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1. Terrorists Try To Blow Up Egyptian-Israel Gas Pipeline
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Six terrorists, reportedly Bedouin, tried to blow up the
Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline Sunday for the second time in two months.
The timer failed to detonate the explosives, preventing a huge economic
and political crisis.
Six terrorists overwhelmed a lone guard at the El-Sabil gas terminal,
planted the bomb and fled, despite the recent deployment of hundreds of
Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai.
"They failed to detonate the bombs and fled the scene. Even the
security guard was missing when police arrived, according to the French
news agency AFP.
Unofficial reports said the terrorists were Bedouin from the Sinai
Peninsula. Bedouin have placed themselves as the rulers in several parts
of the region since the uprising against then-Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak.
Bedouin have also been increasingly active in cooperating with Hamas,
helping its terrorists in carrying out attacks against Israel.
An explosion at another gas terminal in early February disrupted the
flow of gas to Israel until last week. Egypt originally said the blast
in February was an accident, but later admitted it was the result of a
terrorist attack during the uprising.
Several media reports have indicated that Egypt delayed resumption of
the gas supply and has decreased the amounts of gas in order to pressure
for a higher price than called for in the original agreement. The new
interim Egyptian military government is considered to be even more
anti-Israeli than the regime of Mubarak, who refused to visit Jerusalem
despite the peace treaty signed in 1979.
His lone appearance in the capital was for the funeral of former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin.
Egypt supplies Israel with 40 percent of its natural gas, but recent
discoveries of natural gas off Israel’s Mediterranean Coast are expected
to transform Israel into an exporter of energy in several years.
2. Battle Over Facebook's Third Intifada' Page
by Chana Ya'ar
The Internet is heating up over Facebook's refusal to block a fan page calling for a Third Intifada against Israel.
An email campaign to pressure the popular social networking site into
removing the page has been mounted by pro-Israel groups as well as
private individuals. All have expressed increasing concern over the
potential danger to Israeli citizens that may result from the page,
which clearly promotes violence against Jews in Israel.
One woman was killed and a second person is still in critical
condition, with 50 others wounded after terrorists planted a bomb filled
with ball bearings and sharp objects next to a busy bus stop last
Wednesday across from the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem. The attack
came the week after the heinous murder of 5 members of the Fogel family,
and during a week in which long-range Grad Katyusha missiles were fired
from Gaza at Ashdod, Ashkelon, Be'er Sheva, Yavneh and just south of
Rishon LeTzion. Numerous other short-range Kassam rockets exploded in
Jewish communities throughout the western Negev, as Gaza terrorists
continue to escalate their attacks on southern Israel.
Meanwhile, rock attacks on the roads of Judea and Samaria appear to be
on a corresponding rise as well, leading to speculation over whether a
third intifada may indeed be on the way.
Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League
(ADL), slammed the site for its willingness to support a page that
promotes violence against Jews and its unwillingness to comply with its
own terms of service.
Although the page is written almost entirely in Arabic, a display ad in
big English letters posted on the page warns, “If Facebook Blocked This
Page... All Muslims Will Boycott Facebook For Ever!”
As of Sunday morning, the page had garnered 328,000 “Likes” from readers.
Foxman said his organization had reached out to Facebook with a request
to have the page taken down, but “to no avail” – despite the fact that
the page is in clear violation of the site's terms of service.
The page, 'Third Palestinian Intifada', urges
its readers to copy the link, place it in their profiles and publish it
on all pictures, videos and pages – everywhere they can. An alert
announces that a march to “Palestine” will begin from neighboring
countries on May 15 and soon after, “Palestine will be liberated and we
will be freed. Our goal now is to reach millions of subscribers on this
page before May.”
The page also includes inflammatory language that calls for supporters
to build on the previous two murderous previous intifadas in which Arab
terrorists murdered and wounded thousands of Israeli civilians. The
second intifada is also called the Oslo War as it took place after
the Oslo peace accords were signed by PLO leader Yasser Arafat and
Israeli Prime Minister Yitschak Rabin. The notice refers readers to
related content on other sites such as Twitter and YouTube.
