Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday 10 August 2012

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Friday, Aug 10 '12, Av 22, 5772  
Today`s Email Stories:
Australia: Conviction for Online Terror Manual
Cabinet Allows Egyptian Helicopters in Sinai
Hundreds Visit Shomron in Summer Tourism Festival
Website Publishes Details About IAF Pilots
Gantz: Be Prepared for a Multi-Front War
Yechimovich: Not Ruling Out Partnership with Likud
Police Commander: Arson is a New Form of Terrorism
  More Website News:
Report: Army of Islam Behind Egypt Terror Attack
Levi Aron Pleads Guilty to Killing Leiby Kletzky
Romney Tops List of Pro-Jewish Non-Jews
Top Expert: Disengagement Led to Sinai Islamism
New Mideast Virus 'Developed by Nation State'
  MP3 Radio Website News Briefs:
Talk: Media Terrorists
Using a Strong Arm
Music:
Pirkei Chazzanut





1. Golan Commander: Be Prepared for the Worst
by Maayana Miskin Golan Commander: Be Prepared for the Worst

The IDF structure of command in the Golan changed this week, with Colonel Oren Cohen replacing Colonel Mounir Amar as head of the Hermon Brigade.



 “In these days when a bloody civil war is happening just meters from here, we are changing the command of the Hermon Brigade, which is responsible for defending the eyes of the country,” said Brigadier-General Tamir Hyman, speaking at a ceremony in which Cohen took command.



“We are in a historic period. We do not know how the day after the fall of the Assad regime will look,” he said. “We must be prepared for the worst.”



Colonel Cohen was a commander in the Golani Brigade during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. During the operation he was badly wounded in a shell strike. He underwent a grueling rehabilitation process, after which he returned to the IDF and continued moving his way up the ranks.



The Hermon brigade is made up largely of reservists from elite IDF units such as Egoz.



The brigade also includes the Alpists, an elite unit whose soldiers are trained to fight in snow and extreme cold. Their training includes learning to charge the enemy while on skis or snowmobiles.



The unit made headlines the past two years due to its work preventing infiltrations from Syria, particularly on Nakba Day and Naksa Day, which reflect the hostile-Arab perspective on the creation of modern state of Israel and its victory in the Six-Day War of 1967.





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2. Australia: Conviction Upheld for Online Terror Manual
Australia: Conviction for Online Terror Manual

Australia’s High Court has convicted a man for creating an online terrorism guide. The man, Belal Saadallah Khazaal, published a 110-page e-book that included advice on bombmaking, shooting down planes, and similar attacks.



Judges ruled that a lower court was correct in convicting and jailing Khazaal, despite the fact that his manual is not known to have led to attacks.



His lawyer had argued that there was a possibility that the book was not intended to facilitate assistance in a terrorist act. Judges rejected the argument and upheld Khazaal’s conviction for making a document knowing it could assist in a terrorist act and inciting terrorism.



Khazaal, 42, is a former employee with Qantas Airways.



The charges Khazaal was convicted on were created in 2002 as part of the creation of new counter-terror laws following the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. He was one of the first people charged under the new laws.



He was sentenced to 12 years in prison, and will need to serve at least nine before he is eligible for parole.





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3. Cabinet Allows Egyptian Helicopters in Sinai
by Elad Benari Cabinet Allows Egyptian Helicopters in Sinai

The Israeli Cabinet voted on Thursday evening to approve an Egyptian request to send in helicopters to the Sinai Peninsula. The approval was given for a period of several days and allows five aircraft to enter the region. The move is designed to assist Egypt in its military operation against terrorist elements in the Sinai.

Under the peace agreements signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979, the Sinai Peninsula is to be a demilitarized zone and Israeli approval is required for Egypt to send in military forces to the region.

Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem told Channel 10 News on Thursday that Israel has told Egypt that it has no problem in principle with the Egyptian army periodically entering Sinai, but at the same time the Egyptians must act to thwart the smuggling of weapons from the Egyptian border with Libya and Sudan, before these weapons arrive near the border area between ​​Egypt and Israel.

The sources added that Israel has recently told Egypt that it would be wise to allow the Bedouin in Sinai to resume engaging in tourism, after parts of the tourism industry were taken from them. A senior Israeli official quoted by Channel 10 explained that since they have not been allowed to work in the tourism business, many of the Bedouin have turned to smuggling weapons. The official explained that they do so as an alternative way of making a living.

The Cabinet's approval of helicopters comes after a dramatic week in the Sinai Peninsula and after the terror attack earlier this week in which 16 Egypt soldiers were killed.

While this is not the first time that Israel has allowed Egypt to hold military operations in the Sinai, it is the first time that Israel has granted such an approval since Mohammed Morsi was elected Egypt’s president.

