 |
||
 |
        |
 |
 |
||
| MP3 Radio | Website News Briefs: | |||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
 |
 |
1. Israel Decides to Sever Ties with UNHRC
by Gil Ronen
A senior diplomatic source said Monday that the Foreign Ministry management has decided to sever its ties with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The decision was reached after the UNHRC decided to appoint a committee of inquiry to look into construction of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
The source said that the decision stems from a series of unilateral moves that the "Palestinians" are trying to lead against Israel.
According to Monday's decision, Israel's UN Ambassador, Ron Prosor, will not appear before the Council and will not reply to requests by the UNHRC for materials and for the coordination of visits in Israel.
The source added that while thousands are being murdered in Syria and a massacre takes place in France, the UNHRC lends equal importance to construction in Judea and Samaria.
Regarding the High Court decision on Migron, the senior source said that the verdict must be honored. "Everyone accepts the High Court's decision," he said. "The test is in the alternatives that the government offers the residents."
The source said that Yisrael Beitenu's threat to leave the government over Migron referred to a situation in which the government decides to carry out a forcible eviction. At present, he said, there is no threat to leave the government because of the High Court decision.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
A senior diplomatic source said Monday that the Foreign Ministry management has decided to sever its ties with the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The decision was reached after the UNHRC decided to appoint a committee of inquiry to look into construction of Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.
The source said that the decision stems from a series of unilateral moves that the "Palestinians" are trying to lead against Israel.
According to Monday's decision, Israel's UN Ambassador, Ron Prosor, will not appear before the Council and will not reply to requests by the UNHRC for materials and for the coordination of visits in Israel.
The source added that while thousands are being murdered in Syria and a massacre takes place in France, the UNHRC lends equal importance to construction in Judea and Samaria.
Regarding the High Court decision on Migron, the senior source said that the verdict must be honored. "Everyone accepts the High Court's decision," he said. "The test is in the alternatives that the government offers the residents."
The source said that Yisrael Beitenu's threat to leave the government over Migron referred to a situation in which the government decides to carry out a forcible eviction. At present, he said, there is no threat to leave the government because of the High Court decision.
Tags: UNHRC ,Migron ,settlement construction
More on this topic
-
Livni: Migron Compromise Agreement is Immoral -
Binyamin Council Head Hopes Government Will Save Migron
-
MK Orlev: We will Leave Gov't if Migron is Razed
-
MK Hotovely: High Court 'Spit in the Face' of Compromise
-
Netanyahu: Government will Abide by High Court Ruling on Migron
-
Israel May Quit the UN Human Rights Council
Comment on this story
2. INTERPOL Issues 'Red Notices' for Suspects in Delhi Attack
by Gil Ronen
INTERPOL, acting on a request from India's Central Bureau of Investigation, has issued Red Notices for four suspects wanted in connection with the February 13 bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat’s car in New Delhi. India issued warrants for three of the suspects ten days earlier.
Details of suspects Mohammadreza Abolghashemi, Houshang Afshar Irani, Seyed Ali Mahdiansadr and Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, all of whom are wanted for terrorism and related offenses including criminal conspiracy and attempted murder, have been transmitted to INTERPOL’s 190-member countries.
The attack left Tal Yehoshua-Koren, the 42-year-old wife of a member of the diplomatic staff, with serious injuries, and also wounded her driver and two bystanders.
INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said India’s request for the Red Notices would make it extremely difficult for the suspects to travel internationally in an attempt to evade capture.
“Through requesting INTERPOL Red Notices, India has ensured that law enforcement officials around the globe are alerted to the wanted status of these fugitives, and therefore reduces their options for international travel,” said Noble.
“INTERPOL is uniquely placed to ensure that vital police information and support are made available to the global law enforcement community when and where it is needed,” concluded the head of INTERPOL.
INTERPOL Red Notices serve to communicate to the world’s police that a suspect is wanted by a member country and request that the suspect be placed under provisional arrest pending extradition.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
INTERPOL, acting on a request from India's Central Bureau of Investigation, has issued Red Notices for four suspects wanted in connection with the February 13 bomb attack on an Israeli diplomat’s car in New Delhi. India issued warrants for three of the suspects ten days earlier.
