02/17 Link Pt1: Why the Palestinians Say Never; Nasrallah Threatens Haifa Chemical Facility ~ EoZ

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinian Leaders: Who Are They Fooling?

For Abbas and the Palestinian leadership, the death of more than 170 Palestinians and 26 Israelis in the past five months occurred in the context of a "popular and peaceful uprising." One can only imagine what the uprising would have looked like had it not been "peaceful."
Abbas assured his people that those who die defending their holy sites would go straight to heaven. "Every drop of blood that is spilled in Jerusalem is pure blood," he stressed.
According to the Palestinian Authority, these youths are acting out of despair -- over settlements, checkpoints and lack of progress in the peace process. The attackers are in fact targeting Jews because they have been incited and brainwashed by the same leaders who are now denouncing Israel for protecting itself.
Not a single senior Palestinian official has condemned the targeting of innocent civilians in this "peaceful" uprising. They are too busy glorifying the assailants and naming streets after them.
The blood of the Palestinians who are being shot and killed while attacking Jews is on the hands of Abbas and his senior officials.

Why the Palestinians Say Never

While the PA has at times spoken of being willing to make peace but its leader Mahmoud Abbas has always made it clear that he will never recognize the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn. Moreover, the PA is locked in a deadly competition with Hamas, which is more open about its true intentions. Hamas regards all of Israel as “occupied territory” that must be liberated. As studies have illustrated, that is more in line with the opinions of the overwhelming majority of Palestinians. Most Palestinians share Hamas’s belief that the Jews have no right to a single inch of the country and believe all acts of terror against Jews — even the most heinous crimes against helpless innocents — are praiseworthy. For over 100 years, Palestinian nationalism has been inextricably linked to conflict with the Jews and, until a critical mass of them adopts some other approach to identity, peace isn’t possible.
What this adds up to is a situation that puts Abbas and any potential successor (he is currently serving the 11th year of the four-year-term to which he was elected in 2005) in the same boat that his predecessor Arafat claimed to be in Camp David in 2000. Neither Arafat nor Abbas believed they could ever sell a peace deal to their people — let alone their Hamas foes — if it meant ending the century-long war against Zionism.
So while the Palestinians say they will “never” go back to negotiations because they believe they can’t get a good deal, their real reason is just the opposite. If, as happened in 2000, 2001 and 2008, they engage in talks, their greatest fear is getting a very good deal that will give them statehood and independence. Their goal is to avoid negotiating because getting to yes with Israel would actually mean peace. And that is something they cannot do until a sea change in their political culture happens. Though when most people say the word never, they mean something very different, in this case, the Palestinian never may very well mean never.

Defiant Israeli Owner of Ohio Restaurant Attacked by Machete-Wielding Assailant Says He Will Now Wear Star of David

The owner of the Columbus, Ohio restaurant in which four people were wounded in a machete attack last week said he will not let the incident deter his support for Israel, The Washington Post reported.
Hany Baransi, a Christian Arab from Haifa, displays an Israeli flag in the window of his restaurant, Nazareth Mediterranean Cuisine, which has been open for 27 years. When asked if he would consider removing the flag as a precaution, Baransi rejected the idea.
“Actually I have another flag, and I am going to get a bigger flag, and I am going to get a Star of David necklace and put it on my chest, and I am going to get a tattoo,” he said. “Honest to God, I am not kidding. They don’t scare me. We are Israelis. We are Israelis. We are resilient, we fight back.”
Though authorities initially said they believed that the attacker, Somali immigrant Mohamed Barry, terrorized the restaurant randomly, new information has surfaced making it seem likely that it was targeted because of Baransi’s being Israeli, according to The Washington Post.
Baransi said that half an hour before the attack, the assailant asked a waiter where the owner was from, and she told him he was from Israel. The attacker, 30, then left the eatery after learning that Baransi was not on the premises. He returned 30 minutes later wielding a machete and slashing diners.

Arab Terrorists Attack Children’s Schoolbus and Drivers Near Jerusalem

Arab terrorists hurled rocks at a children’s schoolbus in Samaria, and stones and firebombs (Molotov cocktails) at Israeli drivers in Judea on Wednesday afternoon.
The first attack was recorded near the northern entrance to Efrat, where terrorists hurled rocks at drivers traveling near the Jewish community.
Efrat is located in the Gush Etzion bloc in Judea, about eight minutes south of Jerusalem. No physical injuries were reported, and none of the vehicles were damaged.
Terrorists also threw stones at drivers in at least three separate attacks on Highway 60 between the El Khader junction and the tunnels checkpoint at the entrance to Jerusalem. No physical injuries and no damage reported in any of the attacks.

