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1. Netanyahu on Front Lines in Europe to Fight PA State
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will dig into the diplomatic front lines next week and fly to London and Paris as Europe tightens support for ‘Auschwitz Borders,” the phrase the late United Nations Ambassador Abba Eban used to describe the “Green Line” that existed until 1967.
The Israeli government has acknowledged that Prime Minister Netanyahu will travel to the European capitals next week to discuss “political matters” with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is to address the U.S. Congress shortly afterwards, while U.S. President Barack Obama prepares his ideas for establishing the Palestinian Authority as a new Arab country within Israel’s current borders. The president reportedly will reject the Arab world’s demand for the immigration of thousands of foreign Arabs to Israel. Abbas has said he will not surrender on the issue.
Palestinian Authority PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has almost won public support from leading European countries, particularly France and Britain, for leaning on Israel to sacrifice to the Palestinian Authority the homes of more than half a million Jews in United Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.
Abbas, since taking over from Yasser Arafat six years ago, has successfully globetrotted to build international support for his one-sided demands while going through the motions of accepting American-sponsored ideas to negotiate the terms of creating the PA state.
The United States last month thwarted plans by the Quartet – the United Nations, Russia, the United States and the European Union – to officially propose a PA state based on the old Armistice lines of 1949, often incorrectly termed "1967 borders", after the Arabs lost the war they launched as a rejection of the re-establishment of Israel as a country.
European leaders, acting independently of the United States, have announced their increasing support for Abbas’s demands, without any negotiations with Israel, where nearly 10 percent of the Jewish population lives in areas demanded by the PA.
"The recognition of a Palestinian state is an option that we are currently thinking about, with our European partners,” Gérard Araud, France’s ambassador to the United Nations said last week, one day after Abbas met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Abbas told France24 in an interview last week that “We can’t say that certain organizations or countries promised to recognize a Palestinian state. But all the signs they are sending show that they are awaiting the right moment to do so. You notice that a certain number of European countries have recently sent additional delegations and official representatives to the Palestinian territories. From our side, we are already treating them like ambassadors.”
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will dig into the diplomatic front lines next week and fly to London and Paris as Europe tightens support for ‘Auschwitz Borders,” the phrase the late United Nations Ambassador Abba Eban used to describe the “Green Line” that existed until 1967.
The Israeli government has acknowledged that Prime Minister Netanyahu will travel to the European capitals next week to discuss “political matters” with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is to address the U.S. Congress shortly afterwards, while U.S. President Barack Obama prepares his ideas for establishing the Palestinian Authority as a new Arab country within Israel’s current borders. The president reportedly will reject the Arab world’s demand for the immigration of thousands of foreign Arabs to Israel. Abbas has said he will not surrender on the issue.
Palestinian Authority PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has almost won public support from leading European countries, particularly France and Britain, for leaning on Israel to sacrifice to the Palestinian Authority the homes of more than half a million Jews in United Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.
Abbas, since taking over from Yasser Arafat six years ago, has successfully globetrotted to build international support for his one-sided demands while going through the motions of accepting American-sponsored ideas to negotiate the terms of creating the PA state.
The United States last month thwarted plans by the Quartet – the United Nations, Russia, the United States and the European Union – to officially propose a PA state based on the old Armistice lines of 1949, often incorrectly termed "1967 borders", after the Arabs lost the war they launched as a rejection of the re-establishment of Israel as a country.
European leaders, acting independently of the United States, have announced their increasing support for Abbas’s demands, without any negotiations with Israel, where nearly 10 percent of the Jewish population lives in areas demanded by the PA.
"The recognition of a Palestinian state is an option that we are currently thinking about, with our European partners,” Gérard Araud, France’s ambassador to the United Nations said last week, one day after Abbas met with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Abbas told France24 in an interview last week that “We can’t say that certain organizations or countries promised to recognize a Palestinian state. But all the signs they are sending show that they are awaiting the right moment to do so. You notice that a certain number of European countries have recently sent additional delegations and official representatives to the Palestinian territories. From our side, we are already treating them like ambassadors.”
Comment on this story
2. Minister Livnat Writes in Memory of Slain Nephew
by Minister Limor Livnat
On Sunday, Palestine Authority policemen, terrorists masquerading in the uniforms of law enforcement officers, murdered my nephew, Ben Yosef Livnat, known to everyone as "Benyo".
It is impossible to describe our heavy hearts when the terrible news was broken to us.
"Benyo" was only 24 years old. Despite his young age, he leaves a wife and four tender children.
We will never forget the luminous light that always shone from his eyes. His eyes always shone.
I remember "Benyo" as a mischievous child, constantly laughing and smiling.
