Within the past hour, two rockets have been fired on Israel from an area of the Sinai desert controlled by the Islamic State terror group. Both rockets fell in open areas.
The rockets landed in the Eshkol Regional Council, according to
an initial statement released by the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. No
injuries or damages were caused.
A Red Alert was not sounded, the statement said, due to the fact that the rockets were fired into open space.
#CHANGE Moderate Arab states ignore Obama-Kerry initiative
If the moderate Arab states were supposed to latch onto Secretary of State Kerry's 'peace proposal' and use it, along with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334 to pressure Israel, someone forgot to tell them that. Or, as is more likely, they have read the handwriting on the walls, and have realized that they will have to work with Donald Trump for the next 4-8 years.
But the official responses in Cairo, Riyadh and Amman seemed
calculated to make an impression on the incoming Trump administration
rather than to impel any immediate or urgent follow up on the Kerry
proposals. That was not expected, given that Kerry and President Barack
Obama have only three weeks left in office and Donald Trump has signaled
there will be a friendlier approach towards the policies of Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Now, with the imminent change in the White House, Kerry's noble
views may very well remain a small footnote in the history books," the Jordan Times wrote in an editorial Thursday.
Jordan,
Egypt and Saudi Arabia are, to some extent, groping in the dark,
uncertain about what Trump policies that will strongly impact their
futures will look like. By giving essentially positive responses to
Kerry's proposals, "they are trying to show they are pro-peace, useful
and very relevant as mediators and mainstays of the process and trying
also to anticipate what the new administration in Washington wishes to
do," said Gabriel Ben-Dor, a Middle East specialist at Haifa University.
The countries also have their sights set on being relevant in advance
of the January 15 conference bringing together some 70 foreign ministers
in Paris whose goal is to reaffirm the necessity of a two-state
solution.
...
As Tel Aviv University Middle East scholar Bruce Maddy-Weitzman has
noted, close scrutiny of Cairo and Riyadh's reactions to Kerry indicate
that neither Arab country has the sense of urgency that Kerry conveyed
in his speech. Egypt's Foreign Ministry said that Kerry's principles
were "mostly consistent with the international consensus and Egypt's
vision but in the end what is important is the will to implement those
principles eventually."
Saudi Arabia welcomed the proposals,
according to an official at the Saudi foreign ministry, who said Riyadh
views them as being in accord with the majority of the resolutions of
international legality. Riyadh said that Kerry's proposals have elements
of the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by Saudi Arabia and adopted by an
Arab summit at Beirut in 2002. It added that the proposals represent an
"appropriate basis" for achieving a final settlement of the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
But, Maddy-Weitzman noted "there is no operative clause in the Saudi response to move forward fast and do this or that."
"This
suggests the Saudis understand there won't be significant movement any
time soon as a result of the speech," he said. "They recognize there is a
new administration coming in that is expressing itself differently on
Middle East issues. Saudi strategic priorities are elsewhere. There are
more acute issues occupying their thinking. The Palestinian-Israeli
issue is lower down. That doesn't mean they don't care and would go
along with anything the Israeli government would do."
"At this
point, the Saudis won't take the lead on Palestinian-Israeli diplomacy
unless the Trump administration takes the initiative or something forces
them to, like a new intifada." But Riyadh will try to persuade the US
not to move its Israel embassy to Jerusalem, Maddy-Weitzman predicted.
In its reaction to Kerry, Egypt was mindful of Trump's intervention a
week earlier against its sponsorship of the security council resolution
specifying that settlements have "no legal validity." Egypt withdrew its
sponsorship in deference to Trump and it formulated its response to
Kerry with Trump in mind, not wanting to appear to be confrontational
towards Israel.
Cairo, which viewed the Obama administration as
selling out Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak during the Arab spring
revolt in 2011 and of subsequently backing the Muslim Brotherhood, has
high hopes for closer ties with Trump. Egypt is relieved to have an
administration coming in that will not make an issue out of its human
rights abuses in crushing the brotherhood and other opposition. "The
leaders of this 'terrorist' organization and those regional and Arab
powers that lend them support should realize that the election of Donald
Trump will usher in new directions for US foreign policy, which will
discontinue the 'interventionist' policies of the two previous US
administrations," wrote Hussein Haridy, a former foreign ministry
official, in al-Ahram weekly. "If this happens, there will be
much more effective cooperation between the American and Egyptian
governments in dealing constructively and successfully with existing
challenges and threats across the Middle East."
I haven't felt this optimistic since 2008, despite Obama-Kerry's attempts to incinerate Israel over the past two weeks. They're called 'lame ducks' for a reason.
Obscenity personified: Obama lies, stabs Israel in the back, wishes us a Happy Chanuka
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone. And a freilichen (Happy) Chanuka too.
The title of this post was stolen from a tweet by Anne Bayefsky after the United States abstained in the Security Council on Friday, allowing a resolution to pass that condemns as 'a flagrant violation' of 'international law' Israel's 'settlements' in the 'West Bank' and 'east' Jerusalem.
Will this resolution matter? John Bolton thinks it will. Let's go to the videotape.
Meanwhile the killing in Syria continues, but since there are no Jews involved, no one cares.
What better time to break with 50 years of US policy in the Middle East and try to impose a 'solution.'
Oh and guess what the mamzer was doing at the very moment he let the resolution pass... he was wishing all the stupid Jews who voted for him a Happy Chanuka.
Thanks for the stab in the back Obama.
While the resolution has not woken up too many Democrats to the fact that Obama's a Jew hater, it has woken up the Israeli government. In fact, Prime Minister Netanyahu claims that Obama had specifically promised to veto any UN resolutions in his last days in office.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accused President Barack Obama of breaching a specific commitment to Israel by allowing through Friday’s UN Security Council anti-settlements resolution, and compared the outgoing president’s behavior to that of predecessor Jimmy Carter, “a president who was hostile to Israel.”