“This Facebook page constitutes an appalling abuse of technology to promote terrorist violence,” said Foxman.
“We should not be so naïve to believe that a campaign for a 'Third
Intifada' does not portend renewed violence, especially in the current
climate that has seen a dramatic increase in rocket attacks from Gaza,
the brutal murder of the Fogel family in the West Bank, and a terrorist
bombing in Jerusalem.”
A petition urging Facebook to remove the dozens of pages promoting
hatred of Israel and incitement to kill Jews -- incuding the page
calling for a Third Intifada -- has been started on the Internet by the
Jerusalem-based Aish HaTorah Yeshiva. The petition calls on Facebook to "remove any pages that promote hate against Israel and the Jewish people."
3. Peace Talks? Exiled PA Gunman Predicted Renewed Terror Attacks
by Samuel Sokol
The INN interview below is a chilling example of the dangers of
releasing professional terrorists and of the existing splintering in
Fatah that would facilitate a Hamas takeover should Israel ever withdraw
from Judea and Samaria.
Jihad Jara, a former officer of the Palestinian Authority's
Preventative Security Service and a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, threatened renewed violence several
months before the recent heinous murder of the Fogel family in Itamar, a
freelance writer for Israel National News has learned.
Jara was exiled to Ireland as part of deal to end the siege of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in 2002.
In a statement quoted on the Arabic news website Qudsnet in November,
Jara, using the nom de guerre Abu Udai and cited as a "leading figure in
the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades," asserted that unless Israel accepted
Palestinian demands, restored the "rights of return" [sic] and ceased
"Judaizing Jerusalem," the Palestinians would be forced to "resume
armed attacks against Israeli targets in the occupied Palestinian
territories."
Jara stated that the brigades had "stopped the armed struggle against
the occupation" in response to the "request of the Palestinian
leadership, headed by Abu Mazen, to give the opportunity for the
political process." However, the exiled militant warned that if Israel
does not respond "to the demands of our people,” the Arabs will “return
to armed operations against the occupation."
Jara asserted that Israel understands "only the language of force."
In response to a query by INN, Raed Othman, director the Palestinian Maan News Network, identified Jara as Abu Udai.
Recently, speaking to the INN writer by phone from his home in Ireland,
Jara confirmed that he is indeed Abu Udai, an identity that he has used
while speaking on behalf of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades over the past
several years.
"It's me," he said, taking credit for the Qudsnet statement.
The former Bethlehem-based gunman confirmed
that he was still involved in resistance against Israel. "I never broke
the law in Ireland," he explained, "but it is my family and it is my
land in Palestine, and of course I will be always looking and care to
have our freedom [sic] and I will do all my might and I will have all my
power to continue about what I start."
Jara said that he was still in touch with his old comrades from the Al
Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, telling the Israel National News writer, "They
are not just freedom fighters; they are friends, they are family, they
are my brothers and, of course, I keep in touch with them and I am proud
to keep in touch with them."
"We still were giving a chance to our Prime Minister and our President
but I mean what I said before," he emphasized. "If the peace fails, it
will bring the people to fight."
He predicted that the Palestinians will resume operations against
Israeli targets and that if Israel "will not stop killing our kids, our
people", it must know that "their lives, their kids, they are not more
important than our people."
The Al Aqsa Brigades of Imad Mugniyeh initially claimed responsibility
for the heinous murder of 5 members of the Fogel family in Itamar, a
claim which other members of the group later retracted. Jara denied any
personal connection to the tragic events.
Abu Udai doesn’t represent the brigades," Abu Yazzan, a former Al-Aksa
spokesman told INN. "His statements don’t represent the brigades, and
currently they don’t make any statements."
Jara responded with disbelief that Abu Yazzan would deny his connection
to the West Bank terrorist organization. He subsequently expressed
anger and outrage during a follow-up interview, claiming that he had
spoken to Abu Yazzan and that the former spokesman had denied speaking
to the media and saying that Jara was not a leader of the brigades.