He loved G-d and mankind, and he loved the Land of Israel.
"Benyo", Ben Yosef, was named for Shlomo Ben Yosef, the first prisoner to be hanged by the British in the Acre prison in 1938, also because of his love for the Land of Israel. Now, 73 years later, his namesake Ben Yosef gave his life for the Land of Israel at the Tomb of the Biblical Yosef .
"Benyo" was killed solely because he was a Jew.
Only a few hours after the murder, while the wounded were still bleeding, one could already hear the voices of those who adopted the Palestinian version of what had occurred. Not a terrorist attack, but an "incident", just a regrettable error, is the way they put it. Except that anyone who sees the pictures, anyone who sees the bulletholes through the car windows, has no doubt that the shooting was done on purpose.
After all, "Benyo" and his friends came to Joseph's Tomb (Kever Yosef) unarmed. They wished simply to pray. After all, the PA policeman at the site knew them well and knew that they were unarmed. That gave the PA spokesman some difficulty in explaining the shooting spree and barbaric murder.
Joseph's Tomb is a religious site that was to be under Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords. Over the years, the Palestinians broke every agreement made with regard to the Tomb, desecrating and burning it, even putting a mosque there instead.
May it be G-d's will that my family's tragedy, our personal mourning, be the last. With a heavy heart, I must say that I doubt it. One thing, however, is certain – the IDF must take back the control of Joseph's Tomb.
(translated from Hebrew Arutz Sheva by Rachel Sylvetsky, INN Editor)
Comment on this story
by Minister Limor Livnat
On Sunday, Palestine Authority policemen, terrorists masquerading in the uniforms of law enforcement officers, murdered my nephew, Ben Yosef Livnat, known to everyone as "Benyo".
It is impossible to describe our heavy hearts when the terrible news was broken to us.
"Benyo" was only 24 years old. Despite his young age, he leaves a wife and four tender children.
We will never forget the luminous light that always shone from his eyes. His eyes always shone.
I remember "Benyo" as a mischievous child, constantly laughing and smiling.
He loved G-d and mankind, and he loved the Land of Israel.
"Benyo", Ben Yosef, was named for Shlomo Ben Yosef, the first prisoner to be hanged by the British in the Acre prison in 1938, also because of his love for the Land of Israel. Now, 73 years later, his namesake Ben Yosef gave his life for the Land of Israel at the Tomb of the Biblical Yosef .
"Benyo" was killed solely because he was a Jew.
Only a few hours after the murder, while the wounded were still bleeding, one could already hear the voices of those who adopted the Palestinian version of what had occurred. Not a terrorist attack, but an "incident", just a regrettable error, is the way they put it. Except that anyone who sees the pictures, anyone who sees the bulletholes through the car windows, has no doubt that the shooting was done on purpose.
After all, "Benyo" and his friends came to Joseph's Tomb (Kever Yosef) unarmed. They wished simply to pray. After all, the PA policeman at the site knew them well and knew that they were unarmed. That gave the PA spokesman some difficulty in explaining the shooting spree and barbaric murder.
Joseph's Tomb is a religious site that was to be under Israeli control according to the Oslo Accords. Over the years, the Palestinians broke every agreement made with regard to the Tomb, desecrating and burning it, even putting a mosque there instead.
May it be G-d's will that my family's tragedy, our personal mourning, be the last. With a heavy heart, I must say that I doubt it. One thing, however, is certain – the IDF must take back the control of Joseph's Tomb.
(translated from Hebrew Arutz Sheva by Rachel Sylvetsky, INN Editor)
Comment on this story
3. Families: Arab Arsonists Tried to Burn Us to Death
by Gil Ronen
Two Jewish families that went on a Pesach holiday hike reported that two Arabs set a forest fire that was intended to kill them - and almost did.
The two families, from Jerusalem and Haifa, went hiking on Chol HaMoed of Pesach at Kula Forest next to Elad. Yehoshua, the father of one of the families, related the story to Arutz Sheva's Hebrew-language news service.
"We came for a family picnic, two families with eight kids. We set up camp near nightfall, positioned the vehicles and turned on the lights. The area emptied out and we were the only ones there. At 9:30 P.M. we heard noises from the forest. We thought it was some animal and turned on the lights but we saw nothing."
Ten minutes later, the two families found themselves facing what they described as a huge fire. "By 9:40 there was already a blaze with flames that were four or five meters high. All this - at a distance of about 50 meters from us. I ran with my friend toward the fire and we saw two youths trying to get away. One of them broke into a sprint. I called out to one of them and then I heard him asking me, in a heavy Arabic accent, 'Did you see that it was me?'... then he started to run away."