Israeli Family Narrowly Escapes Injury as Palestinians Throw Molotov Cocktails at Their Car

Two Palestinians were caught on camera hurling Molotov cocktails at an Israel vehicle on Monday, the Hebrew news site 0404 reported.
The incident occurred in the West Bank, near the Palestinian village of Deir Abu Mishal, when the car of a family from the communal Israeli settlement of Neve Tzuf passed by and was pelted with the firebombs, one of which flew over the car’s roof and the other hit its windshield.
According to 0404, which published a video of the attack, the car swerved when hit, but the driver managed to take control of the wheel and return to the road. “Unfortunately, we have also become a statistic,” the passengers told 0404. “It was a miracle that it ended only with a smashed windshield.”

Fatah Strongman Dahlan Launches Attack on Rival Abbas

Fatah strongman Mohammed Dahlan (pictured) has condemned the Palestinian Authority for continuing its security cooperation with Israel after a top member of the movement was arrested by the Israeli army.
Dahlan publicly rebuked Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, charging that Jamal Abu El Lail, the commander of Fatah’s powerful Tanzim Force and a close associate of Dahlan, was arrested in a Ramallah suburb at Abbas’s behest.
“The arrest was Abu Mazen [Abbas]’s request,” said Dahlan. “His security officials filed a request with the Israeli authorities and the occupation forces followed suit.”
The Israeli media reported that Abu Lail masterminded terror attacks on Israelis in Jerusalem before his arrest.
“Before his arrest, he orchestrated shooting attacks, as well as transferring terrorist finances for funding military activity,” Israel’s Shin Bet Security Agency announced.

US ambassador to the UN hears tales of rocket fire from Israeli mothers

Loud noises make her three young children jump from fear even though the Gaza war ended a year and a half ago, Zohar Lahav Sheffer told visiting US Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power on Tuesday.
“They are scared of every sound they hear. It reminds them of scary things from the war,” she said.
Sheffer was one of 10 mothers who met with Power at a communal center in Kibbutz Nahal Oz on the Gaza border.
The kibbutz of some 380 people suffered 265 rocket and mortar hits during the war, one of which killed Daniel Tregerman, age four.
The UN ambassador’s discussion with the mothers marked the end of her four day visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, where she hoped to better understand the dangers facing both peoples.

MEMRI: Saudi Daily Criticizes U.S. 'Soft-Power' Policy: Sometimes Use Military Force Is Necessary; Arab States Feel U.S. Has Turned Its Back On Them

In view of the escalated Russian military activity in Syria, and declarations by senior Saudi officials on the option of an imminent Saudi ground intervention in Syria, the editorialist for the official Saudi daily Al-Riyadh, Ayman Al-Hammad, published a caustic article attacking the Obama administration's Middle East policy. Al-Hammad claims that the Obama administration is adopting a soft-power policy in the Middle East, and particularly vis-a-vis the Syrian crisis, while forgoing the military dimension – thereby awarding Russia and her allies senior status in the region. Condemning America's "surrender of Syria", its neglect of the Palestine issue, and its rapprochement with Iran, the author claims that the U.S. has lost the trust of the Arab states, which feel that it has turned its back on them. Al-Hammad advises the Obama administration so stop eschewing military force, because this means is occasionally required "to put things back on track".
Below is a translation of the article:
"[American political scientist] Dr. Joseph Nye coined the term 'soft power,' which denotes a state's use of non-military means and tools to create for itself a capability to influence, act and persuade. Such means, focusing on emphasizing the state's cultural legacy, help to improve its image in the world...
"This term was quite prevalent in the literature on public diplomacy and international politics during the previous decade, particularly after September 11 and following the military campaigns and the tough security measures adopted after [this event], which appreciably affected the U.S.' image as a pluralist and free country. Following these [events, the U.S.] had no choice but to stress and emphasize some [other] part of [its] exemplary legacy in order to improve its image and to shine the spotlight once again on the positive side of the American presence.

