[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] 09/23 Links Pt1: IDF kill terrorists who murdered 3 Jewish teens; Arab Bank convicted of funding Hamas terrorism ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Many Israeli politicians have begun pushing for slow-motion regime change in Gaza. Perhaps it’s a coincidence that the vast majority of the U.S. Senate now is in a similar mood.
Over the summer, the Obama administration supported a draft cease-fire plan that would have strengthened the Hamas position in Gaza. Now 88 senators are urging the Obama administration to take a very different approach to the group: gradual regime change. Over time, they want to hand Gaza over to the more moderate Palestinian Authority, which oversees the West Bank today.
In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry obtained by The Daily Beast, the 88 senators write, “we must support efforts to enable the Palestinian Authority to exercise real power in Gaza. Hamas has demonstrated conclusively both that it has no interest in peace with Israel and that it has no concern for the well-being of Gaza residents.”

PM Benjamin Netanyahu on ABC Australia
'We want to make peace' with Palestinians says Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Netanyahu to ‘Post’: Saudi peace initiative is for a bygone era

The Saudi peace initiative of 2002 is no longer relevant in the much-altered Middle East of 2014, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu indicated this week, in a Rosh Hashana interview with The Jerusalem Post that will appear in full in Wednesday’s paper.
“The question is not the Saudi peace initiative,” Netanyahu said, asked if he would accept the proposal now.
“If you read it carefully, you’ll see it was set up in another period, before the rise of Hamas; before Hamas took over Gaza; before ISIS [Islamic State] took over chunks of Syria and Iraq, effectively dismantling those countries; before Iran’s accelerated nuclear program,” he said.
Obviously referring to the Saudi proposal’s call for a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, including returning the Golan Heights to Syria, Netanyahu noted that this plan was made “before the takeover of Syria by al-Qaida on the Golan Heights.”

US jury convicts Arab Bank of financing Hamas terrorism

In a landmark decision, a New York jury on Monday found the Jordan-based multinational Arab Bank liable on 24 counts of supporting terrorism by transferring funds to Hamas.
The verdict came after the jury deliberated for nearly two full days after a month-long trial at the eastern district court in Brooklyn.
“This is an enormous milestone,” said Gary Osen, a lawyer on the team representing around 300 American relatives and the victims of 24 attacks carried out in Israel and the Palestinian territories during the Second Intifada. The federal lawsuit was filed in 2004.
“For the first time a financial institution is liable for supporting terrorism. The question now is to see how other financial institutions, regulators will deal with their banks and this decision,” he added.

Arab Bank to Appeal Verdict on Hamas

The Arab Bank, which was found by a U.S. jury to have provided material support to Hamas will appeal the verdict, the bank’s lawyer said Monday, according to Bloomberg news.
The lawyer, Shand Stephens, said the bank will appeal because the judge’s instructions were “erroneous” and mistakes were made in determining which evidence would be allowed.
“The plaintiffs evidence in this case is a mile wide and an inch deep,” Stephens told reporters outside the courtroom, according to Bloomberg.
“The Second Circuit is going to reverse this,” he said referring to the appeals court in New York.

JCPA: Qatar’s Support of Hamas and Jihadist Forces in the Middle East

Qatar is unquestionably engaged in international terrorist financing. According to the U.S. Treasury’s division for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, “Qatar, a longtime U.S. ally, has for many years openly financed Hamas.”
Qatar aids Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, Jabhat al Nusra, al-Qaeda affiliates, Libyan Islamists, and even ISIS.
The key Qatari link to the Muslim Brotherhood has been Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who broadcasts on Qatar’s al Jazeera. In 2002, his foundation was designated a terrorist organization by the U.S. government.
Through the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar has attempted to undermine Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Qatar’s ruling Al Thani family believe they are “worthy of challenging Riyadh [Saudi Arabia].”

Australia: Man shot dead, two counter-terrorism officers stabbed outside Endeavour Hills police station

A TERROR suspect, 18, who allegedly made threats against Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been shot dead by police after stabbing a Victoria Police officer and federal agent.
The man, who security sources said had recently had his passport cancelled, met officers from the joint counter terrorism team outside the Endeavour Hills police station in Melbourne’s southeast.
It is understood he had been under surveillance for having allegedly made threats against Mr Abbott.
The joint counter-terrorism operation was aimed at detaining and questioning the man in relation to the threats, sources said.
It is believed police were in the process of detaining him when the incident happened.
Senior intelligence sources confirmed he was among a number of people who had their passports recently cancelled.
It is believed he was well known to police and was alleged to have displayed IS - or Islamic State - flags in a local Dandenong shopping centre.