The fire did not spread quickly because the foliage was damp, following rain that had fallen the previous morning. However, it turned out that the two arsonists placed a wooden cabinet or bench under one of the trees and doused it with a flammable liquid, to enhance the blaze. Yehoshua is convinced that the arsonists deliberately targeted the two families, whom they saw setting up camp for the night. "Our vehicles' headlights could not be missed," he explained.
Yehoshua and his friend called the police and informed them about the blaze and the two Arabs they saw escaping. They also told them that they were two families with small children. "Meanwhile, the women understood what was happening and folded all the gear into the cars. We thought we would get out of there but my friend's car wouldn't start. I called again to report that we have a stalled vehicle and that the two who had tried to hurt us could try to find another way to harm us."
At this point, Yehoshua told Arutz Sheva, hysteria set in. The children were scared, and one of the mothers began crying, making the children's panic worse. "There was a feeling that we were losing control," he said. All the while, the police kept calling the families, in an attempt to locate them and direct fire crews to the spot.
Yehoshua's friend finally managed to start his car. It turned out that the car was fine but that in his panic, he had forgotten to use the vehicle's ignition code. The families drove away and waited for the fire truck on a dirt road. Fifteen minutes passed, and the truck arrived. The fire crews battled the flames, and one of the firefighters told the families that they should be very thankful for surviving.
"He said that if the fire had reached the height of the tree above it and there had been a little wind, we would have been in a situation similar to the Carmel fire. You can't escape a fire like that."
The firefighter said that similar Arab arson incidents occur every day, but that this one was unique because of its proximity to hikers.
The police never showed up, Yehoshua said. They explained that they were tied up because of an event involving gunfire at the Arab town of Jaljulya.
Another day, another Arab attack on Jews, and as far as we know - unreported anywhere but Arutz Sheva.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Two Jewish families that went on a Pesach holiday hike reported that two Arabs set a forest fire that was intended to kill them - and almost did.
The two families, from Jerusalem and Haifa, went hiking on Chol HaMoed of Pesach at Kula Forest next to Elad. Yehoshua, the father of one of the families, related the story to Arutz Sheva's Hebrew-language news service.
"We came for a family picnic, two families with eight kids. We set up camp near nightfall, positioned the vehicles and turned on the lights. The area emptied out and we were the only ones there. At 9:30 P.M. we heard noises from the forest. We thought it was some animal and turned on the lights but we saw nothing."
Ten minutes later, the two families found themselves facing what they described as a huge fire. "By 9:40 there was already a blaze with flames that were four or five meters high. All this - at a distance of about 50 meters from us. I ran with my friend toward the fire and we saw two youths trying to get away. One of them broke into a sprint. I called out to one of them and then I heard him asking me, in a heavy Arabic accent, 'Did you see that it was me?'... then he started to run away."
The fire did not spread quickly because the foliage was damp, following rain that had fallen the previous morning. However, it turned out that the two arsonists placed a wooden cabinet or bench under one of the trees and doused it with a flammable liquid, to enhance the blaze. Yehoshua is convinced that the arsonists deliberately targeted the two families, whom they saw setting up camp for the night. "Our vehicles' headlights could not be missed," he explained.
Yehoshua and his friend called the police and informed them about the blaze and the two Arabs they saw escaping. They also told them that they were two families with small children. "Meanwhile, the women understood what was happening and folded all the gear into the cars. We thought we would get out of there but my friend's car wouldn't start. I called again to report that we have a stalled vehicle and that the two who had tried to hurt us could try to find another way to harm us."
At this point, Yehoshua told Arutz Sheva, hysteria set in. The children were scared, and one of the mothers began crying, making the children's panic worse. "There was a feeling that we were losing control," he said. All the while, the police kept calling the families, in an attempt to locate them and direct fire crews to the spot.
Yehoshua's friend finally managed to start his car. It turned out that the car was fine but that in his panic, he had forgotten to use the vehicle's ignition code. The families drove away and waited for the fire truck on a dirt road. Fifteen minutes passed, and the truck arrived. The fire crews battled the flames, and one of the firefighters told the families that they should be very thankful for surviving.
"He said that if the fire had reached the height of the tree above it and there had been a little wind, we would have been in a situation similar to the Carmel fire. You can't escape a fire like that."
The firefighter said that similar Arab arson incidents occur every day, but that this one was unique because of its proximity to hikers.
The police never showed up, Yehoshua said. They explained that they were tied up because of an event involving gunfire at the Arab town of Jaljulya.
Another day, another Arab attack on Jews, and as far as we know - unreported anywhere but Arutz Sheva.
