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.
If you're seeing this post as a preview, it's worth clicking just to see the tweet I embedded in the top.
A 'Palestinian' terrorist slammed a truck into a crowd of soldiers near Jerusalem's Armon HaNetziv neighborhood today, killing at least 4 and wounding 16.
A truck rammed into a group of soldiers on a
promenade in the Armon Hanatziv neighborhood of Jerusalem, killing at
least four of them, in a vehicle-ramming attack on Sunday afternoon,
police said.
Police chief Roni Alsheich called the incident a vehicular terror attack.
The soldiers were getting off a bus at the
promenade, a popular tourist spot in southern Jerusalem, when a large
flatbed truck ran into them.
At least 16 more people were injured, two of them very seriously, according to Jerusalem hospitals.
The four soldiers — three women and one man — who died were in their 20s, the Magen David Adom rescue service said.
According to police, the terrorist accelerated as he struck the group.
Eyewitnesses said that after the driver hit
the soldiers with his truck, he put the vehicle in reverse and ran over
them a second time.
Footage of the incident taken from a security
camera showed the truck run into the group of soldiers as they stood
next to a bus. The driver then attempts to turn the truck around and run
over the group again as people scramble for cover.
The driver of the vehicle was shot by both soldiers and by a civilian guide, police said. He died of his wounds.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) issued the following statement.
“Today we saw yet another horrific attack by a Palestinian terrorist in
Jerusalem. The United States stands unshakably with our ally Israel, and
with the Israeli Defense Forces soldiers who were the targets of this
attack. IDF soldiers bravely defend the people of Israel, protect them
and keep them safe. The terrorists targeting them are the enemies of
peace, which can never be achieved while terror groups like Hamas incite
violence and the destruction of Israel. Our prayers are with the IDF,
and with the victims of this attack and their families.”
Some of the newspapers in Europe are comparing this to an Islamic State attack. But we've had these kinds of attacks dating long before Islamic State.
Istanbul terror attack had nothing to do with reconciliation with Israel
Just a brief comment on Tuesday night's triple suicide bombing at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport in which at least 36 people were killed and 147 injured (I saw a number that had over 200 injured a short while ago).
Although Israel and Turkey supposedly 'reconciled' earlier this week, I can guarantee you that last night's terror attack had NOTHING to do with that. Although there were Israeli diplomats present in the airport at the time (they escaped injury), the planning for this type of attack takes weeks and months. The fact that it took place a day after the announcement of an Israeli-Turkish rapprochement is nothing but coincidence.
Greetings from somewhere over the Pacific coast - I'm flying from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
As I'm sure many of you have heard already, a suicide bomber killed three Israelis in Turkey on Saturday in an attack that may or may not have been directed at Israelis in Istanbul (Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that Israelis were the intended targets).
Now, that 'normalization' of relations with Turkey that's been on the table may be on ice:
Israel demand that Turkey will prevent any activity of Hamas against Israelis from its territory as a condition for normalization
Belgium's state broadcaster reported that
the Belgian-born French citizen was injured in a shootout that ended
with his capture. The Belgian counter-terrorism source said two people
were wounded.
"We have him," tweeted Theo Francken, Belgium's state secretary for asylum policy and migration.
The
26-year-old Abdeslam was brought to a hospital after being shot in the
leg, CNN Belgium affiliate VTM reported, citing a police source. The
same broadcaster said two suspects may still be in the house in
Molenbeek where Abdeslam was captured.
Three
explosions were heard in that area early Friday evening, CNN French
affiliate BFMTV reported, though it wasn't clear if those were
controlled blasts or part of a continuing operation.
Molenbeek, the impoverished Brussels suburb where Friday's raid took place, has a reputation as a hotbed for jihadism.
Several members of its large, predominantly Muslim population -- many
of whom are first-, second- and third-generation immigrants from North
Africa -- have been linked to terror plots and attacks.
Last
fall, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens cited Molenbeek as a place
where more needs to be done to address what he called Belgium's "foreign
fighter problem."
...
Earlier Friday, the Belgian federal
prosecutor's office revealed that the 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam's
fingerprints and DNA were found in a Brussels apartment raided three
days earlier. One person was killed and two people escaped that
operation, according to authorities.