Fundamentally Freund: The quiet intifada in Jerusalem

In recent months, Palestinian terrorists have transformed Jerusalem into a battleground, carrying out increasingly brazen attacks against Jews. The incidents have grown in both quantity and severity, putting Jewish lives and property at risk. While the media has largely ignored the story, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist, and it is time for the government to take concerted action to stamp out the unrest and restore security to our nation’s capital.
The latest incident in this ongoing saga of violence took place this past Sunday morning, when a bus filled with Jewish schoolchildren on its way to the Old City from the Ma’aleh HaZeitim neighborhood on the Mount of Olives was attacked by three masked Palestinians. These ostensible “partners in peace” proceeded to hurl stones at the bus, smashing the front windshield and sending the children into a panic. A woman who witnessed the episode said that a number of the youngsters burst into tears, adding that, “It was only because of a great miracle that they emerged unscathed from this incident, which could very well have ended differently.
These children will surely suffer from anxiety and nightmares for a long time to come.”
Is this how Jewish children have to grow up in the heart of Jerusalem? Every single Israeli should be outraged by this incident, which demonstrates the escalating impudence and audacity of Palestinian terrorists, who have no qualms about attacking a schoolbus in broad daylight in the nation’s capital.

Palestinians to return to Cairo talks after balking over killings

The Palestinian delegation to ceasefire negotiations in Cairo will proceed with negotiations Tuesday despite the deaths of two Hamas members suspected of killing three Israeli teens Tuesday morning, according to Palestinian sources.
“After consultations within the Palestinian delegation and brothers in Gaza and abroad it was decided to continue the Cairo meetings,” Senior Hamas official Mohammed al-Zahar told Reuters by phone from Cairo.
Palestinian official Qais Abu Leila had said earlier that the delegation was considering pulling out of the talks, among other options.
Zahar condemned the deaths of Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha, but said Israel must not be allowed to “escape from commitments” it made in the August 26 ceasefire that ended seven weeks of violence between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Ahead of Cairo talks, Danish FM threatens Israel with sanctions

Denmark is considering adopting a tougher stance toward Israel if this week’s talks with the Palestinians in Cairo fail to produce the desired results, the country’s foreign minister said Monday, threatening Jerusalem with European Union-wide economic sanctions.
“If nothing happens at the peace negotiations this time, and if we don’t see a new reaction pattern from Israel, then we will discuss new steps, including a change in our trade relations with Israel,” Martin Lidegaard told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “I hope that it doesn’t go that far, but I think that EU policy is heading in that direction.”
Lidegaard, who became foreign minister in February, further called on Israel to lift its “blockade” of the Gaza Strip and to end the “illegal settlements” in the West Bank as they undermine a two-state solution. The Palestinians, he said, must demilitarize Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza.

At UN, Palestinians to push for new ‘political reality’

Since the collapse of US-led peace talks with Israel in April, the Palestinians have been pursuing a new diplomatic path to independence via the United Nations and through joining international organisations.
During the UN General Assembly, which opens Wednesday, Abbas plans to propose a three-year deadline for ending the Israeli occupation and establishing a Palestinian state within the 1967 lines.
He will meet the Arab group “to devise a unified position for making the next move towards establishing a state,” Abu Rudeineh said.
“Things are critical right now, but the Palestinians and Arabs are determined to go to the (UN) Security Council and demand international protection,” he told the radio.

Arab and Muslim states question Israel’s right to defend itself at UNHRC

Two major groups of Arab states questioned Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas in Gaza, in addresses to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday in Geneva.
Describing Israel’s actions in Gaza as self-defense is both “legally incorrect” and “morally abhorrent,” said Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
As the occupying power, Israel does not have the right to defend itself from Hamas, a group which is under its control, said the United Arab Emirates, speaking on behalf of the Arab group at the UN.
The countries were among some 30 nations that spoke against Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. They included Russia and China, who are both members of the Security Council.
China told the UNHRC that it supports the Palestinian drive to become a member state of the United Nations.