Comment on this story
4. Terrorist Attack on Egyptian Pipeline Stops Supply to Israel
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Terrorists, described in foreign media as “armed gangs,” attacked the Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline early Wednesday, halting supplies to Israel.
It was at least the third attack on the pipeline this year. An attack on February 6 cut supplies to Jordan and Israel.
Wednesday morning's blast, near El-Arish and approximately 30 miles south of the Israeli border, forced the evacuation of nearby residents from their homes.
The gas was shut off from Port Said to prevent continuing fires from the gas that had escaped from the pipeline after the attack. However, gas in the pipeline still is flowing to Israel for a limited amount of time.
Exactly a month ago, another attack on the pipeline near El Arish failed when the explosives did not detonate.
Egyptian officials have not identified the terrorists who struck Wednesday morning, but Bedouins have taken de facto control over large parts of the northern Sinai since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak as Egyptian president.
The latest attack comes on the heels of a new poll showing that a majority of Egyptians want to cancel the 1979 peace treaty that recognized Israel and initiated diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.
Egyptian officials earlier this week also announced that Mubarak and former aides are under investigation for alleged corruption concerning the 20-year agreement to export gas to Israel.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Terrorists, described in foreign media as “armed gangs,” attacked the Egyptian-Israeli gas pipeline early Wednesday, halting supplies to Israel.
It was at least the third attack on the pipeline this year. An attack on February 6 cut supplies to Jordan and Israel.
Wednesday morning's blast, near El-Arish and approximately 30 miles south of the Israeli border, forced the evacuation of nearby residents from their homes.
The gas was shut off from Port Said to prevent continuing fires from the gas that had escaped from the pipeline after the attack. However, gas in the pipeline still is flowing to Israel for a limited amount of time.
Exactly a month ago, another attack on the pipeline near El Arish failed when the explosives did not detonate.
Egyptian officials have not identified the terrorists who struck Wednesday morning, but Bedouins have taken de facto control over large parts of the northern Sinai since the uprising that ousted Hosni Mubarak as Egyptian president.
The latest attack comes on the heels of a new poll showing that a majority of Egyptians want to cancel the 1979 peace treaty that recognized Israel and initiated diplomatic relations with the Jewish State.
Egyptian officials earlier this week also announced that Mubarak and former aides are under investigation for alleged corruption concerning the 20-year agreement to export gas to Israel.
Comment on this story
5. IHH Flotilla Springs a Leak
by Chana Ya'ar
A new Gaza-bound flotilla originally set for May by the terror-linked Turkish IHH organization has been postponed.
The new sailing date will not be scheduled until after the June 12 parliamentary elections, according to a statement by IHH officials. The Islamist group owns and operates the Mavi Marmara ship that last year was involved in clashes between terror activists and Israeli naval commandos.
IHH said it wanted to avoid controversy over the flotilla, which is illegal under Israeli law, and which it feared could affect the Turkish vote. Although IHH is not linked to the government, the group has close ties with Ankara officials but maintains it does not need authorization to sail to Gaza.
Apparently, however, there are other reasons for the delay as well. Pro-Palestinian Authority activists have quietly cited difficulty in recruiting volunteers for the trip.
A number of people appear to be concerned about getting involved in a confrontation with Israeli forces, according to Jerusalem sources. Nine of the IHH terror activists who attacked IDF naval commandos as they boarded the Mavi Marmara last May died as a result.
IHH has said it will sail with up to 150 people on the flotilla – but many of the activists who originally signed up for the trip have since canceled upon learning they could be arrested in Israel.
Turkish organizers have also not been as successful in raising funds for the operation, according to the Associated Press. Those who own ships also refuse to donate or loan them to the cause, fearing they will be confiscated by Israel, further complicating the project, since activists are forced to buy vessels as well.
Israel Ready for Action
Israeli authorities have said they are ready for whatever the IHH decides to do. Military officials say they have drilled their teams for weeks with various tactics aimed at avoiding casualties.
The maritime blockade of Gaza, designed to prevent the import of arms with which terrorists can attack Israeli civilians and soldiers, will continue to be enforced.
The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, continues to stress that so-called “humanitarian aid” sent by flotilla is unnecessary. “People coming by sea are doing it as a provocation and are looking for violent confrontation,” said ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. “We call on all relevant parties to show responsibility and to shun violence. There is no reason to try and circumvent existing channels,” he said.
Palmor added that aid to Gaza is provided to the region through the Palestinian Authority itself, and by the United Nations and international groups via the land crossings.