Details of suspects Mohammadreza Abolghashemi, Houshang Afshar Irani, Seyed Ali Mahdiansadr and Masoud Sedaghatzadeh, all of whom are wanted for terrorism and related offenses including criminal conspiracy and attempted murder, have been transmitted to INTERPOL’s 190-member countries.
The attack left Tal Yehoshua-Koren, the 42-year-old wife of a member of the diplomatic staff, with serious injuries, and also wounded her driver and two bystanders.
INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble said India’s request for the Red Notices would make it extremely difficult for the suspects to travel internationally in an attempt to evade capture.
“Through requesting INTERPOL Red Notices, India has ensured that law enforcement officials around the globe are alerted to the wanted status of these fugitives, and therefore reduces their options for international travel,” said Noble.
“INTERPOL is uniquely placed to ensure that vital police information and support are made available to the global law enforcement community when and where it is needed,” concluded the head of INTERPOL.
INTERPOL Red Notices serve to communicate to the world’s police that a suspect is wanted by a member country and request that the suspect be placed under provisional arrest pending extradition.
Tags: New Delhi ,Delhi Police ,Tal Yehoshua-Koren
More on this topic
Comment on this story
3. AP Retracts Story Based on Hamas Lie
by Rachel Hirshfeld
The Associated Press (AP) retracted a story that was discovered to be based on a Hamas lie, claiming that an Arab baby died due to the fuel shortage in Gaza.
It turns out that the story was based on a complete manipulation and distortion of the facts and that the story of Mohammed Helou’s death first appeared on March 4 in the local Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds -- before the shortage that allegedly caused his death.
The AP issued a statement saying, it “has withdrawn its story about a 5-month-old baby who was said to have died Friday after the generator powering his respirator ran out of fuel, the first known death linked to the territory's energy crisis.”
“The timing and reason for the death were confirmed to the AP by a man identified as the baby's father and a Gaza health official, but the report has been called into question after it was learned that a local newspaper carried news of the baby's death on March 4,” the statement continued.
“A substitute story will be filed shortly reflecting the new information,” added the AP.
They then issued a follow-up noting that, “A Gaza man said Sunday his 5-month-old baby died two days ago after the generator powering his respirator ran out of fuel, but the report was called into question after it emerged that the timing of the baby’s death was misrepresented.”
“The baby’s death — which was confirmed to The Associated Press by a man identified as the father and a Gaza hospital official — would have been the first linked to the territory’s energy crisis, and the report appeared to be an attempt by Gaza’s Hamas rulers to use it to gain sympathy,” noted the AP.
There have been numerous cases, over the years, of media outlets reporting inaccurate information based on stories relayed by Gazan officials. Less than two weeks ago, the Ma’an News Agency reported that Nayif Shaaban Qarmout, 15, was killed in Beit Lahiya, north Gaza. It was reported that, “the 15-ear-old was playing with friends in a play ground near his school when an Israeli missile hit the area.”
However, later in the day the AFP reported that “there was no sign of an [Israeli] air raid.”
Comment on this story
by Rachel Hirshfeld
The Associated Press (AP) retracted a story that was discovered to be based on a Hamas lie, claiming that an Arab baby died due to the fuel shortage in Gaza.
It turns out that the story was based on a complete manipulation and distortion of the facts and that the story of Mohammed Helou’s death first appeared on March 4 in the local Arabic-language newspaper Al-Quds -- before the shortage that allegedly caused his death.
The AP issued a statement saying, it “has withdrawn its story about a 5-month-old baby who was said to have died Friday after the generator powering his respirator ran out of fuel, the first known death linked to the territory's energy crisis.”
“The timing and reason for the death were confirmed to the AP by a man identified as the baby's father and a Gaza health official, but the report has been called into question after it was learned that a local newspaper carried news of the baby's death on March 4,” the statement continued.