The man killed by a special forces sniper was Mohamed Belkaid, an Algerian who used the name Samir Bouzid, and who is believed to have directed the Paris attackers via calls from Belgium, according to the prosecutor's office.
Belkaid
is believed to have helped Abdeslam travel prior to the attacks and
transferred money to a female cousin of Paris ringleader Abdelhamid
Abaaoud following the attack, the Belgian senior counter-terrorism
official told CNN in January.
Authorities
believe Abdeslam was using the apartment as a hideout following the
Paris attacks, according to the Belgian counter-terrorism official.
...
Investigators think Abdeslam may have been
the driver of a black Renault Clio that dropped off three suicide
bombers near the Stade de France, one of the attack sites near Paris.
They also believe he had worn a suicide belt found on a Paris street
after the attacks.
He is believed to
have called friends to take him to Belgium after the attacks. They
passed through police checkpoints, but Abdeslam had not yet been
identified as a suspect and they were allowed to continue on their way.
Surveillance video emerged of him and another man at a gas station near the Belgian border the day after the attacks.
He has eluded authorities ever since.
You have to wonder whether ISIS will try to take hostages in an attempt to spring him, or whether being targeted by hostage-taking to exchange for terrorists is something that only happens to Israel, which finds itself urged by 'friends' to give in to the hostage-takers.
Obama gives Jordan's Abdullah the Israel treatment
Just last night, I reported on how President Hussein Obama has been giving 'our friends, the Saudis' the Israel treatment. Now, he's giving it to Jordan's King Abdullah II.
The White House on Monday said President Barack Obama
would not meet with close ally King Abdullah of Jordan -- who is
currently in Washington -- because of scheduling problems.
"The president regrets that he is unable to meet with
him personally on this visit due to scheduling conflicts, including the
State of the Union address," a White House spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Obama will deliver his final annual address
to a joint session of Congress, a set piece of the U.S. political
calendar.
The White House and Jordanian officials said Abdullah would instead meet with Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
He met with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.
Kerry and Abdullah discussed the fight against the
Islamic State and "efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace
negotiations," a diplomat said.
Abdullah also met with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who
expressed his "deep appreciation... for Jordan's continued
contributions to regional counter-ISIL efforts," Pentagon spokesman
Peter Cook said.
He was referring to the self-proclaimed Islamic State
group, which has seized large chunks of territory in Iraq and Syria and
declared a caliphate ruled in accordance with Islamic law, or sharia.
Obama "looks forward to the opportunity to meet with His Majesty in the near future," the White House official said.
Obama and Abdullah last met in Washington almost a year ago.
On Twitter, The Israel Project's Omri Ceren has assured me that the White House knows exactly what's going on in 'Southern Syria' (i.e. Jordan).
Just what we needed. Emboldened by the lack of an effective response from the United States and the West, ISIS is developing driverless car bombs. The bombs feature a fake driver with laser eyes so as not to arouse suspicions of the authorities.
Barack Obama’s
repeated insistence that Bashar al-Assad must leave office – and that
there are ‘moderate’ rebel groups in Syria capable of defeating him –
has in recent years provoked quiet dissent, and even overt opposition,
among some of the most senior officers on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff.
Their criticism has focused on what they see as the administration’s
fixation on Assad’s primary ally, Vladimir Putin. In their view, Obama
is captive to Cold War thinking about Russia and China, and hasn’t
adjusted his stance on Syria to the fact both countries share
Washington’s anxiety about the spread of terrorism in and beyond Syria;
like Washington, they believe that Islamic State must be stopped.