Abbas said close to deciding on ICC war crimes probe

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday the Palestinians would soon decide whether to lodge a complaint against Israel in the International Criminal Court and other UN institutions in November, the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency reported.
En route to New York for the UN General Assembly, the PA president insisted that US and Israeli pressure would not deter the Palestinians from the move.
Abbas has debated for months whether to join the court, a step that would transform his relations with Israel from tense to openly hostile and could also strain his ties with the United States.

In NY, Abbas equates statehood to US civil rights struggle

In an hour-long speech Monday at New York’s Cooper Union in New York, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas tacitly compared the Palestinian struggle for statehood with historical civil rights struggles in the United States.
Founded in 1859, it was here in the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art’s 960-seat auditorium that Abraham Lincoln delivered his 1860 speech on slavery, a speech that catapulted him to the Republican nomination. Other historical figures to stand before the podium in the Great Hall include Frederick Douglas, a former slave turned statesman; Susan B. Anthony a leader of the womens’ movement and Red Cloud, an Oglala Lakota chief.
“This great hall has been instrumental in suffrage, in Abraham Lincoln’s call to end slavery, in the civil rights movement and the Native American rights movement,” Abbas said, calling upon students to take up the Palestinian cause on campuses across the US.
During Monday’s address, Abbas often spoke directly to the youth in the audience, some of whom wore kippahs or keffiyehs.

UK Parliament To Vote On Palestinian Statehood, Will Debate for Longer Than ISIS Has Been Discussed

The British House of Commons is to vote on whether to to recognise the Palestinian territories as a country, in what is being talked about as a major coup for anti-Israel activists. The vote will be accompanied by a six hour debate on the floor of the chamber, meaning that it will be debated for longer than ISIS has so far.
The debate and vote has been introduced by left-wing Labour MP Grahame Morris, backed by Liberal Democrat Lynne Featherstone and Conservative MP Crispin Blunt. The three are going against the official government line not to support statehood as it is likely to cause more tensions.
Morris is the Labour MP who claimed the Israeli flag was a Nazi symbol. TrendingCentral reported the MP for Easington was unhappy to see the flag in his home village. He tweeted a picture of it accompanied by the comment "Nazis in my village, do you see that flag they fly". He later deleted the tweet but did not apolgise for his comments.

Real Estate, Jewelry, and the Israeli-Palestinian Dispute

In the early years, there were frequent expressions of commonality between Jews and Arabs, epitomized by the 1919 agreement between Chaim Weizmann, the head of the Zionist Organization, and Faisal Hussein, the leader of the Arabs. The agreement cited “the racial kinship and ancient bonds existing between the Arabs and the Jewish people” and declared Arab support for the 1917 Balfour Declaration and Jewish support for an Arab state adjacent to Palestine. Faisal thereafter wrote to Felix Frankfurter (then also a Zionist leader) that “we Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement,” and “will wish the Jews a most hearty welcome home.” That obviously did not last long.
Professor Gribetz ends his book by noting that while relations between Jews and Arabs worsened after 1919, his study itself shows that perceptions between peoples are not immutable; so it “stands to reason that they can improve as well.” He does not address what might lead to such an improvement, but perhaps we can determine what will be necessary by viewing his central insight in light of the peace proposals in the decades following the period he covers.
The 1919 Weizmann-Faisal agreement was never implemented, but in 1921 Great Britain divided Palestine and gave half to Transjordan. In later years, there were numerous two-state solutions proposed for the remaining half of Palestine, all of which ended exactly as did the 1919 pact:

Israel-US cooperation at UN 'very close,' Jerusalem official says

The comments came on the eve of the UN General Assembly’s annual debate, scheduled to begin Wednesday and run through September 30.
Israel will be represented in New York by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who is expected to address the world body next Monday; by Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, who will hold a number of meetings with his counterparts on the sidelines of the General Assembly; and by Deputy Foreign Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, who will represent Israel at the annual donors conference for the Palestinian Authority, which also takes place alongside the UN meeting.
The Indian media on Monday reported that efforts were under way to set up a meeting in New York between Netanyahu and new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose assumption of office in May as head of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was seen as a harbinger of closer Indo-Israeli ties.