“A substitute story will be filed shortly reflecting the new information,” added the AP.
They then issued a follow-up noting that, “A Gaza man said Sunday his 5-month-old baby died two days ago after the generator powering his respirator ran out of fuel, but the report was called into question after it emerged that the timing of the baby’s death was misrepresented.”
“The baby’s death — which was confirmed to The Associated Press by a man identified as the father and a Gaza hospital official — would have been the first linked to the territory’s energy crisis, and the report appeared to be an attempt by Gaza’s Hamas rulers to use it to gain sympathy,” noted the AP.
There have been numerous cases, over the years, of media outlets reporting inaccurate information based on stories relayed by Gazan officials. Less than two weeks ago, the Ma’an News Agency reported that Nayif Shaaban Qarmout, 15, was killed in Beit Lahiya, north Gaza. It was reported that, “the 15-ear-old was playing with friends in a play ground near his school when an Israeli missile hit the area.”
However, later in the day the AFP reported that “there was no sign of an [Israeli] air raid.”
More on this topic
Comment on this story
4. Knife Discarded by Soldier's Attacker Gave Him Away
by Gil Ronen
The Arab who stabbed an Israeli female soldier in Jerusalem two weeks ago threw his knife out a bus window as he was on his way to a hiding place after the attack. This led to his arrest, it now turns out.
The suspected terrorist is an 18-year-old resident of eastern Jerusalem. He was to be brought before the Magistrates' Court on Jerusalem for remand Monday, and police said it would ask to keep him incarcerated until the end of legal proceedings against him.
The investigation has discovered that the terrorist left his home on the morning of the attack equipped with a knife. When he reached the gate to the school where he studies, he decided not to go in, and at 10 a.m. he took the light rail back to his home. When he went on the train, he saw the female soldier and sat down opposite her.
A few seconds before the train stopped at his station, the terrorist stabbed the young Jewish woman several times and when the doors opened, and he ran away toward his home, where he met his brother and told him what he had done.
He then got on a bus toward Kalandia, with the aim of hiding with relatives in Ramallah. During the bus ride, he threw the knife out the window of the bus. This information somehow reached the police. At the Kalandia crossing, he was arrested, and he admitted his crime in the initial interrogation. He said he had stabbed the soldier as revenge for Israel's actions against Arabs.
The investigation found that he acted independently and was not affiliated with any terror group.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
The Arab who stabbed an Israeli female soldier in Jerusalem two weeks ago threw his knife out a bus window as he was on his way to a hiding place after the attack. This led to his arrest, it now turns out.
The suspected terrorist is an 18-year-old resident of eastern Jerusalem. He was to be brought before the Magistrates' Court on Jerusalem for remand Monday, and police said it would ask to keep him incarcerated until the end of legal proceedings against him.
The investigation has discovered that the terrorist left his home on the morning of the attack equipped with a knife. When he reached the gate to the school where he studies, he decided not to go in, and at 10 a.m. he took the light rail back to his home. When he went on the train, he saw the female soldier and sat down opposite her.
A few seconds before the train stopped at his station, the terrorist stabbed the young Jewish woman several times and when the doors opened, and he ran away toward his home, where he met his brother and told him what he had done.
He then got on a bus toward Kalandia, with the aim of hiding with relatives in Ramallah. During the bus ride, he threw the knife out the window of the bus. This information somehow reached the police. At the Kalandia crossing, he was arrested, and he admitted his crime in the initial interrogation. He said he had stabbed the soldier as revenge for Israel's actions against Arabs.
The investigation found that he acted independently and was not affiliated with any terror group.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
5. Pollard’s ‘Handler’ Says Obama Likely to Free Him
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Former Mossad officer Rafi Eitan said Monday “there is a good probability” President Barack Obama will pardon Jonathan Pollard before the presidential elections in November and free him from prison by the end of the year.
Eitan was Pollard’s “handler” before the American Pentagon worker was arrested for passing on classified information on Israel’s behalf. The offense, which is not in the classification of “spying,” generally carries a 2-4 year sentence in prison, but a federal United States court handed down a life sentence.