The Brigades has never been a monolithic and strictly structured
organization. The Fatah movement’s own fragmentation raises the
likelihood that a small splinter faction engaging in terrorism could
emerge. Jara would not say the size of his faction, but said he is part
of Abbas' Fatah.
Rami Kamel, a compatriot of Jara and a fellow exile in Ireland,
expressed approval of the Itamar attack and said that it was to be
expected. "What happened today is something normal to happen after all
what the Israelis [are] doing." Kamel said the night following the
attack. More [such] things will happen.
"Actually, [it's] all one group, Al Aqsa Brigade," he said, "but you
know how they work. Each [local branch on each] side of the country, it
work[s so that] if you have a chance to do anything, you do it
straightaway."
When asked for the terms of the deal that sent Jara and Kamel to
Ireland and for the exact terms of the 2007 amnesty granting continued
freedom to many Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades fighters, a spokesman for Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office responded, "Neither are public
documents."
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told the writer that if Jeara
has indeed been "sending out threats of violence, this is a very serious
breach of the terms of his stay in Ireland and Irish law enforcement
authorities should deal with this problem at once."
According an Irish government official quoted by Joshua Hammer in the
New York Times in 2009, the Garda, Ireland's national police service,
"keeps a close eye" on Jara.
A representative of the Irish Justice Department told Israel National
News that ". .. activities of individuals who may be of interest to law
enforcement authorities are monitored. Furthermore, where evidence
exists of any breaches of Irish law, including any offences under the
Criminal Justice (Terrorist Offences) Act 2005, these will be fully
investigated by An Garda Síochána (the national police force)."
A veteran Palestinian journalist, who spoke to the writer on condition
on anonymity, claimed, "Officially, the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades announced
that they are dismantled two-and-a-half years ago, and even the attacks
that were carried out were carried out by individuals and not by the
organization as an organization with cells."
However, the journalist said that "The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades is a
jungle. Saying that Jihad Jara is involved is true, but it is not true
on the other hand, and there is nothing that he was involved in [during]
the last three years. Now he is involved in trying to organize the
movement in the political process that has been taking place in the
movement but on the ground there is nothing that is being carried out by
the organization so he can say yes he did it or he was part of it."
Not everybody believes that the brigades are defunct.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key designated the Al Aqsa Martyrs
Brigades as a terrorist organization in December, saying, "the group
continues to use violence as a means to achieve its political and
ideological objectives, and has carried out recent and specific attacks
that meet the definition of a terrorist act under New Zealand’s TSA."
The Brigades took credit for several attacks in the West Bank in 2009
and 2010, including the December 24, 2009 murder of Meir Avshalom Hai of
Shavei Shomron, as well as multiple rocket attacks emanating from the
Gaza Strip. Kamel says that the Gaza branch of the brigades is still
connected to the branch operating in the West Bank.
Commenting on the implications of Jara's statements, Hillel Frisch, a
senior research associate at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies, said
to this writer that Jara's behavior “is certainly contrary to the
spirit of what asylum is supposed to mean."
"Once again we have an example of the dangers of releasing professional
terrorists, of fragmentation in Fatah that would facilitate a Hamas
takeover should Israel permanently withdraw from Judea and Samaria as
part of a peace agreement," Frisch stated.
4. Canada 'Vigorously Condemns' Gaza Attacks on Israel
by Chana Ya'ar
Canada is standing up for Israel's right to defend itself against the
terrorist rocket and mortar attacks on its southern region.
Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said Friday in a statement, “Canada
vigorously condemns the rocket attacks on Israel launched from the Gaza
Strip. These terrorist attacks, which indiscriminately target civilian
areas, are abhorrent and criminal.
“Israel has a right to defend itself against such terrorist acts.
“Terrorism is never justified. We call on all parties in Gaza to cease
these criminal attacks. Those responsible should be brought to justice,”
Cannon added.