IDF Blog: Abductors of Three Israeli Teenagers Targeted in Hebron

Terrorists Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha were targeted overnight by ISA and IDF security forces in an operation to apprehend them. After the terrorists opened fire on Israeli forces, the suspects were killed, ending a three month long manhunt.
Overnight, security forces carried out an operation to apprehend Marwan Kawasme and Amer Abu Aysha – the Hamas terrorists responsible for the abduction and murder of Israeli teens Eyal Yifrah, Gilad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel. With the help of precise intelligence and coordination between the IDF and ISA, the suspects were located in Hebron.
During the operation, the terrorists opened fire at the security forces. The forces returned fire and the suspects were killed in the exchange.

Israeli forces kill terrorists who murdered 3 Jewish teens

"When we found the boys' bodies I said that we would not rest until we found the culprits, wherever they might hide, and bring them to justice. This morning we completed our mission," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.
"I said Hamas was responsible from the very beginning and eventually they admitted it. I spoke with the boys' families and I told them that while I know nothing could ever ease their pain, justice was served. We did what we set out to do."
The prime minister also commended the IDF, police and Shin Bet for "their outstanding efforts. On behalf of all Israelis, I salute you for this important operation. Today, Israel's long reach has brought these killers to justice."
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon issues a short statement saying, "I commend the IDF, Police Counterterrorism Unit and Shin Bet for their operation in Hebron overnight, during which the teens' abductors were killed. Our forces acted professionally and tenaciously this entire time, and tonight these murderers were brought to justice.
"After the abduction, we promised both the families and the Israeli public that we would not rest until these murderers were found, and we have kept this promise. Anyone seeking to harm Israel or its citizens must know that we will not rest until they are found.
"Nothing could ever comfort the Shaer, Yifrach and Frenkel families, but I hope they can find some solace in the fact that their sons' murderers have been brought to justice," Ya'alon said.
A statement issued by the Shaer, Yifrach and Frenkel families on Tuesday afternoon said, "We are proud of the Israeli government and Israel's security forces for ensuring our children's murdered were brought to justice. Today, the world has learned that Jewish blood is not spilled in vain.
"We thank the troops who risked their lives to reinstate Israel's deterrence. Let Israel's enemies know -- 'I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back until they were destroyed' [Psalm 18:37]. We wish to thank the public in Israel and overseas for their support."
Ministers and MKs praised the successful operation.
"The score has been settled! Our security forces have been able to get their hands on the people who abducted our boys," Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch (Yisrael Beytenu) wrote in a post on his Facebook page. "We said, time and again, that we would not rest until these heinous killers were found and we have kept our promise."
MK Miri Regev (Likud) said, "The despicable killers who murdered our three boys were killed this morning following efforts by the IDF and Shin Bet. Let all our enemies and anyone seeking to harm us know -- this will be your fate. May every Jewish mother know -- this is the fate that awaits any terrorist who harms our children. Israel does not leave its scores unsettled."

The New York Times Rewrites History of the Gaza Conflict

According to the New York Times, the conflict in Gaza came about when three Israelis “disappeared,” Jewish extremists “snatched” and killed an Arab youth, and Israel launched a military campaign that left thousands of Palestinians dead or homeless.
However, this reporting leaves out certain key events and uses questionable language to describe the way the conflict actually began.
"The June 12 disappearance of Naftali Fraenkel and Gilad Shaar, both 16, and Eyal Yifrach, 19, as they hitchhiked home from their West Bank yeshivas, and the subsequent Israeli campaign in Hebron and surrounding areas, helped set off an escalation of tension and violence that culminated in a seven-week battle between Israel and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip."
Did Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach “disappear?” By the time the story first broke, it was clear that the boys had been kidnapped. It was later learned that they had been murdered and their bodies dumped in a field. They had not simply “disappeared” as if they had vanished into thin air. (Later on in the article more specifics are given, but that does not excuse the way the abductions are first described.)
Compare this with the language used to describe the murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir:
"Jewish extremists snatched a Palestinian 16-year-old old, Muhammad Abu Khdeir, in his East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shuafat, beat him and burned him alive as an act of revenge."
All four murders were despicable, criminal acts. But why the difference in language? Did the killing of the Jewish teens not merit the same journalistic treatment?