Vowing not to be forced by international
pressure into withdrawing from disputed territory, he said the incoming
administration of President-elect Donald Trump had indicated that it
would join an all-out war against what he called a “shameful” and
“scandalous” decision.
He described the 14-0 vote in the Security
Council, with the US abstaining, as “the swan song of the old world that
is anti-Israel.” Now, he said, “we are entering a new era. And as
President-elect Trump said, it’s going to happen a lot faster than
people think.”
In this new era, it will a lot more costly for those who seek to harm Israel, he warned.
Practically speaking, Netanyahu also announced
that Israel was re-evaluating all of its dealings with the United
Nations, and that he had already instructed officials to cut off “30
million shekels ($7.8 million) of funding for five UN bodies that are
particularly hostile to Israel.” More such action will follow, he
promised.
He noted that he had recalled Israel’s
ambassadors from New Zealand and Senegal, two of the four countries that
sponsored the resolution that have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Israeli aid to Senegal has also been halted, he said.
I think he should recall his ambassadors from the UK and France and Egypt as well, and call the US and Russian ambassadors in for a dressing down.
Netanyahu had more to say.
The US abstention came in “a complete
contradiction” to a “specific commitment by President Obama in 2011,” he
said. It was “a shameful anti-Israel ambush” by the administration, he
said.
“The whole Middle East is going up in flames,”
he said, “and the Obama administration and the Security Council” target
Israel, the region’s only democracy. “How shameful.”
...
US legislators intend to pass a law to punish
states or organizations, including the UN, that seek to hurt Israel. The
US alone, he noted, provides a quarter of the UN’s funding.
He said Israel was “on a journey” to improve
its relations with the nations of the world. “It could be that this
scandalous decision yesterday will accelerate this process. This is the
straw that broke the camel’s back. Yesterday’s decision is a recruitment
call to all our many friends in the US and around the world — friends
who have had enough of the UN’s hostile treatment of Israel and who
intend to push fundamental change at the UN.”
Therefore, he said, invoking the spirit of the Hanukkah festival which began on Saturday, “the light will oust the darkness.”
Tit for tat: Iran accuses Abu Bluff of collaborating with the CIA, 'Palestinians' accuse Iran of 'serving the Zionist project'
Pass the popcorn!
The 'Palestinians' and Iran are nearly in open war.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Maryam
Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
(NCRI), an Iranian diaspora opposition group, met in Paris on Saturday,
renewing tensions between the Palestinian leadership and Iran.
Abbas
hosted Rajavi at his hotel in Paris and updated her on the latest
developments in the Palestinian territories and the Middle East,
according to Wafa, the official Palestinian Authority news site.
The following day, Tehran learned of the meeting and
accused President Abbas of working as a secret agent on behalf of the
United States government.
A top advisor to the Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Shiekh
al-Islam said, “That man [Abbas] is known to us and documents from the
US Embassy in Tehran revealed that he has been a collaborator with the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for a long time and his actions in
the past decades have proved that.”
Later in the evening, Wafa
published a press release from the Fatah Media and Culture
Commissariat, saying Iran, without mentioning its name, is carrying out
a campaign to undermine President Abbas and the Palestinian cause. “A
careful reading of advisor to the Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein
Sheikh al-Islam’s statements…have made clear to us of the horror that
many people are carrying out to serve the Zionist project through
organized campaigns against the president of the Palestinian people and
the Palestinian issue.”
The statement stated further that Iran
hopes to entrench division between Palestinians. “They have vied and
are still vying to destroy and ruin the Palestinian people, entrench
the division, and encourage internal conflict to gain political points,
nothing else. Their goals have nothing to do with Jerusalem or
justice,” it said.
The 'Palestinians' are trying to show they stand with the 'moderate' Sunni countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan). Coincidentally, those are the same countries who have been ramping up ties with Israel. Hmmm.
Alwaght- Egyptians were shocked when the Arabic
language newspaper, Youm7, revealed that the co-founder of Egypt’s
Salafist Nour Party has met with the Israeli Regime's former foreign
minister.
The influential daily revealed on the weekend that
extremist Nour Party's Nader Bakkar has hold secret meeting with
notorious Tzipi Livni in April at Harvard University.
The meeting that was reportedly held at Bakkar’s request has sparked a storm of controversy in Egyptian media.
...
Salafism is an ultra-conservative movement within Sunni
Islam that advocats a return to the traditions of the "devout
ancestors". The doctrine can be summed up as taking "a fundamentalist
approach to Islam".
The Nour Party's co-founder and deputy chairman, Bakkar,
Bakkar was awarded a scholarship to pursue a master’s in public
administration at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Muslim Brotherhood accused the aspiring young politician of
unjustly winning a fellowship to attend the prestigious Harvard
University in return for his party’s betrayal of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013.
The Salafi party sided with the Armed Forces against the
Brotherhood during Morsi’s ouster, and since then has continued to
support President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s administration.
...
A few months before his graduation, however, Livni visited
Harvard on 16 April to give a lecture on the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.
Sources reportedly told the Egyptian newspaper that after
finding out that Livni was coming to speak, Bakkar contacted the society
to arrange a closed meeting with Livni.
She agreed and the meeting took
place inside the university after her lecture.
According to Youm7, Nader Bakkar’s meeting with Tzipi
Livini lasted around 40 minutes, in which Bakkar talked about the
strength of the Nour Party and its popularity, that he was the main
reason for the (Muslim) Brotherhood’s success after the 25 January
revolution…
Livni- who has reportedly conducted sexual relations with
Arab officials during her years as a Mossad agent in an attempt to
entrap them- did not reveal the meeting at the time, but sources close
to her confirmed to the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) that the
meeting took place.