Wall Street Journal Columnist Says Israel ‘Diversifying Partnerships,’ Joining Sunni States in ‘Disenchanted With America’ Alliance

Stephens, the Journal’s deputy editorial page editor and a former Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief, was describing his recent trip to Israel, where he “spent the better part of a week talking to senior officials, journalists, intellectuals and politicians from across Israel’s political spectrum.”
And though, he said (in his Feb. 15 piece titled “Israel Looks Beyond America”) his conversations about the downward spiral in relations with America were off the record, “[T]he consistent theme is that, while the Jewish state still needs the U.S., especially in the form of military aid, it also needs to diversify its strategic partnerships.”
Stephens pointed to a new wave of high-level Israeli meetings with Arab and other world leaders as an illustration of what he was told and sensed while in the Holy Land:
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon publicly shook hands with former Saudi intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal at the Munich Security Conference. In January, Israeli cabinet member Yuval Steinitz made a trip to Abu Dhabi, where Israel is opening an office at a renewable-energy association. Turkey is patching up ties with Israel. In June, Jerusalem and Riyadh went public with the strategic talks between them. In March, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi told the Washington Post that he speaks to Mr. Netanyahu “a lot.”
What struck Stephens about this shift was different from the more common response in Israel and abroad about the unlikely bedfellows that Israel and former enemy states made. Rather, he wrote, “This de facto Sunni-Jewish alliance amounts to what might be called the coalition of the disenchanted; states that have lost faith in America’s promises.”

Hezbollah's Nasrallah outraged by Sunni states' warming Israel ties

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke out on Tuesday against Israel's warming ties to Sunni Arab states in the region, and boasted that Hezbollah and Lebanon have nothing to fear from a future conflict with Israel.
Speaking in a televised address, Nasrallah said "The Israelis believe that they are before two opportunities. The first is establishing relations and alliances with the Sunni Arab states through taking advantage of the confrontation with Iran, and the other is changing the regime in Syria."
Iranian-backed group Hezbollah is fighting in Syria alongside the Allawite regime's army and Shi'ite Iran's revolutionary guard forces against Gulf-backed Sunni rebels. Despite the bloody and complex nature of the conflict, which has seen around 400,000 deaths since 2011, Nasrallah was outraged at the idea that the Jewish state could be considered a friend to Arab countries over Iran.
Challenging the growing consensus that Israel and Sunni Arab states are increasingly aligned in the region, Hezbollah's chief asked rhetorically, "Do you accept a friend occupying Sunni land in Palestine? Can you become friends with an entity that has committed the most horrible massacres against the Sunni community?"
"You are free to consider Iran an enemy but how can you consider Israel a friend and an ally? This issue must be confronted in a serious manner," he said.

Lebanese minister attacks Nasrallah's criticism of 'Sunni collaboration with Israel'

Lebanese Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi has attacked Hezbollah's Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah for the speech he delivered Tuesday evening, in which he accused Turkey and Saudi Arabia of allying with Israel over the Syrian conflict.
On Wednesday, Rifi tweeted remarks suggesting that Nasrallah's criticism of Saudi Arabia was hypocritical. He brought up the Hezbollah chief's alleged ties to US intelligence during the 1980s Iran Contra scandal and his movement's opposition to fellow Lebanese Shi'te resistance group, Amal.
"The soldier of Iran-gate, the one who fights the Amal movement with Israeli aid and who fights in Syria thanks to an Israeli-Russian understanding, should stay silent and be ashamed," the minister tweeted.
In addition, Rifi attacked Nasrallah's attempts to paint himself as Palestine's savior, saying that "those who paid with their blood in the fighting with Israel since 1948 are those who fight for the Palestinian issue and they do not need the aid of martyrs from the Iranian-Israeli alliance that has ruined the area."

PreOccupiedTerritory: Man Killing Thousands Of Sunnis Deeply Concerned For Sunni Welfare (satire)

The head of a Shiite militant organization whose troops are involved in the killing, starvation, imprisonment, and torture or hundreds of thousands of Sunni coreligionists expressed profound care for Sunni Arabs yesterday, warning them not to ally with Israel, which kills Sunni Palestinians.
Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of the Lebanese movement Hezbollah, delivered a speech Tuesday in which he admonished countries such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain not to join the Jewish State in opposing Iran and its proxies, of which Hezbollah is one, because Israel kill Palestinians, who are predominantly Sunni Muslim. The remarks came against the backdrop of intense Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian Civil War on the side of the Alawite and Shiite pro-regime forces in a conflict that has claimed more than 470,000 lives in less than five years.
Shiite Iran has intervened extensively in the Syrian conflict, both to buttress its ally President Basher Assad and to preserve and deepen its influence in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is the most potent political and military force. Hezbollah has committed thousands of troops to defend Assad and preserve Iran’s supply lines to the organization, even at the risk of weakening its ability to fight Israel, which until recently was the group’s raison d’être. In the process Hezbollah has had a hand in sieges, assaults, massacres, mistreatment of captives, and myriad other acts of aggression against a mostly-Sunni population, which in the Muslim world often represents an abiding concern for the welfare of Sunnis.