The military’s resistance dates back to the summer of 2013, when a
highly classified assessment, put together by the Defense Intelligence
Agency (DIA) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then led by General Martin
Dempsey, forecast that the fall of the Assad regime would lead to chaos
and, potentially, to Syria’s takeover by jihadi extremists, much as was
then happening in Libya. A former senior adviser to the Joint Chiefs
told me that the document was an ‘all-source’ appraisal, drawing on
information from signals, satellite and human intelligence, and took a
dim view of the Obama administration’s insistence on continuing to
finance and arm the so-called moderate rebel groups. By then, the CIA
had been conspiring for more than a year with allies in the UK, Saudi
Arabia and Qatar to ship guns and goods – to be used for the overthrow
of Assad – from Libya, via Turkey, into Syria. The new intelligence
estimate singled out Turkey as a major impediment to Obama’s Syria
policy. The document showed, the adviser said, ‘that what was started as
a covert US programme to arm and support the moderate rebels fighting
Assad had been co-opted by Turkey, and had morphed into an
across-the-board technical, arms and logistical programme for all of the
opposition, including Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State. The so-called
moderates had evaporated and the Free Syrian Army was a rump group
stationed at an airbase in Turkey.’ The assessment was bleak: there was
no viable ‘moderate’ opposition to Assad, and the US was arming
extremists.
Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, director of the DIA
between 2012 and 2014, confirmed that his agency had sent a constant
stream of classified warnings to the civilian leadership about the dire
consequences of toppling Assad. The jihadists, he said, were in control
of the opposition. Turkey wasn’t doing enough to stop the smuggling of
foreign fighters and weapons across the border. ‘If the American public
saw the intelligence we were producing daily, at the most sensitive
level, they would go ballistic,’ Flynn told me. ‘We understood Isis’s
long-term strategy and its campaign plans, and we also discussed the
fact that Turkey was looking the other way when it came to the growth of
the Islamic State inside Syria.’ The DIA’s reporting, he said, ‘got
enormous pushback’ from the Obama administration. ‘I felt that they did
not want to hear the truth.’
‘Our policy of arming the opposition
to Assad was unsuccessful and actually having a negative impact,’ the
former JCS adviser said. ‘The Joint Chiefs believed that Assad should
not be replaced by fundamentalists. The administration’s policy was
contradictory. They wanted Assad to go but the opposition was dominated
by extremists. So who was going to replace him? To say Assad’s got to go
is fine, but if you follow that through – therefore anyone is better.
It’s the “anybody else is better” issue that the JCS had with Obama’s
policy.’
But what's more shocking is what the Joint Chiefs decided to do about it.
The Joint Chiefs felt that a direct challenge to Obama’s policy would
have ‘had a zero chance of success’. So in the autumn of 2013 they
decided to take steps against the extremists without going through
political channels, by providing US intelligence to the militaries of
other nations, on the understanding that it would be passed on to the
Syrian army and used against the common enemy, Jabhat al-Nusra and
Islamic State.
Germany, Israel and Russia were in contact with the
Syrian army, and able to exercise some influence over Assad’s decisions
– it was through them that US intelligence would be shared. Each had
its reasons for co-operating with Assad: Germany feared what might
happen among its own population of six million Muslims if Islamic State
expanded; Israel was concerned with border security; Russia had an
alliance of very long standing with Syria, and was worried by the threat
to its only naval base on the Mediterranean, at Tartus. ‘We weren’t
intent on deviating from Obama’s stated policies,’ the adviser said.
‘But sharing our assessments via the military-to-military relationships
with other countries could prove productive. It was clear that Assad
needed better tactical intelligence and operational advice. The JCS
concluded that if those needs were met, the overall fight against
Islamist terrorism would be enhanced. Obama didn’t know, but Obama
doesn’t know what the JCS does in every circumstance and that’s true of
all presidents.’
Once the flow of US intelligence began, Germany,
Israel and Russia started passing on information about the whereabouts
and intent of radical jihadist groups to the Syrian army; in return,
Syria provided information about its own capabilities and intentions.
There was no direct contact between the US and the Syrian military;
instead, the adviser said, ‘we provided the information – including
long-range analyses on Syria’s future put together by contractors or one
of our war colleges – and these countries could do with it what they
chose, including sharing it with Assad. We were saying to the Germans
and the others: “Here’s some information that’s pretty interesting and
our interest is mutual.” End of conversation. The JCS could conclude
that something beneficial would arise from it – but it was a military to
military thing, and not some sort of a sinister Joint Chiefs’ plot to
go around Obama and support Assad. It was a lot cleverer than that. If
Assad remains in power, it will not be because we did it. It’s because
he was smart enough to use the intelligence and sound tactical advice we
provided to others.’