You gotta love Alwaght's style "Israeli Regime" and "Livni- who has reportedly conducted sexual relations with
Arab officials during her years as a Mossad agent in an attempt to
entrap them..." as if they were totally defenseless against her, even if you assume it's true (For many reasons, I don't believe Livni did this, and I won't allow comments discussing it).
And you thought Livni hated religious people... oh... wait... it's only religious Jews she hates.
But yes, I do believe Livni met with Bakkar. I doubt anything came of it. Much ado about nothing.
NINE YEARS since last visit by an Egyptian foreign minister
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukhry is in Israel this afternoon to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss - what else - how to advance the 'peace process' with the 'Palestinians.' It is the first visit to Israel by an Egyptian Foreign Minister in NINE YEARS.
Netanyahu said he would meet with Shoukry twice on Sunday, once in the afternoon and again in the evening. Netanyahu's special envoy Isaac Molho is responsible with coordinating Shoukry's visit, the premier said.
"The visit today is important in many ways," Netanyahu said at the start of Sunday's weekly cabinet meeting. "It shows the change in relations between Israel and Egypt, including Sissi's important call to advance the peace process [both] with the Palestinians and with Arab states.
Two weeks ago Shoukry met Palestinian President Abbas in Ramallah.
For the record, the last time an Egyptian President visited Israel was when Hosni Mubarak came to Yitzchak Rabin's funeral... in 1995.
None of this is surprising. Here's how the average Egyptian thinks of peace with Israel. I took it from the Egyptain blog, Sandmonkey.
But
then I rememebrd that we- the majority of us anyway- don't want peace
with Israel, and are not interested in any real dialogue with them. We
weren't then and we are not now. The Entire peace process has always
been about getting the land back, not establishing better relations.
Even when we do get the land back, it's not enough. People in Egypt
lament daily the Camp David treaty that prevents us from fighting.
In
Gaza they never stopped trying to attack Israel. In Lebanon Hezbollah
continued attacking even after the Israeli withdrawel. And the people-
the majority of the arab population- support it. Very few of us are
really interested in having any lasting Peace or co-existance. I mean,
if our left is asking for war, what do you think the rest of the
population is thinking?
I think that the Israeli want peace with
us because they don't want their lives disrupted. They don't want to
have the IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza, rockets coming into their towns
from Hamas or having to go to wars against Hezbollah to get their
soldiers back. I think they want peace because they want their peace of
mind. They view us as if we were a headache. We view them as if they
are a cancer.
All of which leads the average Israeli to conclude that peace with the Arabs isn't really worth the price in land that we'd have to pay - there won't be real peace.
In 1961, they knew how to solve the 'Palestinian problem'
Here's an amazing 1961 Atlantic piece (would the Atlantic even publish something like this today @JeffreyGoldberg) written by a woman I am told is Ernest Hemmingway's ex-wife (thanks @soccerdhg) who took a tour of eight 'Palestinian refugee camps' in 1961.
Here's the money quote (in more ways than one) (Hat Tip: @zlando).
On this warlike note, we left. My guide had seemed a sober contented
fellow until our little meeting, whereupon he sounded like a politician
running recklessly for office. He then astonished me again.
"It
can all be solved with money," he said. "Now the people have nothing in
their mouths but words, so they talk. Money fills the mouth too. If
every man got a thousand dollars for each member of his family, for
compensation to have lost his country, and he could be a citizen in any
Arab country he likes, he would not think of Palestine any more. Then he
could start a new life and be rich and happy. And those who really do
own something in Palestine must be paid for what they had there. But
those are not many. Most had nothing, only work."
It could - and probably still can - all be solved with money (although probably more today than 55 years ago). But of course no one - especially UNRWA - has any interest in solving it with money. And so, unlike any other refugees in the world, the 'Palestinians' continue to fester in camps... except for the ones who have escaped to the West.
Read the whole thing (I'm still reading it myself). And keep in mind that it was written six years BEFORE Israel 'occupied' the 'West Bank' and Gaza, so obviously that's not the problem.
It's come to this: Egypt asks Israel to keep Turkey away from Gaza
Egypt is worried - really worried - about the prospect that Turkey will have a role to play in Gaza, and with 'reconciliation talks' between Israel and Turkey ostensibly taking place, the Egyptians have asked Israel to ensure that Turkey will stay away.
Senior officials in Jerusalem told Haaretz that Egypt expressed its reservations regarding granting Turkey a role in the Gaza Strip, and asked whether Israel had committed to any easing of restrictions in the closure imposed on Gaza.
These officials, who asked to remain anonymous due to the delicate diplomatic nature of the issue, stated that what caused the Egyptian government’s displeasure was Israeli media reports from a few weeks ago, according to which a breakthrough had been reached in reconciliation talks with Turkey, as well as reports in the Turkish media that Israel had agreed to take significant steps in easing the maritime siege on Gaza.
Senior Egyptian Foreign Ministry officials met with Israel’s ambassador Haim Koren and asked if these reports were correct and whether Israel and Turkey are indeed close to reconciling. The temporary chargé d’affaires at the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv delivered similar messages in a recent meeting with senior Foreign Ministry officials in Jerusalem. Egypt expressed its opposition to any Israeli concessions to Turkey with regard to the Gaza Strip.
Egypt has two concerns: Turkey's support for Mohammed Morsy's Muslim Brotherhood regime in Egypt, and Turkey's close relations with Hamas.
Last week, Erdogan said that as part of the negotiations with Israel over the agreement, Turkey is interested in sending a ship that would arrive directly in Gaza, providing electricity and delivering construction materials. He noted that Israel has told Turkey that it would lift the siege if aid to Gaza goes through Turkey.
Last week, the Turkish Hürriyet Daily News reported that Turkey demanded that Israel grants it “unlimited access” in providing aid to the Gaza Strip. The report noted that senior Turkish officials said that if Israel allows this, Turkey will consider it a fulfillment of its condition that Israel lifts its siege.