Nasrallah threatens to bomb chemical facility, kill thousands of Israelis

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday insisted that although his group isn’t currently seeking war with Israel, it could defeat the Jewish state in a future conflict by targeting Haifa’s ammonia storage tanks, resulting in massive fatalities.
Dismissing recent reports of a possible outbreak of hostilities with Israel, Nasrallah said deterrence established by the terror organization in the first and second Lebanon wars was keeping Israeli aggression at bay.
“Israel’s psychological warfare is of no use against us,” he said in a speech that was broadcast by the Lebanese Naharnet news site.
As an example, Nasrallah said Israel “feared” the group’s cache of rockets capable of striking the ammonia facilities in Haifa, an attack that he said would result in casualties equivalent to those that would be caused by a nuclear attack.
He quoted an unnamed Israeli official to the effect that a strike on the northern city’s ammonia storage tanks would cause tens of thousands of fatalities.

Nasrallah Threatens Haifa Ammonia Storage Facility: The Impact Will Be Like That of a Nuclear Bomb

IDF chief downplays Hezbollah threat against Haifa

Commenting on Hezbollah's threats, Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav said: "The Haifa Municipality is waging a daily war against the crimes carried out by the state against the residents of Haifa Bay in recent decades. We will continue to use every means at our disposal to ensure the health and safety of the area's residents and the removal of the ammonia facility.
"While I don't believe we should run the country according to Nasrallah's speeches, I welcome anyone turning the spotlight on this important and disconcerting issue -- even if he happens to be a coward hiding in a bunker in Lebanon."
Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabai said: "The ammonia facility is an environmental and security risk. We are pursuing its removal from Haifa by constructing an ammonia production plant in southern Israel, and we are currency considering bids."
In October 2013, the government decided to relocate the ammonia facility to the Negev Desert in southern Israel. A government tender for this was issued in mid-2015, and is expected to conclude in late March.

Hezbollah, Armed With Russian, Iranian Technology, Capable of Downing Israeli Jets

Hezbollah is using advanced radar technology to “lock on” to Israeli aircraft flying reconnaissance missions over Lebanon, according to Israel’s Walla news service and reported by i24 News.
The new technology enables Hezbollah to identify Israeli jets and fire missiles at them, Israeli security sources said.
“The connection between Hizballah, Russia and Syria have greatly changed the rules of the game in the region…Hizballah is indicating to Israel that it is ready for the next stage,” said an Israeli security official, quoted in Walla.
Israeli fighter jets are capable of detecting radar that threatens them, allowing pilots to alter their course. Nevertheless, the reports signal a troubling development that could hinder Israel’s freedom of movement in airspace across the northern border and its ability to effectively monitor Hezbollah.

IDF Officer Denies Reported Intelligence Breach of Air Force Communications by US, UK

A senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) officer has denied a recent report that US and British intelligence services have monitored secret communications by the Israeli Air Force in a hacking operation dating back to 1998.
In a briefing to the press on Tuesday, the senior officer denied the report’s findings, saying that “none of the IDF’s encoded transmissions were intercepted, and our code remains unbreached.”
Discussing the IDF’s security systems, the officer noted that none of the tests conducted by the army revealed the presence of a superpower in its classified networks, although that did not mean such a presence could be ruled out entirely. Meanwhile, the IDF’s Computer Service Directorate believes it is unlikely that “delayed offensive measures” — or pre-deployed threats waiting to be activated — are hiding in the IDF’s systems.
“In 2015, the number of cyberattacks across the globe decreased, possibly due to the nuclear deal with Iran that was coming together,” the officer said.
But towards the end of 2015 and now in 2016, “cyberattacks have become a legitimate tool,” said the officer. Two significant attacks have been documented. In November, the Internet in Turkey was disabled for 20 hours after Ankara shot down a Russian plane, and one-third of Ukraine’s power stations were shut down for a week. The IDF officer declined to deliberate on the identity of the attacker behind those incidents.