President Obama, like those before him, have refused to grant Pollard clemency, despite his deteriorating health.
“There is a change in the air among senior American officials,” Cabinet Minister Yuli Edelstein said Monday.
Several unconfirmed rumors have circulated the past several months that President Obama will try to score points with Jewish voters and free Pollard, who has been incarcerated for more than 27 years.
More than 20,000 academics, artists and intellectuals recently have signed a petition calling on President Shimon Peres to refuse a scheduled “Freedom Medallion” award from President Obama later this year unless Pollard is released.
The petition said: “As citizens of the State of Israel, we congratulate you on President Obama’s decision to grant you the American Freedom Medallion, which symbolizes justice and freedom. Nevertheless, because of the very same values represented by the medallion, we cannot agree with your receiving the medallion at the same time the United States holds Yonatan Pollard in jail for more than 27 years when senior American leaders already have admitted that the life term in prison is immoral and unjust."
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Former Mossad officer Rafi Eitan said Monday “there is a good probability” President Barack Obama will pardon Jonathan Pollard before the presidential elections in November and free him from prison by the end of the year.
Eitan was Pollard’s “handler” before the American Pentagon worker was arrested for passing on classified information on Israel’s behalf. The offense, which is not in the classification of “spying,” generally carries a 2-4 year sentence in prison, but a federal United States court handed down a life sentence.
President Obama, like those before him, have refused to grant Pollard clemency, despite his deteriorating health.
“There is a change in the air among senior American officials,” Cabinet Minister Yuli Edelstein said Monday.
Several unconfirmed rumors have circulated the past several months that President Obama will try to score points with Jewish voters and free Pollard, who has been incarcerated for more than 27 years.
More than 20,000 academics, artists and intellectuals recently have signed a petition calling on President Shimon Peres to refuse a scheduled “Freedom Medallion” award from President Obama later this year unless Pollard is released.
The petition said: “As citizens of the State of Israel, we congratulate you on President Obama’s decision to grant you the American Freedom Medallion, which symbolizes justice and freedom. Nevertheless, because of the very same values represented by the medallion, we cannot agree with your receiving the medallion at the same time the United States holds Yonatan Pollard in jail for more than 27 years when senior American leaders already have admitted that the life term in prison is immoral and unjust."
More on this topic
Comment on this story
6. Iran Says It Will Send Monkey into Space in 2012
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Iran, whose population is one-third of that of the United States, claims it will send a monkey into space this year. It also has recently said it has found a nano-medicine cure for cancer and a generic drug to treat multiple sclerosis.
As recently as two months ago, Tehran said it was putting a hold on the project to send a monkey into space by 2020.
Now, Hamid Fazeli, director of the Iranian Space Agency, says the monkey will be sent into space by August of this year.
“This is actually a prelude to preparing Iran for sending a human astronaut into space before 2021,” Fazeli told the official government IRNA news agency.
Fazeli said that Iranian scientists are coming up with a new bio-capsule as un upgrade to one launched into space last winter.
The number of technological and military advances in Iran has soared in recent months. The Ahmadinejad regime claimed to have tested a long-range missile that can reach U.S. bases in the Middle East as well as Israel, but wire services quoted analysts as saying that the film of the launch appeared to be of a rocket with far less range.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Iran, whose population is one-third of that of the United States, claims it will send a monkey into space this year. It also has recently said it has found a nano-medicine cure for cancer and a generic drug to treat multiple sclerosis.
As recently as two months ago, Tehran said it was putting a hold on the project to send a monkey into space by 2020.
Now, Hamid Fazeli, director of the Iranian Space Agency, says the monkey will be sent into space by August of this year.
“This is actually a prelude to preparing Iran for sending a human astronaut into space before 2021,” Fazeli told the official government IRNA news agency.
Fazeli said that Iranian scientists are coming up with a new bio-capsule as un upgrade to one launched into space last winter.