Haaretz's Barak Ravid reports that the tensions between Egypt and Turkey are holding up any Israeli reconciliation with Turkey. Well, good.
Russian plane brought down by 'external force' in Sinai
Russia is saying that a Kogalymavia Airlines passenger jet that crashed in Sinai on Saturday while enroute from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg was brought down by an 'external force.' ISIS has claimed that it shot the plane down presumably as revenge for Russian military activity in Syria. All 224 passengers and crew on the plane were killed.
"We exclude technical problems and reject
human error," Alexander Smirnov, a Kogalymavia airline official, said at
a Moscow news conference as he discussed possible causes of the crash.
He
added that the crew did not issue any warnings or communications during
the final moments, indicating that the flight crew must have been
disabled and not able to radio out.
However,
Smirnov said that while the plane's flight and voice data recorders had
been recovered, they had not been read or decoded.
But no one else wants to believe that ISIS is responsible. No one, that is, except Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Air Arabia and Air Dubai, all of which have announced that they will not be flying over Sinai until further notice. This is from the first link.
Officials have played down an apparent
claim by Islamic militants in Sinai that they brought down the Airbus
A321-200, saying technical failure is the most likely reason for the
crash.
But so far, they haven't been
able to give a definitive explanation for what happened, with the
Egyptian President suggesting investigations could take months.
This is not the first flight out of Sharm to crash since Israel returned the resort to Egypt as part of the Camp David treaty. In 2004, a Flash Airlines charter flight from Sharm to Paris crashed into the Red Sea shortly after takeoff. A former work colleague of mine who had subsequently moved to France was aboard that flight.
You might recall that in 2006, El Al announced that all of its planes are equipped with the Flight Guard anti-missile system. In 2008, American Airlines decided that the system was too expensive for its planes. Given that this is the second time in the last 16 months that a commercial passenger jet has been shot down, perhaps the airlines ought to consider installing the Flight Guard system.
Russian state-run arms trader Rosoboronexport and the Russian
Helicopters holding are engaged in consultations with their Egyptian
partners concerning a possible acquisition of Kamov Ka-52 'Katran'
ship-based helicopters for the two Mistral-class helicopter carriers,
originally built for Russia, that Egypt has agreed to buy from France, a
source in an organization linked with arms exports told Interfax-AVN.
"Indeed, such consultations are in progress. They deal with a
possible acquisition by Cairo of some 30 Ka-52K 'Katran' ship-based
helicopters that were initially supposed to be placed on board the
French helicopter carriers and are 100 percent adapted for these ships,"
the source said.
"The price of the contract will stand at over $1 billion," he added.
"Moscow will not impede this deal [the provision of the Mistral-class
helicopter carriers to Egypt] and is ready to offer Egypt the shipborne
helicopters developed specially for these vessels," the source told
Interfax.
He added that a flexible payment system is possible here, including the provision of a loan to buy the helicopters.
The Ka-52K is a shipborne helicopter based on the all-weather Ka-52
combat helicopter Alligator. It has two modernized VK-2500 engines (each
has a capacity of 2,400 hp). The forebody contains a two-seat cockpit
containing new generation equipment. The pilots' seats are equipped with
ejection mechanisms. The shipborne helicopter has folding blades.
On August 5, the presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Francois
Hollande of France made a final decision on the future of the two
helicopter carriers that the sides had tried to make for almost a year.
On that day over €1 billion in compensation was transferred to a
settlement account in one of the banks and then to the Russian Federal
Treasury (€950 million for the refusal to supply the vessels and €67.5
million for the garboards).
On September 23, the French paper La Tribune reported,
citing its sources, that an Egyptian delegation was having negotiations
on the purchase of the Mistral-class helicopter carriers and Gowind
corvettes. The Elysee Palace later confirmed it.
I guess the Russians need the money. After all, they didn't just get $100 billion in sanctions relief.
Maybe Obama ought to pay off the Russians? It's faster than growing....
The other shoe drops: Egypt sponsoring IAEA resolution to monitor Israel's nuclear capability
The other shoe may be about to drop on Israel. Egypt is introducing a resolution at an IAEA meeting in September, which will call on the international regulator to monitor Israel's nuclear program. Iran is likely to join the resolution. And while the resolution would not be binding like a Security Council resolution, it would certainly cause diplomatic embarrassment to Israel.
A senior Foreign Ministry official said he feared the recent nuclear deal between Iran and the six powers will make it hard for Israel to defeat the resolution.
The resolution, titled “Israeli nuclear capabilities,” has been repeatedly proposed by Egypt in recent years. It condemns Israel, demands that it open its reported nuclear facilities to IAEA inspection, and calls for an international conference on making the Middle East a nuclear-weapons-free zone.
...
Though Egypt is the IAEA resolution’s chief sponsor, Iran seems likely to join the move. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif indicated as much by publishing an article in The Guardian titled, “Iran has signed a historic nuclear deal – now it’s Israel’s turn.”
Zarif wrote that Israel must be pressured to join the NPT and advance an international conference on a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East. Israel, he wrote, has “an undeclared nuclear arsenal and a declared disdain towards non-proliferation, notwithstanding its absurd and alarmist campaign against the Iranian nuclear deal.”
For the last three years, Israel has succeeding in mustering a majority against Egypt’s IAEA resolution, thanks partly to proposals for a direct regional security dialogue with Arab states under UN auspices. Egypt and various other countries rejected these proposals, but they earned Israel considerable international credit.
The campaign to thwart the latest resolution began two weeks ago, when the Foreign Ministry sent a cable to all Israeli embassies and consulates instructing them to urge their host governments to oppose it.
“The resolution is fundamentally biased and mistaken, aimed at diverting global attention from the real dangers of nuclear proliferation in this region,” the cable’s talking points said. “This move will further politicize the IAEA and undermine the trust necessary for any regional dialogue on this issue.”