450% increase in EU-funded illegal Arab construction

Illegal construction by Arabs in Judea and Samaria is accelerating, thanks in part to European financial support.
Unauthorized building has long been a problem in Arab communities on both sides of the Green Line. Historically, however, most illegal Arab construction was uncoordinated and internally funded.
This new wave of illegal land grabs, however, enjoys backing from European countries looking to create irrevocable facts on the ground, making the massive thefts of territory an irreversible fait accompli by building entire villages, often with well-developed infrastructures, on state land in areas under Israeli control.
Illegal Arab construction has grown dramatically not only qualitatively but also quantitatively. In response to questions posed by MK Betzalel Smotrich (Jewish Home), Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) revealed that approximately 1,000 illegal structures have been built by Arabs in Judea and Samaria using European funds.
If correct, this would indicate a massive increase in the rate of European-backed illegal construction. From 2012 to 2014, Europe aided in the construction of about 400 structures without permits, averaging just over 130 per year. The 600 other illegal structures built during 2015 represents a 450% increase in the pace of construction.

Watch: Opposition head grills Canadian PM on Hamas funding

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was put on the spot Tuesday by Interim Opposition head Rona Ambrose over reports that he plans to give UNRWA $15 million, despite its well-documented ties to the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza.
But as video from her question in Canada's parliament shows, Trudeau gave a truly baffling response to her concerns that vast funds of Canadian tax-payer money will be transferred indirectly to the hands of terrorists. Click the image below to watch the exchange, posted Wednesday on UN Watch's official Facebook page.
Ambrose, an MP of the Conservative Party, noted how UNRWA was documented storing Hamas rockets and weapons "designed to kill Israeli citizens" - as even the UNRWA chief admitted last June - and likewise has actively taken part in inciting anti-Semitic violence.
In his complete dodge of the serious question, Trudeau noted that he welcomed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to Ottawa last week, and vowed that Canada is "open to reengaging with the world" in a positive manner, while voicing his support of the "good work" of the UN.
He also promised to look at "things" the past government canceled for "political reasons," apparently referring to how the previous pro-Israeli government cut funds for the Hamas-linked UNRWA in 2010.

Why is Canada funding UNRWA when it supports terrorism & antisemitism?

Cruz, Rubio clash over Iron Dome and Israel

Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz outlined his plan to rebuild the US military on Tuesday, and called for greater cooperation with Israel on missile defense programs for intercepting short, medium and long range missiles.
Speaking aboard the USS Yorktown in South Carolina, Cruz promised that he will "invest in our military with a simple goal: more tooth, less tail.”
“America needs a strong military to protect our great nation and the freedoms we hold dear,” said Cruz. “Rebuilding the American military will be one of the most serious tasks facing the next Commander in Chief."
According to the Jewish Insider, he also called for greater collaboration with the Jordanian, Egyptian and Israeli militaries, and for partnering with all three of them on the war against terror.
Meanwhile, rival Marco Rubio's campaign distributed a memo that accused Cruz of lying on national security matters. The Rubio campaign pointed out that in 2013, Cruz signed on to Senator Rand Paul’s budget resolution proposal that slashed defense funding and international aid, “including aid to Israel.”

Bill calls for closing PLO delegation in Washington, DC

The US Congress is looking into closing the official Palestinian representation in Washington, should the Palestinians follow through with their threats to sue Israel in the International Criminal Court at the Hague.
The Washington Free Beacon reports that separate bills have been submitted to this effect in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both were proposed by Republican legislators, including presidential candidate Ted Cruz.
The bill before the House notes that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) was granted a special dispensation from the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 so that it could directly negotiate with Israel, and that the 1995 Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement forbids any changes to the status of the West Bank or Gaza outside of negotiations. It then lists a number developments to show that the Palestinians are forcing a particular outcome by appealing to foreign countries and international organizations, while continuing to support terror against Israeli civilians.
In light of these facts, the drafters call for enforcing the clause in the Anti-Terrorism Act forbidding the creation or upkeep of "an office, headquarters, premises, or other facilities or establishments within the jurisdiction of the United States at the behest or direction of, or with funds provided by the Palestine Liberation Organization or any of its constituent groups, any successor to any of those, or any agents thereof."