The number of technological and military advances in Iran has soared in recent months. The Ahmadinejad regime claimed to have tested a long-range missile that can reach U.S. bases in the Middle East as well as Israel, but wire services quoted analysts as saying that the film of the launch appeared to be of a rocket with far less range.
Tags: Iran Space Program ,monkeys ,Ahmadinjad
More on this topic
Comment on this story
7. Police, IDF Preparing for Migron Expulsion
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Police and back-up IDF troops are preparing for the largest expulsion of Jews since Gush Katif, destroyed almost exactly seven years ago, immediately after the Ninth of Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
The training will be totally superfluous if the government reaches a new agreement with residents of Migron, in Samaria, following the High Court decision Sunday that rejected a compromise to expel dozens of families from the community in three years, that is, after new homes can be built on nearby state land.
A senior officer in the Central Command warned two months ago that planning for the expulsion will cause a deterioration of security on several fronts, although the soldiers would serve as back-up reserves in an expulsion while the police take the front lines.
First of all, the training will take soldiers away from combat operations, particularly near Gaza and on the Egyptian and Lebanese borders. The emphasis on Gush Katif expulsion training was widely blamed for the IDF's lack of preparedness in the Second Lebanon War.
Secondly, the destruction of another Jewish community will diminish the strength of Jewish presence in Samaria in Area C, the area that is controlled by Israel and contains all the Jewish communities in the region. This may encourage the Palestinian Authority, backed by Peace Now, to become the de facto authority in areas where Jews live, although only 4% of Palestinian Arabs live in Area C.
The IDF officer also warned that another expulsion could find the IDF having to deal with severe “price tag” operations against Arabs in protest of the court orders and government policy, unless the Netanyahu administration decides to back a new bill that would pave the way for Migron to remain in its present location.
Synopsis of Migron story:
Migron was built with government help on land whose ownership is unclear, except for the fact that it is not state land. Peace Now launched a lawsuit before the Supreme Court aimed at destroying the community. Since only Magistrate's Courts adjudicate land ownership in Israel, the question of who owned the land was not decided in the Supreme Court, although it seems that some of it was given by King Hussein to Jordanians who never laid claim to it. Jordan was an occupying power in Judea and Samaria from 1949-1967.
The compromise, worked out by MK Benny Begin (Likud) with much difficulty, would have had the residents move to a small, nearby area that is uncontested state land, and have the present Migron houses used by the government for other purposes.
A compromise moving them to a large, new suburb to be built near the existing community of Adam on state land was worked out by the Judea and Samaria Council two years ago, but the residents rejected it, still hoping to save the existing community.
In both compromises, the residents were to remain in Migron until the alternate houses were built. The compromise was agreed to by both government and residents in order to avoid both the violence that accompanied the destruction of the houses at Amona in 2006 and the bitter split in the nation that occurred due to the expulsion from the Katif Bloc in 2005.
The courts, however, made saving Migron in its present location an impossibility and may now have made the new compromise unachievable.
Comment on this story
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Police and back-up IDF troops are preparing for the largest expulsion of Jews since Gush Katif, destroyed almost exactly seven years ago, immediately after the Ninth of Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Temples.
The training will be totally superfluous if the government reaches a new agreement with residents of Migron, in Samaria, following the High Court decision Sunday that rejected a compromise to expel dozens of families from the community in three years, that is, after new homes can be built on nearby state land.
A senior officer in the Central Command warned two months ago that planning for the expulsion will cause a deterioration of security on several fronts, although the soldiers would serve as back-up reserves in an expulsion while the police take the front lines.
First of all, the training will take soldiers away from combat operations, particularly near Gaza and on the Egyptian and Lebanese borders. The emphasis on Gush Katif expulsion training was widely blamed for the IDF's lack of preparedness in the Second Lebanon War.
Secondly, the destruction of another Jewish community will diminish the strength of Jewish presence in Samaria in Area C, the area that is controlled by Israel and contains all the Jewish communities in the region. This may encourage the Palestinian Authority, backed by Peace Now, to become the de facto authority in areas where Jews live, although only 4% of Palestinian Arabs live in Area C.