Residents of El Arish in northern Sinai reported Thursday that the Egyptian military has sent reinforcements of "unprecedented" size into the peninsula.

The forces reportedly include 60 tanks on 30 tank-transporters, 12 armored personnel carriers, 15 additional armored vehicles, more than 20 armored jeeps and 10 Military Police jeeps.





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4. Hundreds Visit Shomron in Summer Tourism Festival
by Elad Benari & Yoni Kempinski Hundreds Visit Shomron in Summer Tourism Festival

Hundreds of Israelis have been visiting the Shomron (Samaria) region as part of the Shomron Summer Festival currently taking place. Arutz Sheva visited the festival.

As part of the festival, family tours of the Shomron area are being offered, and many local tourist sites are opening their doors and offering a variety of discounts and promotions. The sites also hold attractions for the entire family.

Expecting many visitors from all around the country and from among the non-religious sector, the Shomron Department of Tourism has invested this year in advertising on radio stations and in newspapers.



“Every weekend over the month of Av there will be festivals,” said Surry Provizor, Activity Operator at the Shomron Summer Festival. “People are coming from all over the country to see what is going on in the Shomron and to visit the revival of this ancient archaeological site.”

“There are musicians and jugglers and it’s a great big happening,” she added.

Yair Elmakayis, who heads the Midreshet Shomron field school, added that “we see many people who usually don’t come to the Shomron, who are coming because of this occasion, and of course we’re very happy about it.”





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5. Pro-Arab Website Publishes Details About IAF Pilots
by Elad Benari Website Publishes Details About IAF Pilots

A pro-Palestinian Authority website published on Thursday confidential details about 100 Israeli Air Force pilots. The website posted the pictures, names and other identifying information regarding the pilots, whose identity is supposed to remain confidential.

The confidential information that was posted included dates of birth and identity numbers. The names published included those of base commanders whose identities are not confidential.

The IDF Spokesman said in response that the organization behind the website is known to the IDF and that the publication was riddled with errors.

“This publication is another attempt by anti-Israel causes to harm Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself,” said an official statement by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

The statement added that the IDF and the relevant departments in the Israeli government regularly monitor attempts to take legal action against those who act on behalf of the State of Israel in its fight against terrorism and are taking appropriate steps.

“The IDF will continue to act in accordance with the laws of war of international law,” said the statement, which added that the officers will be briefed on how to maintain their personal security.

In 2010, an anti-Israel website published personal information on hundreds of IDF officers and soldiers who took part in Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in early 2009, calling them ‘war criminals’.

The website called on internet users to distribute the personal information on the soldiers throughout the web and said that the solders “held key positions as part of a murderous mechanism.”

The list included soldiers’ names, pictures, personal addresses, dates of birth, and their role in the IDF.

In response to such incidents, the IDF’s Operations Division has published a set of strict guidelines regarding the use by IDF officers and soldiers of social networks such as Facebook. Photos published by IDF soldiers on their Facebook profiles are sometimes used by hostile elements against the IDF and Israel.





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6. Gantz: We Need to be Prepared for a Multi-Front War
by Elad Benari Gantz: Be Prepared for a Multi-Front War

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz warned on Thursday that despite the IDF and the Shin Bet’s ability to foil this week’s terror attack near the border with Egypt, there are no guarantees that Israel would have similar intelligence that will allow it to thwart similar attacks in the future.

Speaking during a ceremony marking Reservists Appreciation Day, Gantz said that the current turmoil in the region is forcing the IDF to prepare for a multi-front attack.

“The recent attempts to hurt Israelis were foiled thanks to the high efficiency of our forces and thanks to precise intelligence,” he said, adding, “We will not always have the early warning so we must be prepared for any scenario.”

He noted that Israel and the IDF are closely monitoring the changes taking place in Syria and Egypt, adding that Israel must be prepared for the possibility of conflict in the region.

“Recent events require the IDF to prepare for every scenario - even a multi-front confrontation,” he stressed.

Gantz’s comments came as the Israeli Cabinet voted to approve an Egyptian request to send in helicopters to the Sinai Peninsula.

The approval was given for a period of several days and allows five aircraft to enter the region. The move is designed to assist Egypt in its military operation against terrorist elements in the Sinai.

Gantz also took the opportunity to praise the resilience of the reserve soldiers and their willingness to serve.

“This event in which we say thank you to the reservists is no less important than any operational exercise,” Gantz said, adding that service in the reserves is “a primary expression of social commitment and personal responsibility to the State.”

Statistics published on Wednesday, a day before Reservists Appreciation Day, showed that Israeli residents of Judea and Samaria (Yehuda and Shomron) are the most active reservists in Israel.