This is not a parody: State Dept. touting 'success' in fight with 'violent extremists,' efforts to end war in Syria, Iranian nuke deal in year-end review
A reminder that I am in Boston which is why I am still online several hours after the Sabbath started in Israel.
Writing in the Washington Examiner, Philip Klein reports that the US State Department's year in review, cites with great pride the government's 'success' in fighting 'violent extremists' and its 'efforts' to end the civil war in Syria as parts of its 'accomplishments' during 2015.
Following up on Secretary of State John Kerry's end of the message to department employees, the department posted a year-in-review message
on Christmas Eve, which also praised the nuclear deal with Iran,
restoring diplomatic ties with the communist regime of Cuba and the
recent global climate agreement among accomplishments of the
administration.
Though the year ends after the Islamic State pulled off the deadliest
attack on France since World War II and as Americans are increasingly
worried about the threat posed by terrorism, the message praises
successes stemming from February's White House Summit on Countering
Violent Extremism.
"Although challenges remain, we have made positive strides over the
last year, including in our fight against ISIL," the message read. "This
forward progress will only continue as more countries pledge resources
to the anti-ISIL effort and as citizens around the world increasingly
reject ISIL's misguided ideology."
You can't make this stuff up. The extent to which this administration is delusional (and attempting to delude all of us) is simply beyond all description.
And for those who have forgotten, calling that group ISIL rather than ISIS negates Israel's existence as a separate country.
I've been meaning to post this for a couple of days already (Hat Tip: Dani K).
HERE is an explanation of the difference between the terms ISIS and ISIL. I have been suspicious of the term ISIL to which the administration stubbornly clings.
ISIS = Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Iraq is to the east of Jordan (shaped like the hatchet) and Syria is to the north.
ISIL = Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Iraq is still to the east of Jordan, and “the Levant” is a term that comes from “the rising (of the sun, i.e., to the east)” - and is basically the land along the Mediterranean - that includes Lebanon, Israel, and those countries along that region.
By saying ISIL, you “negate” Israel as its own country and lump it in with the rest of the countries along the Mediterranean - and Israel sort of disappears (loses its sovereignty) and becomes part of “the Levant” - which is therefore part of ISIL.
If you've wondered, as I have, why all government agencies and especially Obama calls it ISIL and even spells it out every time it’s used, instead of ISIS as the rest of the world, here's the answer.
Decoding Obama’s speech reveals some startling revelations. In one press conference after another, when referring to the Muslim terror super-group ISIS, United States President Barack Obama will use the term ISIL, instead of their former name ISIS, or current name Islamic State.
Have you ever wondered about that? Here is the difference: What makes up the near exact center of the Muslim Levant? Israel. ISIL stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. Now, to us Westerners we don't really make much of a distinction, do we? No, honestly from our perspective it’s all about the same. But how would a Muslim living in the Middle East view it? Just what is the Levant anyway? Let’s take a look.
The geographical term LEVANT refers to a multi-nation region in the Middle East. It’s a land bridge between Turkey to the north and Egypt to the south. If you look on a map, however, in the near exact middle of the nations that comprise the Levant, guess what you see? It’s Israel.
When Barack Obama refers over and over to the Islamic State as ISIL, he is sending a message to Muslims all over the Middle East that he personally does not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation, but as territory belonging to the Islamic State.
Now you know why Obama says that he has no plan, no goal, and no stated aim for dealing with ISIS. But he does have a plan, and it’s a really nasty, diabolical one.
Obama’s plan is to drag his feet for as long as he can, doing only the bare minimum that Congress forces him to do. His plan is to buy ISIL as much time as possible to make as many gains as they can.
Listen as Obama, his press secretary, the spokesperson for the State Department, and his Joint Chiefs of Staff painstakingly spell out the letters
I-S-I-L so there is no doubt in your mind. And it’s working.
The Islamic State has garnered millions of dollars, a vast cache of weapons, and in their latest foray have captured Syrian fighter jets and now 12 commercial passenger planes.
With each passing day that Obama fulfills his stated aim of doing nothing, the Islamic State grows by leaps and bounds.
The ultimate goal, of course, has not changed and will never change. The ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel.
Now, you know a little bit more about why Obama chooses his words so carefully!!