Israel has also sent personal envoys to several countries it considers key to winning the vote. For instance, former Foreign Ministry director general Nissim Ben Shitrit went to Argentina about 10 days ago, on the assumption that if Argentina doesn’t back the Arab proposal, other Latin American countries would likely follow suit.
Senior Israeli officials are divided over how the Iranian deal will impact the IAEA debate. Some argue that following the Iran agreement, America and other leading countries won’t want to raise the pressure on Israel even further. But others fear that with the Iran deal done, the international focus will shift to Israel’s nuclear program. They also fear Israel will enjoy less American support than in the past, due to the severe tensions with Washington over the Iran deal.
I hope that the 78% of American Jews who voted for this administration are pleased. Surely they will still have those smirks on their ugly faces when - God Forbid - as Mike Huckabee said last week, Israelis are led to the ovens.
Yet to think of ISIS and Hamas as being in a state of war may be to
overestimate their hostility and underrate their grasp of political
reality. Hamas doesn’t so much fear ISIS as it does worry about a wild
card group making decisions for them about war with Israel at a moment
when they might prefer to continue the truce with the Jewish state.
Similarly, ISIS has enough on its plate fighting in Syria and Iraq
against forces that would like to see it destroyed without opening up a
new front in Gaza at a moment when its strength there is minuscule
compared to the enormous military that Hamas can deploy against Israel.
But despite animosity and distrust, it is more than obvious that both
Hamas and ISIS share a common enemy in Egypt. The Sisi government in
Cairo is dedicated to the eradication of the Muslim Brotherhood and
regards Hamas, which was founded by Brotherhood supporters and whose
help to the group during the unrest in Egypt was included in the charges
against former President Mohammed Morsi, as a hostile entity. Egypt is
even more determined to isolate Gaza than Israel. In that sense, the
Hamas-ISIS connection is a natural alliance.
That’s why Hamas has a vested interest in creating more chaos in
Sinai than exists along its border with Israel. No matter what their
opinion of each other might be, Hamas understands that the Egyptian
government is a far more dangerous threat to its continued survival than
is Israel. Under the circumstances it doesn’t take much of a leap of
imagination to believe that Israel’s intelligence about
Hamas’s involvement in ISIS activities in Sinai has the ring of truth.
This realization ought to do more than cause concern in both Cairo
and Jerusalem. The Sinai had already been transformed into something of a
Wild West for terror in the years since a bloody Hamas coup allowed the
group to seize control of the independent Palestinian state (in all but
name) that currently exists in Gaza. But with ISIS moving into the void
of security that the Sinai has become, a low level conflict with
terrorists may be about to turn into something far more serious.
More to the point, this tacit alliance between otherwise rival
Islamist terror groups ought to cause some foreign policy experts
who have regarded Western acquiescence toward Hamas’s continued grip on
Gaza as a given to rethink that assumption. If Gaza is no longer merely a
launching pad for rockets and tunnels aimed at terrorizing Israelis but
is also a base for terror aimed at toppling moderate Arab governments,
continued tolerance of its sovereignty in Gaza is not only morally
wrong; it is a suicidal proposition for the West.
Just as the Israelis have refrained from toppling Hamas in Gaza lest
they be stuck governing the dysfunctional strip, so too do Western
nations have a distaste for regime change in the strip. But perhaps it
is time that those who were so quick to criticize Israel for launching a
counter-attack against Gaza-based terrorism last summer realize that
the perpetuation of Hamas rule there is a threat to more than the Jewish
state. So long as an Islamist terror group has a secure base next to
both Egypt and Israel and is getting aid from Iran, it is reasonable to
assume that it will be undermining the security of both of those states
as well as the rest of the region.
While I cannot prove it empirically, there are many scholars who believe that had Adolph Hitler and the Nazis (may their name and memory be obliterated) not been so obsessed with murdering Jews, the outcome of World War II might have been different and we might all be speaking German now. Will the West (particularly Europe and the Democratic party in the US) allow its all-consuming hatred of Israel and/or Jews to overlook the storm that is brewing in Gaza?
Israel has "clear information that Hamas is supporting the Wilayat
Sinai, which belongs to Daesh," Maj. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the
coordinator of government activities in the territories, claimed,
referring to the Islamic State group in one of its acronyms.
He added that Hamas provided the Islamist group
weapons and logistical support, and even smuggled wounded militants for
treatment in the Gaza Strip. "I am confident in this [information] and I
have proof," he said.
The IDF has decided that this entire story is too close for comfort: Route 12 near the Egyptian border will be closed from 5:00 am Friday Israel time.
The decision was made by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon with the
recommendation of IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot. The closing
of the road was defined by the military as temporary.
One of the attacks was carried out only four
kilometers from the border with Israel, an officer in the IDF Southern
Command said on Thursday. In response, the Israeli military has
intensified its intelligence gathering efforts in the area.
Temporary until what? Until ISIS is defeated? Until Hamas stops supporting them? Doesn't sound like much of a plan, does it?
The Kerem Shalom border crossing between Israel and Egypt reopened on
Thursday after it was closed for 24 hours due to the battles raging in
Sinai. However, the Nitzana crossing remained closed.
The real question is whether the Gaza crossings are open - and if yes, why?
The chief new reality is the de facto coalition among Israel, Egypt, and the Sunni Gulf states. This comprises a potential new source of stability in the region, a stability that has been lacking since the collapse of the Ottoman imperium. The dream of an Arab equivalent of Europe -- a region of independent nation-states united through ethnicity and religion -- lies in ruins. The possibility that it can revived are minimal. Libya, Syria, and Yemen are all failed states and, left to themselves, the UN, or Europe, will remain that way. The fantasy of nation building was punctured by Iraq and Afghanistan. These people are not only incapable of governing themselves, they are incapable of maintaining a viable social system. This role must be filled by an overarching power, as it was by the Ottomans and the European imperialists.