The statistics found that while only five percent of the soldiers who are eligible for reserve duty actually perform reserve duty, the area from which most reservists come is Judea and Samaria, where 34 percent of those serving in the reserves live.





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7. Yechimovich: Not Ruling Out Partnership with Netanyahu
by Elad Benari Yechimovich: Not Ruling Out Partnership with Likud

Labor party leader MK Shelly Yechimovich said on Thursday that she sees herself as a candidate for the position of Prime Minister, and declared that she does not rule out a future partnership with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud party. Yechimovich spoke during a public forum at the Gordon College in Haifa.

“I took my time before I announced that I see myself as a candidate for Prime Minister because I’m not detached from reality,” she said. “The Labor party had four seats in the poll on the eve of Ehud Barak’s departure from the party. Some people were already eulogizing us, but I believed in the Labor Party.”

Yechimovich added that despite her sharp attacks against Netanyahu, particularly over the recent economic measures, she does not rule out a future partnership between Labor and Likud.

“I am not prepared to veto any coalition partners right now; this is political folly,” she said. “I may get applause for doing so, but I'm not going to do it. I guarantee that I won’t lead the party to a place where there is no decisive influence on Israeli society.”

A poll conducted last week found that the public’s dissatisfaction with Netanyahu would affect his party’s seats if elections were held today.

The poll found that in the last month, the Likud party has lost four seats and would win 25 seats if elections were held today. Likud would be the Knesset’s largest party, the poll found, but Labor would gain strength and be the second largest with 21 seats.

The primary reason for the drop in Netanyahu’s popularity was the approval of a set of measures aimed at reducing the deficit. The measures include a hike in the VAT and income tax and cuts to the budgets of many ministries.

Yechimovich said during the public forum that she is not at all concerned about her lack of ministerial and management experience.

“Ultimately there is one body that determines whether I am worthy to lead or not, and that is the public that goes to the polls and chooses,” she said. “The public does not elect a manager or CEO, but a leader. The question that should be asked is whether the way I am leading is the right one for Israeli society.”

Yechimovich added that U.S. President Barack Obama also did not come to his position with experience, saying, “I would like to remind that Obama arrived with less experience as a senator than I have, that David Cameron in the UK passed fewer loss than I did. They all came not as ministers but rather from the Senate and the Parliament, and they were chosen because the public thought it was the right thing to do.”





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8. Police Commander: Arson is a New Form of Terrorism
by Elad Benari Police Commander: Arson is a New Form of Terrorism

Hagai Dotan, the commander of the Coastal District of the Israeli Police, ordered on Thursday evening the establishment of a special investigative unit to look into the circumstances surrounding the recent fires.

Dotan said that the fires, which have raged in several areas in Israel in recent days, are a new form of terrorism.

“The suspicion now is that the arson was nationalistically motivated,” he said. “We have no intelligence to support that, but if you look at the entire country, we see arson in Tivon, in Jerusalem and in Beit Shemesh – such a sequence of fires cannot be coincidental.”

His comments come after several blazes broke out in Israel on Thursday. One, near Sha'ar HaAmakim, in the southeastern approach to Haifa, was spreading toward Tivon in the afternoon. The residents of three streets were evacuated from their homes. Residents of an old age home were also evacuated. Two homes were reportedly damaged but no one was hurt.

Outside Jerusalem, near Even Sapir, the fire that burned Wednesday reignited and was brought under control after dozens of local residents were evacuated from their homes in the western part of the community.

In addition, a fire broke out near an IDF ammunition depot in the Rehovot area, near Tel Nof. No one was hurt. Fire crews were able to bring the blaze under control in a relatively short time.

Earlier on Thursday, sources in the fire department and the Zevulun precinct police told Arutz Sheva that the fires are the result of arson.

While high temperatures and irresponsibility by campers are always potential causes of fires, it is a well known fact that Arabs intentionally set fires as an easy way of terrorizing Jews and destroying their property. Arab inciters have called on Arabs to do just this, on more than one occasion.

When a fire broke out near Jerusalem six weeks ago, Major General Niso Shaham, who was then Commander of the Jerusalem Police, told a Channel 2 reporter that there is currently a plethora of arson attacks in the Jerusalem area. The reporter said that fire fighters told him that there were several incidents of arson every day in the Jerusalem area alone, and Shaham did not deny this.

Arabs have been documented setting fires to fields in Judea and Samaria, where this is a common practice of theirs. 





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More Website News:
Report: Army of Islam Behind Egypt Terror Attack
Levi Aron Pleads Guilty to Killing Leiby Kletzky
Romney Tops List of Pro-Jewish Non-Jews
Top Expert: Disengagement Led to Sinai Islamism
New Mideast Virus 'Developed by Nation State'