WATCH: Thousands attend funeral for two suspects in murder of Israeli teens

Thousands of mourners on Tuesday marched in a funeral procession for two Palestinian men shot dead by the Israeli army, after being accused of abducting and killing three Israeli youths in the West Bank in June.
Some say this incident spiraled into the seven-week war in Gaza.
Waving Palestinian and green Hamas flags, the mourners carried the bodies of Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha, both in their 30s, through the streets of the West Bank city of Hebron.

Palestinians to proceed with Cairo talks despite IDF killing of Israeli teens' murderers

Zahar condemned the killing earlier on Tuesday of two Palestinians whom Israel said had shot dead three Israeli youths in June. But he said Israel must not be given any pretext "to escape from commitments" of an Aug. 26 truce that called for talks within a month on long-term border arrangements for the blockaded Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian delegation said the timing of the Hebron raid was intended to undermine the talks. "It comes as part of the stalling of the indirect negotiations to end the suffering of our people," a statement said.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said in Gaza that the organization "praises the role martyrs Abu Aysha and Kawasme played in chasing down Israeli settlers and we stress that their assassination will not weaken the resistance."
The governor of Hebron, Kamel Hmeid, confirmed on Palestinian radio that the two were dead.
"It's clear now the two martyrs, al-Kawasme and Abu Aysha, were assassinated this morning during a military operation in the Hebron University area. We condemn this crime, this assassination, as deliberate and premeditated murder," he said.

Factless In Seattle

As I posted earlier, the IDF killed two terrorists suspected of kidnapping and murdering the three Israeli teens. According to the IDF, the terrorists were killed after opening fire on the security forces.
Enter anti-Israel DouchebloggerTM Richard Silverstein, who states as fact that the terrorists were executed. His “proof”? The word of one of his “sources” (and we all know how reliable they turn out to be), and a statement by the palestinian governor of Hebron.
In other words, when faced with contradictory accounts, Silverstein automatically believes the anti-Israel one and treats it as fact.
Update: Gidon points out something I missed in Silverstein’s post.
"Another chapter has closed on the horrible cycle of killings and revenge murders that plagued the West Bank in the weeks before Israel launched Operation Protective Edge. A joint team of IDF, Shin Bet and Border Police cornered the two Palestinian boys and murdered them."
The “boys” (terrorists) were 29 and 32. (h/t Bob Knot)

IDF Blog: Syrian Plane Infiltrates Israeli Airspace, Shot Down

This morning, a Syrian aircraft was identified while attempting to infiltrate Israeli airspace in the Golan Heights. The Israel Air Force retaliated by firing a Patriot anti-aircraft missile. The Syrian plane was successfully hit. This is a continuation of the growing tension this border has experienced in recent months.
The Israel-Syria border has been highly unstable over the last months. As the civil war rages in Syria, IDF forces have experienced combat in the region, both from targeted strikes and errant fire.
Most recently, IDF positions were hit by errant fire emanating from Syria in early September, wounding an IDF soldier. A few days earlier, on September 4, a projectile fired from Syria landed in the Golan Heights.
On August 31, a UAV attempted to infiltrate Israeli airspace and was directly targeted by a Patriot anti-aircraft missile.

Amid instability in Syria, Israel firm with red lines

At 8:57 on Tuesday morning, shortly after a Syrian Sukhoi-24 penetrated a half-mile into Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights, the Israel Air Force shot the fighter jet out of the sky. The entire affair, from the moment the decision was made until the two pilots ejected over Syrian soil, took one minute, the IAF said Tuesday.
Its ability to do damage to Israeli sites, and a sort of firm pedagogical approach to the defense of Israel’s borders, led to the decision to shoot down the Syrian jet with a Patriot surface-to-air missile, even though it seemed quite clear that the plane was not streaking toward Tiberias or Tel Aviv.
“We can’t tolerate any sort of violations of Israeli airspace,” said Brig. Gen. (res) Ramm Shmueli, a former head of the IAF’s intelligence wing, in a conference call. The jet, he said, would have been over Israel proper “in 10-20 seconds.” It was potentially one minute from the Sea of Galilee and four minutes from Tel Aviv.
Shmueli said the aircraft was loaded “with armaments,” a statement that the IDF refused to comment on. He added that Israel believes the jet’s “intention was not to attack us,” but rather was a part of the Syrian regime’s battle against the rebel forces, which hide in the shadow of Israel’s military deployment on the Golan Heights. Nonetheless, he said, a “fast airplane, fully loaded with ammunition, can drop this ammunition immediately against Israel, so we can’t take any chances.”
The wind, he said, pulled the pilots and the debris back over the Syrian border.