On Saturday, three rockets were launched from Gaza at the western
Negev. Damage was caused in all three attacks, but no one was injured.
On Sunday morning, the Israel Air Force carried out air strikes on Islamic Jihad terrorists preparing to again attack southern Israel with more missiles. At least two terrorists were killed in the air strike.
5. Israeli Reporter's Car Stoning has Kafkaesque Aftermath
by INN Staff
Well-known Israeli investigative reporter for the Maariv Hebrew daily,
Kalman Liebskind, had a Kafkaesque story to report this week, and the
subject of the article was himself.
“Driving down the road that leads to our home in Gimzu, I heard the
first bang”, he wrote in Hebrew in his weekly column. “ My wife, Ilana,
who was driving behind me with some of our children, had gotten a direct
hit to the front window of her car. By some miracle, the window didn’t
shatter, but the rock hit the part of the window that was a little over a
foot from my son’s head. I could hardly believe it was true. Rocks? On
our road? An asteroid hitting us seemed more probable than rock throwing
100 yards from our home.”
Gimzu is a middle class, religious Zionist suburban community (moshav)
located near the cities of Modiin and Lod, not in Judea or Samaria.
He continues: “Everyone piled into my car and we drove out of the
community. The instant we reached the place where the rocks had been
thrown, we heard another bang. This time the rock hit the front fender,
and this time we saw who was throwing the rocks, a youth who looked
around 18 and was standing about 3 yards away. He ran off with an
accomplice into the wooded area nearby. We discovered only later that
two other women had had rocks thrown at them shortly beforehand.”
Liebeskind and his neighbors called the police, who took some time to
reach the community, but then went out to the wooded area with them to
search for the rock throwers. They came upon a campfire with about
20 Israeli Arab young men from Lod and their bearded teachers or
counselors wearing Muslim dress and headgear. “If we want to, we can
burn all of Gimzu” said one of them to the shocked Israeli Jews.
The Arabs informed the police that they had left a mosque in Lod after
hearing a lecture on the Koran and continued on their way to make a
campfire. They had vandalized the woods by spraying the trees with
Arabic words. "The police did not question anyone and only arrested the
rock thrower whom we could identify," LIebeskind wrote.
Later in the week, Liebeskind received a call from the Lod Police
Department asking him to come in to help complete the investigation
of the incident. To his astonishment, within a short time of arriving
there, he found himself being accused formally, under “suspicion of
threatening the Arabs with a weapon” and heard an officer tell him “you
don’t have to respond. Anything you say may be used against you.”
“Where did this ridiculous idea come from?” he asked the police
officers. It turned out that the Arab who had thrown the stones and his
friends had filed a complaint claiming that Liebeskind threatened them.
The journalist suggested asking 50 people in Gimzu to serve as character
witnesses for him. "That's useless, they will be your friends and not
objective," was the response. "And these Arabs who threw stones at me
and know that I filed a complaint against them are objective?" he
rejoined. To no avail. After an hour of questioning, he found himself
measured, photographed, fingerprinted and freed under personal
recognizance.
Humiliated, the journalist described himself as shocked by the
possibility that the poice might believe the offender's version of what
had occurred to him.
He had found himself in a situtation that has happened often to
residents of Judea and Samaria, who often find themselves falsely
accused in the mainstream media, including the newspaper for
which Liebeskind works, of crimes perpetrated by Arabs, from
stealing and destroying olive trees to burning sheep and throwing rocks.
6. US College Student Being Held in Syria
by Chana Ya'ar
A 21-year-old U.S. college student is being held in Syria.
Tik Root has been in the country on an Arabic study program through
Damascus University as part of his degree program in international
politics and economics at Middlebury College.
The 21-year-old Ripton, Vermont resident disappeared March 18 during a
demonstration in the Syrian capital. His father, Tom Root, told CNN the
student was detained by police.
“We suspect he was picked up on the periphery,” his father said Friday
after the younger Root first disappeared. He added that although his son
was probably watching a demonstration that was taking place in the Old
City of the capital, he would not have participated in it.