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that Iran 'will pay' for starting 'rumors' that Turkey is buying oil from ISIS.
Turkey on Sunday said it was "astonished" by Iranian accusations that
Ankara is supporting Islamic State (ISIS) and involved in oil dealing
with the jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement
there was nothing in Tehran's accusations to take "seriously."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he had warned
his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani over some Iranian media reports
that he and his family were involved in oil trade with ISIS jihadists.
Erdogan said that he spoke with Rouhani on the phone and told him:
"You will pay a high price if it continues like that." He added that the
Iranians later removed the news from their website.
Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Bilgic confirmed the telephone
conversation between the two presidents and said any attempts to distort
its content were "not only immoral but also equal to hiding the truth
from neighboring Iranian people."
In response to Erdogan, Iranian foreign ministry on Friday called for
"mutual politeness and respect in relations," according to the Iranian
media.
"The continuation of policies and positions that, wanted or unwanted,
have led to the support of terrorism in Syria and Iraq, only escalate
the current crisis in the region and increase problems for countries
that continue such policies," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein
Jaber-Ansari said according to IRNA.
The POTUS-in-Chief is taking it to the “Islamic State” in Paris this week, delivering blow after blow with his climate-summit rhetoric
like George Foreman KO-ing Ron Lyle at Caesar’s Palace. Has a
bloodthirsty, Islamofascist guerrilla-terrorist movement ever been
driven so thoroughly onto the ropes? You decide.
But Obama’s not stopping there. His administration announced today
that it’s appointing a new senior advisor to the president on ISIS.
.@PressSec announces that NSC's Rob Malley – who helped negotiate #irandeal – will now serve as Senior Advisor to the President on #ISIS.
In today's WaPo, Malley and Miller have co-authored an op-ed,
in which they claim that it is in both Hamas' and Israel's interests to
work together to calm the environment so that Hamas can 'govern' and
Israel can carry out its convergence surrender plan.
But for calm to prevail, Malley and Miller argue that Israel and the
United States must recognize three 'realities':
First,
Hamas will not accept the three conditions put forward by the
international community (recognition of Israel, renunciation of
violence, acceptance of past agreements), certainly not now and
certainly not under threat. Instead, these should be redefined in terms
that are both meaningful and realistic: Is the government solidifying
the cease-fire and restoring law and order? Is it dealing pragmatically
with Israel on issues of mutual concern? Has it endorsed the Arab
League's Beirut resolution, which, by calling for normalization of
relations with Israel once a peace agreement has been reached,
implicitly entails recognition? These are benchmarks that most
Palestinians would accept -- and that most Palestinians would blame
Hamas for rejecting.
This is nonsense on several counts.
First, so long as Hamas does not renounce violence and actively work to
oppose it, violence will continue, whether perpetrated by Hamas or by
Islamic Jihad and others with Hamas' blessing. Without a renunciation of
violence 'solidifying the cease fire' and 'restoring law and order' are
meaningless. It would allow violence to resume at any time. Second, so
long as Hamas does not recognize Israel, it will not deal with Israel -
pragmatically or otherwise. In Hamas' view, dealing with Israel means
making demands on it, which Israel has no reason to fulfill. Third, the
endorsement of the Beirut resolution is meaningless because it is
contingent upon Israel accepting the 'right' of 'Palestinian refugees'
to return to their 'homes' in Israel - which Israel can never accept
without forfeiting its character as a Jewish state. Sure 'Palestinians'
would accept these 'benchmarks.' They'd be happy to see Israel agree to
commit national suicide.
A
little family history may be in order to understand the genesis of
Robert Malley's views. Normally, one should be reluctant in exploring a
person's family background -- after all, who would want to be held
responsible for the sins of one's father? However, when close relatives
share a strong current of ideological affinity, and when a father has a
commanding persona, it behooves a researcher to inquire a bit into the
role of family in forming views. That said, Robert Malley has a very
interesting father.
His father Simon Malley was born to a Syrian family in Cairo and at an early age found his métier in political journalism. He participated in the wave of anti-imperialist and nationalist ideology that was sweeping the Third World.
