Israeli civilians and
soldiers in the western Negev. Several Israelis have been wounded.
Wednesday's air strike was launched in retaliation for a terror rocket
attack on Jewish farm near Ashkelon on Tuesday. Several greenhouses were
damaged in the attack, although residents escaped injury.
Just three days earlier – on Saturday – Gaza terrorists launched a
rocket and mortar attack on Jewish communities in the Sha'ar HaNegev
Regional Council district.
One woman suffered an anxiety attack during the barrage, but no
physical damage or injuries was reported. The Color Red air raid siren,
which generally gives a 15-second window of warning prior to an attack,
was not heard before the explosion.
Two weeks ago, a rocket exploded close to a kindergarten on a kibbutz in the Gaza Belt region.
%InAd2%
5. WikiLeaks: Ahmadinejad Wanted Fuel Swap Deal
by Elad Benari
According to a U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks, Iranian
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sought a nuclear fuel swap deal more than a
year ago but faced internal pressures from hard-liners.
The Associated Press reported that the cable also suggests that Iran
trusted the United States (considered its “arch-foe”) more than its ally
Russia to follow through with the U.N.-backed proposal, which would see
Iran being provided reactor-ready fuel in exchange for giving up
control of its low-enriched uranium stockpile.
The assessment was given to a top U.S. envoy by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Turkey and Iran have had a growing friendship, and Turkey is scheduled to host the next round of nuclear talks later this month between Iran and six world powers.
According to the cable, in late 2009 Davutoglu told Assistant Secretary
of State Philip Gordon that Iran's government was willing to work out a
fuel swap arrangement, but Ahmadinejad was facing “huge pressures” at
home. Davutoglu said that the proposal deal was “interpreted by some
circles in Iran as a virtual defeat” by Western pressures.
The cable also noted that Turkish officials consider Ahmadinejad as
“more flexible than others who are inside the Iranian government,” and
also said that the Iranians have “more trust” in the U.S. envoys than
British negotiators and that they “would also prefer to get fuel from
the U.S. rather than the Russians.”
Meanwhile, another leaked cable reveals that the head of Iran’s
Revolutionary Guards, Ali Jafari, slapped Ahmadinejad in the face during
an argument in a Security Council meeting, Fox News reported.
The meeting allegedly occurred after street protests were violently put
down in December 2009. While Ahmadinejad argued that people needed to
be given greater freedoms, Jafari said that Ahmadinejad himself was the
source of the problems in Iran, and then proceeded to slap him. Both
sides have denied the incident took place.
The leak allegedly came from the U.S. Embassy in Baku, Azerbaijan, but
former Iranian Diplomat Mehrdad Khonsari said that while he had heard
the incident took place, he does not believe that it has.
“I think it’s very unlikely that an incident of that nature would even
occur,” Khonsari told Fox News. “It’s not on the cards for the head of
the Revolutionary Guards to slap a sitting president.”
Khonsari admitted, however, that the Iranian regime “has never been as fragile as this in the past 31 years.”
6. A Boast or a Bluff? US Denies Iran Downed Drones
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The United States has flatly denied an Iranian boast that it downed American drones,
raising more doubts on dozens of Iranian claims of military successes.
The New York Times' Roger Cohen went so far as to call Iran a "paper
tiger" last year.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh boasted
earlier this week the Guards have downed ”many” drones, including two
over the Straits of Hormuz, which Iran calls the Persian Gulf.
However, no video footage of the planes was displayed, and the Guards
did not say precisely where and when the drones were downed.
Pentagon spokesman Dave Lapan responded by saying that there were "no
recent reports that would corroborate what the Revolutionary Guard said
about unmanned aerial vehicles." He said that several drones may have
crashed due to technical problems, which would explain Iran’s claim that
it has downed drones in its possession and is reproducing them for its
own surveillance.
The Canadian National Post’s Matt Gurney commented, “While the loss of a
$10-million drone would be an irritant and a setback to any Western
nation with an interest in monitoring the Iranian regime, it is still a
far better thing to lose a drone than to lose a manned aircraft.
“Despite its bluster and bravado, the fact remains that Iran can never
shoot down enough cheap, easily replaced drones to seriously affect the
West’s ability to spy on its military programs. Whether or not anyone
chooses to act on the knowledge gained, of course, is another question.
Last August, Iran showed off its first domestically produced drone,
which it called an "ambassador of death". The Guards said it has a
range of 620 miles and can carry a precision bomb weighing as much as
500 pounds.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spent billions of dollars to
advanced Iran’s capabilities on the sea, ground and air. The heavy
expenditures, along with hyper inflation and economic damage as a result
of Western sanctions, have forced drastic measures such as removing
subsides that may weaken his regime in the face of renewed public
protests.
The government last week arrested one economist who publicly questioned Ahmadinejad’s economic policies.
%InAd3%
7. PA Boycott a Failure as More PA Arabs Work for Israelis
by Maayana Miskin
The number of Palestinian Authority Arabs working for Israeli employers
has risen, with 11 percent of PA workers now employed by Israelis,
according to the PA Central Bureau of Statistics. In 2009, 10 percent of
PA workers worked for Israelis.
The increase went hand-in-hand with a drop in PA unemployment, which fell from 25 percent to 24 percent.
The news follows a major PA campaign to boycott
Israelis in Judea and Samaria; the campaign included a plan to force PA
Arabs working for Jews in Judea and Samaria to quit their jobs.
Despite the campaign, Israelis in Judea and Samaria are among those
responsible for the employment boost, and employ a total of over 10,000
PA workers. The Barkan Industrial area alone, located in the Samarian city of Ariel whose theater was boycotted by leftist actors, employs over 4000.
While the PA economy improved slightly in 2010, the PA is still far from financially independent. PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has told international leaders that the PA faces a shortfall of one billion dollars for 2011. Fayyad recently announced plans for another donor conference in April 2011.
He publicly blamed Israel
for the PA's financial crisis, and failed to note that over 11 percent
of PA workers are employed by Israel, due largely to deliberate efforts
on Israel's part to boost the PA economy.
8. Mini-Cast Lead II Continues; Rocket Damages Greenhouses
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israeli greenhouses on a farm near Ashkelon sustained damage from a
terrorist rocket fired from Gaza Tuesday, and the Air Force responded by
bombing a Hamas training base.
No one was inured in the greenhouse attack. Terrorists from
Hamas-controlled Gaza have escalated rocket fire in the past several
weeks, firing dozens of missiles and mortar shells at Israeli civilians
and soldiers in Gaza Belt communities, causing several injuries.
Two weeks ago, a rocket narrowly missed a direct hit on a kibbutz kindergarten.
The IDF continued its policy of retaliating after every attack, and
planes bombed a smuggling tunnel near the Egyptian-Gazan border city of
Rafiah and bombed a Hamas post. Until last month, Israel has refrained
from directly striking Hamas terrorists unless they were ”ticking
bombs.”
Spokespersons for the military confirmed that the air force struck “centers of terrorist activities.”
The increase in terrorist attacks has reached levels not seen since the
months preceding the three-week Cast Lead counter terrorist campaign
two years ago. Foreign media continue to incorrectly report that most of
the Gaza casualties in Cast Lead were civilians. Hamas recently has
admitted that several hundred of the people who died in the three-week
battles were members of its terrorist organization.
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