In a terse statement worded in careful diplomatic language, the U.S.
State Department on Friday described the repeated stonewalling faced by
American officials in response to requests for information from Syrian
authorities.
But in response to an inquiry by CNN later the same day, the Syrian
Embassy in Washington said in a statement it was “recently made aware of
Mr. Pathik Root's situation and has been following it very closely ever
since. We have been in touch with Mr. Root's parents, his state
Senator, and the U.S. Embassy in Syria. This is an unfortunate incident
that we hope will be resolved as soon as possible.”
By Saturday morning, the mystery was resolved, albeit not the incident.
"We received some great news this morning from the Syrian Embassy and
officials from Damascus, conveyed to me by Senator [Patric] Leahy and
others," wrote the elder Root. "Tik has been located, and we understand
that he is safe and well. He remains in the hands of the Syrian
authorities, who are currently responsible for him.
"We very much appreciate the efforts of [Syrian] Ambassador [to the
U.S.] Imad Moustapha and Senator Leahy in continuing to work to bring
this complex situation to a resolution... Please know how much we value
everyone's good wishes and hopes."
7. Head of IDF Southern Command: Hamas is in a State of Anarchy
by Rachel Sylvetsky and Uzi Baruch
On a visit this weekend to the community in the Eshkol Regional
Authority that was hit by a kassam rocket on Friday night, the Head of
the IDF Southern Command, Tal Russo, said that "The terror
organizations in Gaza are have been in disarray since the Cast Lead
Operation, but their memory is short." He expressed the hope that they
would soon calm down after this week's firing of grad missiles on major
cities and the Friday night rocket that caused severe damage to a home
in the community he was visiting.
"Gaza's terror organizations are in a state of anarchy" he continued,
"and that includes Hamas. They don't really talk to each other, they
speak in artillery fire."
Asked about the possibility that the IDF would begin Operation Cast
Lead II, he said that the IDF's goal is to let civilians lead normal
lives, but that the present situation is not exactly normal. The anarchy
o n the other side makes it hard for Hamas to go back to the former
level of activity."
8. IDF Bombs Terrorists After ‘Ceasefire’ Offer and Rocket Attacks
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The IDF scored direct hits on Islamic Jihad terrorists preparing to
attack the Negev with more rockets Sunday morning, killng two terrorist
and wounding two others.
On Saturday, terrorists in Hamas-controlled Gaza fired three rockets on the western Negev, causing damage but no injuries.
Hamas has offered another ceasefire on condition that the IDF does not
strike. Several ceasefire declarations by Hamas over the past four years
have been short-lived. The latest offer already has been rejected by
Islamic Jihad terrorist leaders. Hamas, as the de facto ruler of the
region, is responsible for all attacks from Gaza.
The Bethlehem-based Ma'an news agency, which is linked to the
Palestinian Authority, reported Saturday that factions in Gaza agreed
“to commit to a truce with Israel if its military stopped attacking the
coastal enclave.” However, the list of those agreeing to a ceasefire
omitted Islamic Jihad. Half a dozen other terrorist groups, including
Fatah’s terrorist wing, did not attend a meeting with Hamas leaders
Saturday.
The lack of unity in Gaza reflects a statement by the head of the IDF Southern Command, Tal Russo, who said Saturday,
"Gaza's terror organizations are in a state of anarchy, and that
includes Hamas. They don't really talk to each other; they speak in
artillery fire."
Responding directly to the ceasefire offer, military spokespersons said
Saturday night, “The Israeli defense system is pleased with the
agreement of the Palestinian factions to stop the firing at Israel but
emphasizes that the test of the agreement is in the field. A military
source emphasized that Israel will not initiate an escalation of the
situation if the quiet is maintained.”
Sunday’ morning’s attack on the terror cell preparing to fire rockets
is a signal clear that Israel will not allow a ceasefire to prevent the
IDF from stopping terrorist attacks.
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