He wrote thousands of words in support of struggle against Western nations. In Paris, he founded the journal Afrique Asie; he and his magazine became advocates for "liberation" struggles throughout the world, particularly for the Palestinians.
Simon
Malley loathed Israel and anti-Israel activism became a crusade for
him-as an internet search would easily show. He spent countless hours
with Yasser Arafat and became a close friend of Arafat.
He was, according
to Daniel Pipes, a sympathizer of the Palestinian Liberation
Organization --- and this was when it was at the height of its terrorism
wave against the West. His efforts were so damaging to France that
President Valerie d'Estaing expelled him from the country.
Malley
has seemingly followed in his father's footsteps: he represents the
next generation of anti-Israel activism. Through his writings he has
served as a willing propagandist, bending the truth (and more) to serve
an agenda that is marked by anti-Israel bias; he heads a group of Middle
East policy advisers for a think-tank funded (in part) by anti-Israel
billionaire activist George Soros; and now is on the foreign policy
staff of a leading Presidential contender. Each step up the ladder seems
to be a step closer towards his goal of empowering radicals and
weakening the ties between American and our ally Israel.
Robert Malley's writings strike me as being akin to propaganda. One notable example is an op-ed that was published in the New York Times (Fictions About the Failure at Camp David). The column indicted Israel for not being generous enough at Camp David and blamed the failure of the talks on the Israelis.
Malley
has repeated this line of attack in numerous op-eds over the years,
often co-writing with Hussein Agha, a former adviser to Yasser Arafat
(see, for example, Camp David: The Tragedy of Errors
). He was also believed to be the chief source for an article by
Deborah Sontag that whitewashed Arafat's role in the collapse of the
peace process, an article that has been widely criticized as riddled with errors and bias.
Malley
is a revisionist and his views are sharply at odds with the views of
others who participated at Camp David, including Ambassador Dennis Ross
and President Bill Clinton. Malley's myth-making has been peddled in the notably anti-Israel magazine, Counterpunch and by Norman Finkelstein, the failed academic recently denied tenure
at DePaul University . Malley's Camp David propaganda has also become
fodder for Palestinians, Arab rejectionists, and anti-Israel activists
across the world.
CNN's Jim Acosta: 'Why can't we take out these b**t*rds?
At the G-20 conference in Antalya on Monday, CNN"s Jim Acosta asked President Obama a question that many people around the world have on their minds: 'Why can't we take out these b**t*rds?' President Obama's answer left much to be desired.
“Jim, I just spent the last three questions answering that very
question, so I don’t know what more you want me to add. I think I’ve
described very specifically what our strategy is, and I’ve described
very specifically why we do not pursue some of the other strategies that
have been suggested.”
Well, maybe he did, but I sure didn't see it. Go watch the video here. Does Obama make you feel confident? I think he's trying to avoid doing anything about it, just like he's done every other time he's been called upon to oppose a Muslim group in the last seven years (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
Double suicide bombing in Hezbullah's Beirut stronghold (with video)
41 people were killed and over 200 wounded in a double suicide bombing in Beirut on Thursday afternoon. A third suicide bomber blew himself up before he could join the others.
According to a Lebanese security official, the first suicide attacker
detonated his explosives' vest outside a Shiite Mosque, while the
second blew himself up inside a nearby bakery.
An apparent third suicide attacker was found dead, his legs blown off
while he still wore an intact explosives' belt, said the official,
speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The
official speculated the third may have been killed from the explosion of
the second suicide attacker, as he was reportedly close to that blast.
The Al-Mayadeen TV also reported there was a third would-be suicide
attacker, describing him as a bearded young man who wore an explosives'
belt. The report said he was killed before he was able to detonate the
explosives.
Hospitals in southern Beirut were calling on people to donate blood
and appealed on residents not to gather at the hospital gates so that
ambulanced and emergency staff could work unhindered.
Shortly after the explosions, ambulances rushed to the area and
started evacuating the wounded and the dead as Lebanese troops and
Hezbollah gunmen cordoned the area, preventing anyone from getting
close.
"There is a massacre inside and we will not let you take photos," a
Hezbollah member screamed at an Associated Press photographer at the
scene.
That may explain why I could not find images of the attacks.