The IDF officer also warned that another expulsion could find the IDF having to deal with severe “price tag” operations against Arabs in protest of the court orders and government policy, unless the Netanyahu administration decides to back a new bill that would pave the way for Migron to remain in its present location.
Synopsis of Migron story:
Migron was built with government help on land whose ownership is unclear, except for the fact that it is not state land. Peace Now launched a lawsuit before the Supreme Court aimed at destroying the community. Since only Magistrate's Courts adjudicate land ownership in Israel, the question of who owned the land was not decided in the Supreme Court, although it seems that some of it was given by King Hussein to Jordanians who never laid claim to it. Jordan was an occupying power in Judea and Samaria from 1949-1967.
The compromise, worked out by MK Benny Begin (Likud) with much difficulty, would have had the residents move to a small, nearby area that is uncontested state land, and have the present Migron houses used by the government for other purposes.
A compromise moving them to a large, new suburb to be built near the existing community of Adam on state land was worked out by the Judea and Samaria Council two years ago, but the residents rejected it, still hoping to save the existing community.
In both compromises, the residents were to remain in Migron until the alternate houses were built. The compromise was agreed to by both government and residents in order to avoid both the violence that accompanied the destruction of the houses at Amona in 2006 and the bitter split in the nation that occurred due to the expulsion from the Katif Bloc in 2005.
The courts, however, made saving Migron in its present location an impossibility and may now have made the new compromise unachievable.
More on this topic
Comment on this story
8. Jewish Situation in France 'Unbearable'
by Hezki Ezra & Gil Ronen
Liora Zachary, an immigrant from France, attended the news conference called Sunday by the editor of a French-Israeli publication and spoke out against the rampant anti-Israeli incitement in France. She described a situation that sounds somewhat like descriptions of pre-Holocaust Europe.
"Jews are being attacked all the time," she said.
"Children, in the buses, in the Metro, going to school, coming from school, couples in the street – this is just an unbearable situation. And we are talking about France, we are not talking about some kind of jungle. This is one of the main countries of Europe."
Not unlike the Jews of Europe before the Holocaust, Zachary sounded surprised that the Jews could be treated in this way. "The Jews of France have always been very active in the French community, in the French market," she said. "They have contributed tremendously to France. And I don't think this is the kind of treatment they should receive."
Comment on this story
by Hezki Ezra & Gil Ronen
Liora Zachary, an immigrant from France, attended the news conference called Sunday by the editor of a French-Israeli publication and spoke out against the rampant anti-Israeli incitement in France. She described a situation that sounds somewhat like descriptions of pre-Holocaust Europe.
"Jews are being attacked all the time," she said.
"Children, in the buses, in the Metro, going to school, coming from school, couples in the street – this is just an unbearable situation. And we are talking about France, we are not talking about some kind of jungle. This is one of the main countries of Europe."
Not unlike the Jews of Europe before the Holocaust, Zachary sounded surprised that the Jews could be treated in this way. "The Jews of France have always been very active in the French community, in the French market," she said. "They have contributed tremendously to France. And I don't think this is the kind of treatment they should receive."
More on this topic
-
Mourning Wife and Mother of Toulouse Victims Thanks G-d
-
France Opens Investigation on Brother of Toulouse Terrorist
-
French-Israeli Journalist Calls on Paris to Rein in Muslims
-
Turkish Commercial Featuring... Hitler
-
Anti-Semites Sympathize with Toulouse Killer
-
France: Jewish Graves Desecrated in Nice
Comment on this story
More Website News:
 |
Watch IDF Elite Combat Troops in Training  |
|
|
Poll: Gazans Blame Hamas, Not Israel for Fuel Crisis  |
|
|
Iran Forces Jewish ‘Minyan’ for Global March: Report |
|
|
Terrorists Plan Cyanide Attack on Olympics |
|
|
Egypt's Islamists Dominate Constitution Panel |