It must be done because we require order. This is not the 19th century. The Jihadis have clearly demonstrated a global reach. They can get at any target anywhere simply by parasitizing well-established Western communications and transportation systems. The sole way to deny them this capability is through control of the failed states that act as incubators for their mujahedin.
...
The two major goals in the Mideast are the defeat of the Jihadis and the denial of Iranian hegemony. The coalition can encompass both, with support from interested Western powers. Despite all the appeasement rhetoric, the Iranian nuclear threat can be shut down in short order. No one has considered the possibility that Israel might utilize tactical nukes fitted to bunker-buster warheads. These would “drill” deeply into the overhanging mountains before detonating, rendering the Iranian nuclear program unsalvageable with little in the way of fallout or residual radiation. This would a bold step on the part of Israel, but existential challenges encourage that kind of thing. Sanction from the Gulf States is likely to be easily obtained.
Iran would attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz, but in the age of fracking, this is nowhere near the threat it once was. Fracking could take up a large part of the oil shortfall within months. There would be a serious economic earthquake, but the West has it coming.
Turning to the Jihadis, the long war, which the U.S. and Europe have proven incapable of maintaining, would probably be best fought by nations in the area. Saudi Arabia has valuable knowledge about these people. Israel has one of the most effective intelligence agencies in the world. Pooling their efforts should bring results that would difficult for outside actors to match. The current collaboration between the Israelis and the Egyptians could act as a model here.
Failed states such as Syria and Yemen are likely to remain non-nations on the Somalia model. As such, they will have to be controlled. Civilized forces will need to enter these degraded pea-patches on an irregular basis on punitive missions, much the same as the British mounted expeditions into Afghanistan and Somalia during the imperial period. (Libya is different, virtually bordering on the West as it does -- it must be brought under control, the sooner the better.)
This is effectively a form of neocolonialism, one that should be carried out by locals with a deep understanding of the stakes. It could of course, be “better,” in the abstract, if Somalis and Syrians could govern themselves, but they can’t, and that’s the end of it. They are a problem, and a new Mideast coalition offers a solution. Such a coalition will share goals with the West: elimination of the Iranian threat, destruction of ISIS and similar Jihadi gangs, and beyond that, a new status quo. While such a solution is far from perfect, it is the best that can be expected from a horrendous situation.
What would the U.S. role be? Basically, everybody’s benign uncle. To act as an honest broker, mentor, and guide for both sides, to ease the natural conflicts between Jewish and Arab interests, to work out strategies and policies, and nudge either side in the right direction.
Even this is asking too much at this point. Obama has, of course, downgraded the U.S. relationship with Israel even as the new modus vivendi has been working itself out -- a remarkable development that he has ignored. There’s nothing that reveals Obama’s utter fatuity more than this.
Of course, if Hillary Clinton becomes President, things might not be any better. What could go wrong?
Egyptian historian on normalizing relations with Israel: Egypt has to look out for its own interests, not for the 'Palestinians'
It wouldn't surprise me to see Egyptian President Abdelfatah al-Sisi try to normalize relations with Israel. For that matter, it wouldn't surprise me either if 'our friends, the Saudis' and the Gulf States did so as well. Countries don't have relations, they have interests. And it is clearly in the interest of all those who oppose both Iran and Islamism (the Muslim Brotherhood, Islamic State et al) to join forces with Israel. That leaves the 'Palestinians' - the darlings of both Iran and the Islamists - out in the cold. Or at least it should.
Moadim l'Simcha, a happy holiday to all of you, and a reminder that because I am in Israel, today is an intermediate day of the holiday, on which being on the computer is allowed.
Iran is certainly acting in the spirit of its newly-inked deal with Barack Hussein Obama, who declined to deter Iran's support of terror worldwide: Iran is financing the reconstruction of Hamas terror tunnels destroyed by Israel during last summer's war.
It is also funding new missile supplies to
replenish stocks used to bombard residential neighbourhoods in Israel
during the war, code-named Operation Protective Edge by Israel.
The renewed funding is a sign that the two old allies are putting behind thema rift caused by the conflict in Syria, where Shia Iran is backing President Bashar al-Assad against Hamas’s mainly Sunni allies.
Hamas’s leader, Khaled Meshaal, who left Damascus for Qatar after
falling out with the Assad regime, has often fought with Hamas’s
military wing over the strength of the Iranian connection.
However, with the Sunni Arab world joining forces against Iran, led by
Saudi Arabia and President Abdelfattah el-Sisi of Egypt, who are both
hostile to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group has been left little
option but to accept the Iranian largesse.
At the same time,
Iran’s overseas operations arm, the Al-Quds force, led by its
charismatic general Qassem Suleimani, has been consolidating a broad
hold over the Middle East.
It is backing the Shia Houthi rebels
fighting the internationally recognised government in Yemen, and
actively supporting the Shia-dominated Iraqi government’s attempts to
recapture the northern city of Tikrit, the former stronghold of Sunni
dictator Saddam Hussein, from Islamic State (Isil) fighters.
However, Iran may have been forced to pull back, at least in the latter
case, senior diplomats say, adding there is growing evidence that the
Iranians are overplaying their hand.
No one should be surprised at this: The Obama administration has essentially given Iran a green light to become the dominant force in the Middle East. Israel will have to act alone (possibly with behind the scenes support from the Gulf States) to stop Iran.
Report: Lubitz tweeted "A Germany in which religious feelings have more rights than the meaning of freedom - is not my Germany"
Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Germanwings plane who deliberately crashed in the Alps on Tuesday killing 150 people, retweeted (actually looks more like shared on Facebook) the photo above, with the caption "A Germany in which religious feelings have more rights than the meaning of freedom - is not my Germany." (Hat Tip: Mike K).