Meet Israel’s Newest, Most Expensive Weapon: The INS Tanin Submarine (VIDEO)

In a commemoration aboard Israel’s 4th and newest submarine, the INS Tanin (“crocodile,” or “alligator”), the IDF on Sunday held a wreath-laying ceremony at the site where 69 soldiers of INS Dakar went down with the ship, in the Mediterranean Sea some 270 miles off the Israeli coast in 1968, the Israeli army said.
“We will guard, protect, and act in any enemy coast, and fight bravely for the navy and the state of Israel,” Adm. Ram Rothberg, said at the event, The Jerusalem Post noted.
Referring to the prowess of the new Dolphin-class craft, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz said that, “Without a doubt, this power, operationally and strategically, is very important for Israel, the IDF and the navy.”
The INS Tanin is the most expensive weapon currently in IDF service, at a cost of over $513 million dollars, and is considered one of the most sophisticated submarines in the world.

Memorial Ceremony Aboard IDF’s New Submarine Making Its Way to Israel

IDF Blog: IDF Conducts Fact-Finding Assessment following Operation Protective Edge

The IDF’s quick establishment of a fact-finding assessment mechanism after Operation Protective Edge attests to its continued commitment to the rule of law and international obligations.
The IDF Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Benjamin (Benny) Gantz, has ordered that a General Staff Mechanism for Fact-Finding Assessments (the ‘FFA Mechanism’) will examine Exceptional Incidents that occurred during Operation ‘Protective Edge’. The FFA Mechanism, headed by a Major General, was activated soon after the commencement of Operation ‘Protective Edge’, in the midst of the ongoing hostilities.
The FFA Mechanism was established as a permanent mechanism, as part of the process of implementation of the recommendations outlined by the Public Commission chaired by Supreme Court Justice (ret.) Jacob Turkel (the ‘Turkel Commission’). The Commission had assessed the compliance of Israel’s mechanisms of examining and investigating complaints and claims of violations of the law of armed conflict, with the requirements of international law. In its report, the Turkel Commission found that the examination and investigation mechanisms in Israel generally comply with the obligations of the State of Israel under the rules of international law, and also made a number of specific recommendations designed to further strengthen these mechanisms.

IDF Blog: IDF’s Message to Soldiers in Gaza: Uphold Our Moral Code

Hamas has proven that it will do all in its power to put Gaza civilians in the line of fire, but the IDF does all it can to ensure their safety. We bring you an exclusive look into the message that was delivered to IDF soldiers fighting in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge.
The following is the full transcript of the message:

"Purity of Arms – The IDF soldiers will use their weapons and force only for the purpose of their mission, only to the necessary extent and will maintain their humanity even during combat. IDF soldiers will not use their weapons and force to harm human beings who are not combatants or prisoners of war, and will do all in their power to avoid causing harm to their lives, bodies, dignity and property.
“We have a moral obligation to do whatever we can to prevent civilian casualties, and simultaneously face a moral obligation to protect our citizens.”
Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz."

MK visits S. African parliament for first time in 5 years

MK Dov Lipman last week visited the South African National Assembly, the first Israeli lawmaker to enter the country’s parliament in half a decade.
The trip opened the door for improved bilateral ties, and especially the revival of the long-defunct Israeli-South African parliamentary friendship group, said Lipman, of the Yesh Atid party. The freshman lawmaker met with members of parliament from several parties, including the country’s ruling African National Congress, which has recently made several statements viciously critical of Israeli policies vis-à-vis the Palestinians.
“At times it was contentious, but it wasn’t unfriendly. It’s what happens when you have a dialogue,” Lipman explained. “They set aside a special room, they had flags of Israel and South Africa set up,” he commented about his meetings with two parliamentarians from the ANC, including the chair of the International Relations Committee, Moses Masango. “The way it was done was very respectful. They took it seriously.”