Comment on this story
by Chana Ya'ar
A new Gaza-bound flotilla originally set for May by the terror-linked Turkish IHH organization has been postponed.
The new sailing date will not be scheduled until after the June 12 parliamentary elections, according to a statement by IHH officials. The Islamist group owns and operates the Mavi Marmara ship that last year was involved in clashes between terror activists and Israeli naval commandos.
IHH said it wanted to avoid controversy over the flotilla, which is illegal under Israeli law, and which it feared could affect the Turkish vote. Although IHH is not linked to the government, the group has close ties with Ankara officials but maintains it does not need authorization to sail to Gaza.
Apparently, however, there are other reasons for the delay as well. Pro-Palestinian Authority activists have quietly cited difficulty in recruiting volunteers for the trip.
A number of people appear to be concerned about getting involved in a confrontation with Israeli forces, according to Jerusalem sources. Nine of the IHH terror activists who attacked IDF naval commandos as they boarded the Mavi Marmara last May died as a result.
IHH has said it will sail with up to 150 people on the flotilla – but many of the activists who originally signed up for the trip have since canceled upon learning they could be arrested in Israel.
Turkish organizers have also not been as successful in raising funds for the operation, according to the Associated Press. Those who own ships also refuse to donate or loan them to the cause, fearing they will be confiscated by Israel, further complicating the project, since activists are forced to buy vessels as well.
Israel Ready for Action
Israeli authorities have said they are ready for whatever the IHH decides to do. Military officials say they have drilled their teams for weeks with various tactics aimed at avoiding casualties.
The maritime blockade of Gaza, designed to prevent the import of arms with which terrorists can attack Israeli civilians and soldiers, will continue to be enforced.
The Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, continues to stress that so-called “humanitarian aid” sent by flotilla is unnecessary. “People coming by sea are doing it as a provocation and are looking for violent confrontation,” said ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor. “We call on all relevant parties to show responsibility and to shun violence. There is no reason to try and circumvent existing channels,” he said.
Palmor added that aid to Gaza is provided to the region through the Palestinian Authority itself, and by the United Nations and international groups via the land crossings.
Comment on this story
6. PA Carries out Ahmadinejad’s Threat and Wipes Israel Off Map
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Palestinian Authority has carried out Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threat to “wipe Israel off the map” and literally has done so by displaying maps of “Palestine” covering all of Israel at the same time its leaders talk about “two states for two people.”
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah movement that controls the PA in Judea and Samaria, has in effect established a “one-state” solution in Fatah offices and in Palestinian Authority schools and offices.
The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented that professional unions and private PA groups display maps showing a rifle and a quill over “Palestine,” from the Lebanese border in the north to Eilat in the south and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
The maps have been circulated at the same time Abbas campaigns for international recognition of the Palestinian Authority based on the borders of Israel as they existed between 1949 and 1967, during which time Jordan, which had been mandated by the United Nations to rule part of Judea and Samaria, took over and occupied the entire region, including large swaths of Jerusalem, after the War of Independence in 1948.
Jordan surrendered the areas in the Six-Day War in 1967, later relinquishing all claim to it, and Egypt and Syria did the same in Gaza and the Golan Heights respectively.
The maps declare Abbas’ intentions of making what is often termed the “1967 borders” (actually armistice lines that were never recognized) the temporary outline of a would-be Palestinian Authority country, even though – as PMW noted – U.S. President Barack Obama has criticized such maps as a security threat to Israel, in the same category as the threat from terrorist groups who want to destroy Israel.
"I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security,” he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in 2008. “Not when there are still voices that deny the Holocaust. Not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel's destruction. Not when there are maps across the Middle East that don't even acknowledge Israel's existence."
Nevertheless, the PA’s version “Palestine,” as illustrated on the map with a rifle and quill, was displayed last week at a meeting of the General Union of Palestinian Writers, PMW reported.
The Palestinian Authority has embedded in its school system the ”one-state” idea of a Palestine – without Israel – for years. As far back as 2003, school posters have displayed the Palestinian flag over a map erasing Israel.
The policy has continued unchanged despite statements by Abbas to President Obama that the PA has ceased anti-Israel incitement. Earlier this year, a map was hung in the principal’s office in a PA school which erased Israel and replaced it with "Palestine", with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag flying over Israel.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
The Palestinian Authority has carried out Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s threat to “wipe Israel off the map” and literally has done so by displaying maps of “Palestine” covering all of Israel at the same time its leaders talk about “two states for two people.”
PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Fatah movement that controls the PA in Judea and Samaria, has in effect established a “one-state” solution in Fatah offices and in Palestinian Authority schools and offices.
The Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) has documented that professional unions and private PA groups display maps showing a rifle and a quill over “Palestine,” from the Lebanese border in the north to Eilat in the south and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.
The maps have been circulated at the same time Abbas campaigns for international recognition of the Palestinian Authority based on the borders of Israel as they existed between 1949 and 1967, during which time Jordan, which had been mandated by the United Nations to rule part of Judea and Samaria, took over and occupied the entire region, including large swaths of Jerusalem, after the War of Independence in 1948.
Jordan surrendered the areas in the Six-Day War in 1967, later relinquishing all claim to it, and Egypt and Syria did the same in Gaza and the Golan Heights respectively.
The maps declare Abbas’ intentions of making what is often termed the “1967 borders” (actually armistice lines that were never recognized) the temporary outline of a would-be Palestinian Authority country, even though – as PMW noted – U.S. President Barack Obama has criticized such maps as a security threat to Israel, in the same category as the threat from terrorist groups who want to destroy Israel.
"I will never compromise when it comes to Israel's security,” he told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in 2008. “Not when there are still voices that deny the Holocaust. Not when there are terrorist groups and political leaders committed to Israel's destruction. Not when there are maps across the Middle East that don't even acknowledge Israel's existence."
Nevertheless, the PA’s version “Palestine,” as illustrated on the map with a rifle and quill, was displayed last week at a meeting of the General Union of Palestinian Writers, PMW reported.
The Palestinian Authority has embedded in its school system the ”one-state” idea of a Palestine – without Israel – for years. As far back as 2003, school posters have displayed the Palestinian flag over a map erasing Israel.
The policy has continued unchanged despite statements by Abbas to President Obama that the PA has ceased anti-Israel incitement. Earlier this year, a map was hung in the principal’s office in a PA school which erased Israel and replaced it with "Palestine", with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag flying over Israel.
Comment on this story
7. Israel’s ‘Silicon Valley’ Chips Away at Australian Boycott
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
An Australian city was anxious to enforce a boycott against Israel, but after its city council discovered that Intel, HP and Motorola operate from the Jewish State, the city chose computers over boycotts.
The Marrickville City Council recently held a stormy debate on a motion to ban Israeli goods and services as part of the international “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” campaign against Israel.
Towards the event, a local newspaper asked, “What will the city council do when it discovers that many Intel products are made in Israel?” The city stood to lose $4 million in taxes by banning Motorola, Intel and HP.
The boycott was voted down, for ideological as well as practical reasons, but supporters found solace in the council’s formal statement that it is ''concerned about Palestinian human rights and calls on Israel to end the ‘occupation’ of Palestinian lands.”
The Marrickville mayor and pro-Arab activists, among them a Jew, exchanged shouts with opponents, who were buoyed and encouraged by native Israelis. The Australian foreign and prime ministers also opposed the proposed boycott.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
An Australian city was anxious to enforce a boycott against Israel, but after its city council discovered that Intel, HP and Motorola operate from the Jewish State, the city chose computers over boycotts.
The Marrickville City Council recently held a stormy debate on a motion to ban Israeli goods and services as part of the international “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” campaign against Israel.
Towards the event, a local newspaper asked, “What will the city council do when it discovers that many Intel products are made in Israel?” The city stood to lose $4 million in taxes by banning Motorola, Intel and HP.
The boycott was voted down, for ideological as well as practical reasons, but supporters found solace in the council’s formal statement that it is ''concerned about Palestinian human rights and calls on Israel to end the ‘occupation’ of Palestinian lands.”
The Marrickville mayor and pro-Arab activists, among them a Jew, exchanged shouts with opponents, who were buoyed and encouraged by native Israelis. The Australian foreign and prime ministers also opposed the proposed boycott.
Comment on this story
8. Pentagon Seeks Death Penalty for USS Cole Bomb
by Fern Sidman, INN NY Correspondent
In a surprise announcement, Pentagon prosecutors have declared their intention to re-file war crimes charges against the mastermind of the deadly attack on the American warship, the USS Cole, in the Port of Aden, Yemen on October 12, 2000.
Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed and 40 other American service personnel were wounded when a small vessel, laden with explosives and manned with suicide bombers, rammed into the American Navy warship.
The announcement included the original request of the military prosecution for an imposition of the death penalty on the self-admitted Cole bomber, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 46, the former al-Qaeda chief of operations for the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Nashiri hails from Saudi Arabia and is of Yemeni descent.
Charges against al-Nashiri had been sworn by the office of the chief war crimes prosecutor, Navy Captain, John Murphy, as word of the first full military commission case of the Obama administration came in a Pentagon news release. Initially charged upon his apprehension in Dubai in 2002, the CIA held al-Nashiri at an undisclosed location somewhere overseas before transferring him to the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba military prison in 2006.