And the New York Times reported on Friday that Lubitz "lived, at least part time, with his parents. Mr. Lubitz’s mother was an organist at a Protestant church near the town center.”
Mike K adds:
Here is the sad, but probably true story.
He is not a murderer or Muslim.
He took medications which overcame him as he flew. The
Pharmaceuticals do not tell the public all the
side-effects of their meds. They put people into murderous, zombie
like states. Most school shooters were on anti-depressants.
There is every reason to believe that this guy may have been overcome by
his medications. Medications
which are legal for pilots to take. The FAA allows pilots to fly on
SSRI anti-deressants (Click
Here)
SSRI medications are chemically similar to LSD-25. He could
have had a flash back without warning.
He did not say Allahu Aqbar. Those are the magic words required to
get 72 virgins. So he was probably
NOT Muslim.
His heart rate remained steady. Not something one would expect from a
man soon expecting death.
His medication probably did this to him, or a medical condition.
Morally, his culpability may be minor or non-existent.
German media: Germanwings co-pilot did it for Allah
German media is confirming that Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Gunter Lubitz had converted to Islam. Lubitz was the co-pilot of the Germanwings Airbus A-320 who deliberately flew the plane into a mountain in the French Alps on Tuesday killing all 150 people on board, after locking the pilot out of the cockpit cabin.
A German news website claims Andreas Lubitz was a Muslim convert. Speisa.com reported:
According to Michael Mannheimer, a writer for German
PI-News, Germany now has its own 9/11, thanks to the convert to Islam,
Andreas Lubitz.
Translation from German: All evidence indicates that the copilot of Airbus machine in
his six-months break during his training as a pilot in Germanwings,
converted to Islam and subsequently either by the order of
“radical”, ie. devout Muslims , or received the order from the book of
terror, the Quran, on his own accord decided to carry out this mass
murder. As a radical mosque in Bremen is in the center of the investigation, in which the convert was staying often,
it can be assumed that he – as Mohammed Atta, in the attack against New
York – received his instructions directly from the immediate vicinity
of the mosque. Converts are the most important weapon of Islam.
Because their resume do not suggests that they often are particularly
violent Muslims. Thus Germany now has its own 9/11, but in a reduced
form. And so it is clear that Islam is a terrorist organization that are
in accordance with §129a of the Criminal Code to prohibit it and to
investigate its followers. But nothing will happen. One can bet that the
apologists (media, politics, “Islamic Scholars”) will agree to assign
this an act of a “mentally unstable” man, and you can bet that now, once
again the mantra of how supposedly peaceful Islam is will continue. And
worse still, the attacks by the left against those who have always
warned against Islam, will be angrier and merciless.
For now the German Islam supporters like never before have their backs against the wall.
Michael Mannheimer, 26.3.2015
Apparently from the comments at German PI – Andreas Lubitz was Muslim convert from his Facebook page.
Of course, in much of the West it remains politically incorrect to mention these facts. And there is little hope that the airlines will screen their pilots for religious beliefs. Until they get hit with a huge lawsuit because they should have known something like this.
Airlines are changing procedures to ensure two crew are in the cockpit at all times following the Germanwings tragedy that killed 150 people.
...
Now budget carrier EasyJet has announced the move will come into force tomorrow - and aviation insiders say there are moves to make it 'mandatory' across airlines.
The move comes after the Civil Aviation Authority urged airlines to review their policies to avoid the pilot or co-pilot being alone at the controls.
An easyJet spokeswoman said: 'easyJet can confirm that, with effect from Friday 27 March, it will change its procedure which will mean that two crew members will be in the cockpit at all times.
'This decision has been taken in consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority. The safety and security and of its passengers and crew is the airline's highest priority.'
EasyJet said a cabin crew member will temporarily enter the cockpit if the pilot or co-pilot needs the toilet. The airline will not have a third trained pilot on board.
And a spokesman for Virgin Atlantic said: 'We always ensure we have the highest safety standards and, while it is our common practise to have two members of our crew in the flight deck at all times, in light of recent events we are now in the process of formalising this to be policy.'
So now commercial air travel will be safe so long as both pilots are not Muslims... and so long as a flight attendant is willing and able to overpower a suicidal pilot.
Questions about the religious background of Andreas Lubitz, the
Germanwings pilot who investigators said deliberately crashed a plane in
the French Alps this week, killing all on board, have sparked outrage
and debate about whether such information is relevant to the
investigation. When a reporter asked French Prosecutor Brice Robin of
Marseille, during a news conference Thursday, whether he knew Lubitz’s
religion, Robin said he did not know and added, “I don’t think that’s
where the answer to this lies.”
The question suggested that Lubitz’s religious background was
relevant to the investigation behind the pilot’s alleged deliberate
downing of Germanwings Flight 9525 on Tuesday. Robin said the crash did
not show any signs of terrorism. Some were appalled by the reporter’s
inquiry.
“This line of questioning makes no sense to me whatsoever,” said
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, an associate professor of political science with
a courtesy appointment in religious studies at Northwestern University
in Illinois. “I find it disturbing and depressing that at a time like
this some people feel compelled to search desperately for explanations
that presume religious causation.”
Really, Professor Hurd? NO SENSE? It's all just a coincidence?
In 1999, the pilot of a Boeing 767 intentionally plunged the fully
loaded plane into the Atlantic Ocean 30 minutes after takeoff from New
York City on a nonstop flight to Cairo. An investigation found the
pilot, Gamal al-Batouti, had said several times in
Arabic, “I rely on God,” as the plane's autopilot function was
disconnected and Egypt Air 999 plunged. The phrase is often associated
with the moments before death.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board concluded that no
mechanical event could have caused the plane to dive. But Egyptian
officials never accepted the conclusion that al-Batouti had
intentionally crashed, and conspiracy theories spread.