An hour later, ambulance sirens could still be heard in Beirut streets.
Hezbollah also called on people to leave all coffee shops in the
area, which are usually packed with people, and urged residents to
inform the group about any suspicious moves.
ISIS? Could be. As long as the Muslims are only killing each other, the world will not care, so pass the popcorn.
As authorities worked to establish a motive for the 18-year-old
college freshman who stabbed four people on a California campus
Wednesday, more disturbing details emerged about the attacker.
Faisal Mohammad, who was killed by University of California Merced
police, was described by at least one witness as smiling as he slashed
at victims, called a loner by a fellow dorm resident and drew praise
Thursday from a Twitter account associated with ISIS, which just last
week released a series of videos calling for lone wolf stabbing attacks.
“May Allah accept him,” read a tweet in Arabic from a Twitter
account that terrorism experts say has carried previous ISIS propaganda,
just minutes after Mohammad’s name was divulged by campus authorities.
Disturbing indeed, especially given the spate of stabbing attacks in
Israel, an emerging signature move of individual jihadists. There’s much
we still don’t know. It’s certainly possible that Mohammad had other
motives for his attack, and that ISIS was merely being opportunistic —
seizing on the attacker’s Muslim name to create the false appearance of
jihadist influence. However, I don’t necessarily trust either the Barack
“workplace violence” Obama administration or painfully
politically-correct California authorities to be entirely forthcoming
with evidence.
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.
'Coordination'? Russia threatens to shoot down IAF jets targeting Hezbullah convoys
'Coordinating' with the Russians over Syria doesn't seem to be so much fun after all. According to this story (translated from an Arabic original here), the Russians have, in essence, threatened to shoot down any IAF jets targeting weapons convoys moving from Assad forces in Syria to Hezbullah in Lebanon.
“Moscow imposed on Tel Aviv a military coordination in advance for any
military operation carried against Syrian military targets or against
Hezbollah in Syria, to prevent any fatal accident. Senior military
officers on both sides will maintain regular meetings and contacts to
allow a smooth Russian military presence in Syria. Above all, Russia
would like to avoid shooting down an Israeli jet in case one of its
officers is hit by mistake while present in a convoy or in special
mission. Israel and Russia will also coordinate naval operations off the
coast of Syria, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, where there is a
large Russian naval base”, said a decision-maker source in Damascus.
You can bet that every weapons convoy to Hezbullah will now include a Russian officer.
According to the source, quoting a Russian envoy that referred
details of the meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “the promenade era of Israel
over the sky of Syria is ending. Israel agreed to stop hitting any
military target or convoy on Syrian land under any excuses or without
prior coordination with the liaison officers that will be established
starting form next October. President Putin opposed the U.S President
Barack Obama when he decided to hit President al-Assad. Therefore,
Netanyahu’s national security concern would be Russia’s priority. None
the less, Putin confirmed that Israel has the right to hit any military
convoy leaving Syria and entering the Lebanese soil if suspected of
carrying weapons to Hezbollah ».
“Russia is becoming the guarantor and the coordinator of rival
parties and countries, like Hezbollah, Syria and Israel as well as the
striking force against extremist groups the Levant, like Jabhat al-Nusra
(al-Qaeda in Sham) and the group called “Islanic State” (IS). Hezbollah
agreed to limit all military activities in Syria without hitting Israel
as long as the Russian forces are present on the ground and Israel
won’t hit Hezbollah in Syria” confirmed the source.
One has to wonder whether hitting such weapons convoys once they are in Lebanon is too late. That has been the presumed value all along of hitting them while they are still in Syria.
But the Russian intervention imposed a forced rhythm on the United
States and Europe to change the rules of the game. The international
focus needs to be orientated toward the fight against terrorism and not
to change Assad. With or without the Syrian President, ISIS and al-Qaeda
have no intention to leave the country. Therefore, the U.S current
method used to contain extremists by adopting a soft approach is not
successful. Russia believes a more rough methods are required and is
preparing to carry more raids in one single month, equivalent to nearly a
year of airstrikes carried by the coalition against terrorists”, said
the source.
In other words, because Obama never had a real policy, Russia will now 'have' to impose one. #ThanksObama.
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