On September 29, 2004, he was sentenced to death in absentia in a Yemeni court for his role in the Cole bombing. In December 2008, he was charged before a Guantanamo Military Commission.
Reports reveal that interrogators used the waterboarding modality to coerce him into cooperating during the questioning. In 2009, the case against al-Nashiri was dropped, when the Obama administration launched an initiative to scrutinize the detention policy at Guantanamo Bay.
Court filings in August 2010 revealed that the Obama administration was not considering prosecution of al-Nashiri, saying "no charges are either pending or contemplated with respect to al-Nashiri in the near future." Prosecutors will now need the approval of retired Vice Admiral Bruce McDonald, the Pentagon appointee overseeing the Guantanamo tribunals to proceed with the charges. If the charge sheet is approved, al-Nashiri would face the first-ever capital prosecution at the war court called Camp Justice.
Al-Nashiri, a self-described former millionaire from Mecca, was personally recruited as an al-Qaeda operative when he first met Osama bin Laden in 1996. While in Afghanistan in 1997, al-Nashiri fought with the Taliban against the Afghan Northern Alliance and assisted in the smuggling of four anti-tank missiles into Saudi Arabia. He also facilitated in obtaining a Yemeni passport for a known terrorist, his cousin Jihad Mohammed Ali al-Makri, who was one of the suicide bombers in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya.
Eleven charges are being leveled against al-Nashiri in the Pentagon’s 13-page charge sheet, including murder in violation of the law of war, treachery, terrorism and conspiring with Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, among others. The sheet also listed the names of each sailor that died in the USS Cole attack.
Moreover, al-Nashiri is being accused of orchestrating the attempted attack on yet another US warship called the USS The Sullivans as it refueled in the Port of Aden on Jan. 3, 2000. The plan was aborted when the boat he used was overloaded with explosives and began to sink.
Al-Nashiri is also accused of planning and preparing the 2002 attack on the MV Limburg, a French civilian oil tanker, which killed one crew member and resulted in the release of 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden.
Navy Lt. Commander, Stephen Reyes, Nashiri’s Pentagon appointed defense lawyer, lambasted the decision to try his client at a military tribunal rather than a civilian court. “Nashiri is being tried at the Guantánamo military commissions because of the torture issue,” he said. “Otherwise he would have been indicted in New York,” Reyes added. "The military commissions do not have the procedural protections necessary for a capital case. Because of the makeshift rules, my client could be convicted and put to death without ever having a chance to see his accusers take the stand.”
Retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold, the Captain of the USS Cole, has assumed a prominent role in advocating for the Guantanamo war court in general and a war crimes trial for Nashiri in particular. He testified at Guantanamo during the sentencing phase of a Bush era military commission trial. A jury had convicted Osama bin Laden’s media secretary, Ali Hamza al Bahlul of Yemen, of conspiring with al-Qaeda through the production of a propaganda video that glorified the Cole bombing, prompting Lippold to describe his disgust at discovering the contents of the film.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has yet to decide what manner of execution would be used to carry out a death penalty on a war court convict, but the Defense Department has gone forward with the case. Officials at the Defense Department have reported that 80 of the approximately 170 detainees at Guantanamo are expected to face trial by military tribunal. Among them is the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four of his co-conspirators, who until recently were scheduled to face trial in federal court in New York.
According to sources in the Obama administration, reforms have made the military commissions more equitable than those created by the Bush administration in the early years of Guantanamo, which Obama condemned when he was a senator and presidential candidate.
The ACLU disagrees. "The broken military commissions system" should not be used to try al-Nashiri, said Hina Shamsi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project. "All of our concerns about the inherent unfairness of the military commissions are compounded in cases like this one, in which the result could be death."
The ACLU is "deeply disturbed that the Obama administration has chosen to use the military commissions to try a capital case in which much of the evidence is reportedly based on hearsay and therefore not reliable enough to be admissible in federal court." Shamsi said that the ACLU believes that "allowing hearsay is a backdoor way of allowing evidence that may have been obtained through torture."
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by Fern Sidman, INN NY Correspondent
In a surprise announcement, Pentagon prosecutors have declared their intention to re-file war crimes charges against the mastermind of the deadly attack on the American warship, the USS Cole, in the Port of Aden, Yemen on October 12, 2000.
Seventeen U.S. sailors were killed and 40 other American service personnel were wounded when a small vessel, laden with explosives and manned with suicide bombers, rammed into the American Navy warship.