Investigators are now telling the London Telegraph that Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was taken on a suicide mission.
The team investigating the Boeing 777’s disappearance believe no malfunction
or fire was capable of causing the aircraft’s unusual flight or the
disabling of its communications system before it veered wildly off course on
a seven-hour silent flight into the sea. An analysis of the flight’s
routing, signalling and communications shows that it was flown “in a
rational way”.
An official source told The Telegraph that investigators believe “this has
been a deliberate act by someone on board who had to have had the detailed
knowledge to do what was done ... Nothing is emerging that points to
motive.”
Asked about the possibility of a plane malfunction or an on-board fire, the
source said: “It just does not hinge together... [The investigators] have
gone through processes you do to get the plane where it flew to for eight
hours. They point to it being flown in a rational way.”
...
The flight remains shrouded in mystery and misinformation. Malaysia Airlines
revealed for the first time yesterday that Fariq Abdul Hamid, the
27-year-old co-pilot, was on his first flight aboard a Boeing 777 as a
fully-approved pilot. Fariq joined the airline seven years ago and had flown
2,763 hours but was only on his sixth flight in the cockpit of a 777 – and
his first without a check pilot overseeing him.
But analysts said the co-pilot’s inexperience in a 777 cockpit would probably
not have posed a risk.
Somewhat surprisingly, Malaysia Airlines said last night its “prayers go out
to all the loved ones of the 226 passengers and of our 13 friends and
colleagues” – even though the passenger manifest shows 227 passengers and 12
crew. The airline has not yet explained the discrepancy.
Would not have posed a risk, but would have made it much more likely
that it took him a while to figure out what was going on. And most of
the passengers probably never knew what happened. Unless someone had a
transponder (unlikely), most passengers on a flight like that would just
go to sleep. The crew probably served dinner without realizing what
their captain had done. From the families' perspective, they might take
some solace in the fact that the passengers probably died peacefully -
many of them in their sleep.
The captain - distraught over a divorce and over his political idol
being jailed, and devout in his Muslim religion (that which must never
be mentioned) - took them all down with him.
It was said that Lubitz had a Muslim girlfriend. It is unclear if she
was still dating Lubitz at the time of the crash. It is unclear if he
met the woman through his Muslims friends.
One said that Lubitz had broken off the relationship after he pledged to commit Jihad for Allah.
We do know that Lubitz trained at the Lufthansa Flight Training School in Bremen, Germany.
Bremen is home to the Mosque Masjidu-l-Furqan Mosque:
This Mosque was raided by the police in December 2014
BERLIN, Dec 5 (KUNA) — German authorities have closed a mosque in the
northern city of Bremen, after it was accused of encouraging youth to
join the extremist Islamic State group (known as ISIL), which is
carrying out violent killings across Syria and Iraq.
In unprecedented circumstances, more than 100 German police personnel
carried out a search of Masjidu-l-Furqan and its accompanying cultural
office, which had both been under police radar since 2007.
The decision comes amid the fight against ISIL ideology, Bremen Interior
Secretary Ulrich Maurer said, accusing the mosque’s management of
promoting ISIL values and encouraging young Muslims in the city to
travel to Syria and Iraq, and join the ranks of the group, along with
Al-Nusra Front – another extremist group in Syria.
The centre have so far succeeded in inspiring a total eight men, seven
women and 11 juveniles to travel to Syria and join ISIL, according to
the official.
Lubitz did his time in Bremen when the Mosque was under surveillance.
...
Lubitz converted to Islam during his break.
Reason that pushed Lubitz over the edge? The raid on the Mosque in Breman this past December?
The Police say they found a significant discovery in his home - not a suicide note:
Police investigating the Germanwings crash said they had made a
'significant discovery' at the home of co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who
deliberately ploughed the Airbus A320 into the French Alps. Officers
refused to reveal details of the potential breakthrough but said it was
not a suicide note. Speaking outside the flat on the outskirts of
Dusseldorf, police said they had 'found something' that would now be
taken for tests, adding it may be a 'clue' as to what happened to the
doomed jet. Daily Mail Read More>>>
Is the significant discovery something Islamic? Something on his computer? A Koran? A Muslim prayer rug?
And for those of you who - like me - have the choice of flying Israeli, European or American airlines, here is a sobering thought:
The A320 is designed with safeguards to allow emergency entry if a
pilot inside is unresponsive, but the override code known to the crew
does not go into effect — and indeed goes into a lockdown — if the
person inside the cockpit specifically denies entry, according to an
Airbus training video and a pilot who has six years of experience with
the jets.
Airlines in Europe are not required to have two people
in the cockpit at all times, unlike the standard U.S. operating
procedure after the 9/11 attacks changed to require a flight attendant
to take the spot of a briefly departing pilot.
Sounds like the US procedure is a good idea. I don't know what the Israeli procedure is, but I would guess there is some kind of safeguard to keep a lone pilot from crashing a plane.
What a sad commentary on our times that these things are necessary.
Russia Today has published a list of the nationalities of the passengers and crew of Germanwings 9525, which crashed on Wednesday in the French Alps. The list is not just Spaniards and Germans. It includes two Iranians, two Venezuelans, an Israeli and two Americans.
12:47 GMT:
AFP reports that these are the
nationalities of the A320 victims, which have been confirmed by either
Germanwings or the country’s governments:
72 Germans
35 Spaniards; Spain says there may be up to 39
3 British, confirmed by the government, which says there may be more.
3 Kazakhs
2 Americans
2 Argentines
2 Australians
2 Colombians
2 Iranians
2 Japanese
2 Venezuelans
1 Belgian
1 Dane
1 Dutch
1 Israeli
1 Mexican
1 Moroccan
1 Turk
Obviously, the nationalities could be totally innocent and I would not suspect that, for example, the Israeli and the Americans were involved in any foul play. Or the nationalities could be less than innocent.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