Israeli Arab convicted in Haifa court after training with Islamic State in Syria

Haifa Magistrate's Court on Tuesday convicted Umm al-Fahm resident Ahmed Shurbaji, 23, of illegally traveling to Syria to take part in military drills after he admitted to training with Islamic State terrorists.
Shurjabi left Israel for Turkey in January after he and two friends decided to offer their help to Syrian rebels fighting the army of President Bashar Assad. From Turkey they traveled to Syria, joining a rebel force that called itself Jeish Muhammad (The Army of Muhammad).
The trio trained with the rebel force, enlisting into the ranks of the Islamic State a week later.

Official PA daily lauds Israel’s treatment of Palestinian workers

A positive article in the Palestinian Authority's official daily lauded Israel and Israeli employers of Palestinians for their positive employment ethics towards their Palestinian workers. At the same time, the article condemned Palestinian employers for taking advantage of their workers.
The article explains that Palestinian workers get their full rights when employed by Israelis directly and that the only time they do not get their full rights is when there is a Palestinian middleman:

US State Department announces tens of millions in aid to UNRWA

The US State Department announced late Monday that it plans to provide over $71 million in humanitarian assistance to the Gaza Strip, a large portion of which is earmarked for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
"More than 58,000 people are still sheltering in United Nations facilities and basic necessities like food, clean water, and fuel remain in short supply throughout the territory," the State Department said in a statement.
UNRWA has been a subject of controversy in Israel over its perceived sympathy toward Hamas and its actions during Operation Protective Edge.
UNRWA admitted to finding Hamas rockets in their facilities on a number of occasions during the Gaza operation. It said it handed them over to local authorities “answerable to the national unity government.”

Turkey's ISIS problem

On August 4, 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) and Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar (JMA) launched a large-scale offensive in the Latakia countryside in Syria, occupying more than 10 Alawite villages. According to Human Rights Watch, 190 civilians, including 57 women and at least 18 children and 14 elderly men, were killed during the attack. The massacre continued until August 18.
Human Rights Watch reported that five groups that were the key fundraisers, organizers, planners, and executors of the attacks were clearly present from the outset of the operation on August 4: Ahrar ash-Sham, ISIS, the Nusra Front, JMA, and Suqour al-Ezz.
The Human Rights Watch report continued: "Given that most foreign fighters in these groups reportedly gain access to Syria via Turkey, from which they also smuggle their weapons, obtain money and other supplies, and retreat to for medical treatment, Turkey should increase border patrols, restrict entry of fighters and arm flows to groups credibly found to be implicated in systematic human rights violations."
According to numerous sources and witnesses, Turkey permits the use of its national territory for the shipment of arms and ammunition to the terrorist groups, including ISIS, and Islamist terrorists from around the world cross into Syria and Iraq via Turkey.

Erdogan rebuffs anti-Semite claims but lashes Israel for ‘massacre’

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday denied that he is an anti-Semite or even anti-Israel, arguing that he makes a distinction between Jews and Israelis on one side, and the current government in Jerusalem on the other side. At the same time, he accused Israel of having indiscriminately massacred innocent babies and children during this summer’s Operation Protective Edge.
“There are times when I personally am labeled as an anti-Semitic person. Criticizing Israel’s massacres that defy international law, and trample on human rights and life is not anti-Semitism,” Erdogan said during a speech in New York. “Holding a state that massacres 10 people by stopping an international ship taking aid to Gaza isn’t anti-Semitism,” he added, referring to an incident in 2010 in which pro-Palestinian activists and IDF troops clashed aboard the Mavi Marmara ship.
“And it isn’t anti-Semitism to criticize an administration that massacres, kills babies, children, innocent babies, children, in their homes, mosques, hospitals, schools, beaches, parks, without any discrimination,” Erdogan said, according to a transcript of his remarks.
Turkey is considered one of Hamas’s key allies in the region. But during his appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations on Monday, which included a question-and-answer segment, he mentioned the group only once. “When we look at Palestine, we don’t see Arab, Sunni, or Hamas. We first and foremost see people.”

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Posted By Ian to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 9/23/2014 12:00:00 PM