The announcement included the original request of the military prosecution for an imposition of the death penalty on the self-admitted Cole bomber, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 46, the former al-Qaeda chief of operations for the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Nashiri hails from Saudi Arabia and is of Yemeni descent.
Charges against al-Nashiri had been sworn by the office of the chief war crimes prosecutor, Navy Captain, John Murphy, as word of the first full military commission case of the Obama administration came in a Pentagon news release. Initially charged upon his apprehension in Dubai in 2002, the CIA held al-Nashiri at an undisclosed location somewhere overseas before transferring him to the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba military prison in 2006.
On September 29, 2004, he was sentenced to death in absentia in a Yemeni court for his role in the Cole bombing. In December 2008, he was charged before a Guantanamo Military Commission.
Reports reveal that interrogators used the waterboarding modality to coerce him into cooperating during the questioning. In 2009, the case against al-Nashiri was dropped, when the Obama administration launched an initiative to scrutinize the detention policy at Guantanamo Bay.
Court filings in August 2010 revealed that the Obama administration was not considering prosecution of al-Nashiri, saying "no charges are either pending or contemplated with respect to al-Nashiri in the near future." Prosecutors will now need the approval of retired Vice Admiral Bruce McDonald, the Pentagon appointee overseeing the Guantanamo tribunals to proceed with the charges. If the charge sheet is approved, al-Nashiri would face the first-ever capital prosecution at the war court called Camp Justice.
Al-Nashiri, a self-described former millionaire from Mecca, was personally recruited as an al-Qaeda operative when he first met Osama bin Laden in 1996. While in Afghanistan in 1997, al-Nashiri fought with the Taliban against the Afghan Northern Alliance and assisted in the smuggling of four anti-tank missiles into Saudi Arabia. He also facilitated in obtaining a Yemeni passport for a known terrorist, his cousin Jihad Mohammed Ali al-Makri, who was one of the suicide bombers in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Kenya.
Eleven charges are being leveled against al-Nashiri in the Pentagon’s 13-page charge sheet, including murder in violation of the law of war, treachery, terrorism and conspiring with Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, among others. The sheet also listed the names of each sailor that died in the USS Cole attack.
Moreover, al-Nashiri is being accused of orchestrating the attempted attack on yet another US warship called the USS The Sullivans as it refueled in the Port of Aden on Jan. 3, 2000. The plan was aborted when the boat he used was overloaded with explosives and began to sink.
Al-Nashiri is also accused of planning and preparing the 2002 attack on the MV Limburg, a French civilian oil tanker, which killed one crew member and resulted in the release of 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden.
Navy Lt. Commander, Stephen Reyes, Nashiri’s Pentagon appointed defense lawyer, lambasted the decision to try his client at a military tribunal rather than a civilian court. “Nashiri is being tried at the Guantánamo military commissions because of the torture issue,” he said. “Otherwise he would have been indicted in New York,” Reyes added. "The military commissions do not have the procedural protections necessary for a capital case. Because of the makeshift rules, my client could be convicted and put to death without ever having a chance to see his accusers take the stand.”
Retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold, the Captain of the USS Cole, has assumed a prominent role in advocating for the Guantanamo war court in general and a war crimes trial for Nashiri in particular. He testified at Guantanamo during the sentencing phase of a Bush era military commission trial. A jury had convicted Osama bin Laden’s media secretary, Ali Hamza al Bahlul of Yemen, of conspiring with al-Qaeda through the production of a propaganda video that glorified the Cole bombing, prompting Lippold to describe his disgust at discovering the contents of the film.
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has yet to decide what manner of execution would be used to carry out a death penalty on a war court convict, but the Defense Department has gone forward with the case. Officials at the Defense Department have reported that 80 of the approximately 170 detainees at Guantanamo are expected to face trial by military tribunal. Among them is the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and four of his co-conspirators, who until recently were scheduled to face trial in federal court in New York.
According to sources in the Obama administration, reforms have made the military commissions more equitable than those created by the Bush administration in the early years of Guantanamo, which Obama condemned when he was a senator and presidential candidate.
The ACLU disagrees. "The broken military commissions system" should not be used to try al-Nashiri, said Hina Shamsi, the director of the American Civil Liberties Union National Security Project. "All of our concerns about the inherent unfairness of the military commissions are compounded in cases like this one, in which the result could be death."
The ACLU is "deeply disturbed that the Obama administration has chosen to use the military commissions to try a capital case in which much of the evidence is reportedly based on hearsay and therefore not reliable enough to be admissible in federal court." Shamsi said that the ACLU believes that "allowing hearsay is a backdoor way of allowing evidence that may have been obtained through torture."
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