Hillary Emails: Clinton Negotiated With Israel…To Release Detained ‘Gefilte Fish’

The latest batch of 550 Hillary Clinton emails released on Saturday by the State Department solves a mystery that has perplexed watchers of both the Jewish state and the former secretary of state’s dispatches.
Emails released last September included one cryptic correspondence that the Washington Post dubbed “the funniest e-mail Hillary Clinton has ever sent.”
The subject line stated only: “Gefilte fish.” The text read simply: “Where are we on this?”
That message was sent from Clinton to top aide Jake Sullivan, and Former Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Richard Verma.
Gefilte fish, as Wikipedia helpfully relates, is “an Ashkenazi Jewish dish made from a poached mixture of ground deboned fish, such as carp, whitefish, or pike, which is typically eaten as an appetizer.”
An email dated March 5, 2010 and released on Saturday details Clinton’s inquiry and the fishy subject matter at hand.

How Syria and natural gas are pushing Israel and Turkey back together

After years of false starts, Israeli negotiators went to Geneva last week for talks aimed at ending a long-running conflict with a regional adversary.
It’s not the Palestinians. It’s Turkey.
Once a key partner of Israel, Turkey in recent years has been a thorn in its side. It supports Israel’s foes, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often uses international forums as opportunities to slam the Jewish state – particularly its treatment of Palestinians.
But in December, Israel and Turkey began negotiating a full restoration of ties after nearly six years of downgraded relations. Here’s what happened between the former allies, why things are improving now – and why some Israeli analysts are still skeptical the Turkey-Israel impasse will be resolved.

Turkish Official: Ankara, Jerusalem Close to Signing Deal to Normalize Relations

A senior Turkish official said that Ankara and Jerusalem were close to signing a deal that would normalize ties between the two countries, Lebanese online newspaper Naharnet reported on Tuesday.
The official, who asked not to be named, called on both sides to demonstrate political will to conclude the agreement. He also indicated that Turkey would require Israel to lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip as a precondition for restoring ties.
Historically strong Israeli-Turkish relations soured in 2010 when the ship, the Mavi Marmara — part of the “Free Gaza” flotilla — attempted to break the Israeli blockade. The ship was boarded by IDF commandos, who were attacked by the activists on board. In the ensuing melee, nine Turkish citizens were killed, and 10 Israeli soldiers were wounded.

What the Rule of Law Looks Like

The contrast between Israeli law and what goes in the Palestinian territories is instructive. The Palestinian Authority is a notorious kleptocracy as Fatah officials run the West Bank in a manner more befitting mafia chieftains than political leaders. PA President Mahmoud Abbas is, after all, currently serving the 11th year of the four-year term to which he was elected in 2005.
But we don’t have to compare Israel to the Palestinians or the corruption of other neighboring Arab countries where the rule of law is a myth. Americans need to remember how we give some of our leaders a pass when it comes to breaking the law. President Bill Clinton’s perjury under oath was excused as just being about sex. His wife Hillary’s blatant violations of U.S. security regulations for handling classified and top secret material would land any lesser being than the former secretary of state and likely Democratic Party presidential nominee in jail. Indeed, many in the security apparatus, even famous people, have been disgraced for less. Just ask former general and CIA director David Petraeus if you don’t believe me.
Yet there aren’t many who think the hold of the rule of law in this country is strong enough for the administration to give Mrs. Clinton the same treatment lesser beings receive. I don’t think Hillary Clinton must go to jail in order for Americans to be able to claim that their judicial system is as impartial as that of Israel. But if she gets a pass for law breaking, it will be a blot on the honor of the Justice Department.
American justice is generally the envy of the world, and we know that of Israel is imperfect. But the sight of Olmert heading to jail where he’ll share a cellblock with Katzav is a reminder of the Jewish state’s high standards and ability to treat the mighty as being just as accountable as the marginal. When the dust settles on the Clinton email scandal, let’s hope Americans can say as much of their justice system.

Jewish leader: Meeting with Egyptian President was 'eye opening'

Stephen M. Greenberg, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, spoke to Arutz Sheva on Monday about the Jewish leaders’ recent visits to Turkey and Egypt.
Greenberg described the meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom Israel is trying to re-establish diplomatic ties, as a “bridge building meeting” and a “very good meeting”.
“[Erdogan] certainly indicated that there was a thaw in the relationship between Turkey and Israel, and he said the thaw would get a little warmer as time went on,” he added.
The meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi was “eye opening”, Greenberg said.
“The meeting with President Sisi, to me, was something I had never envisioned,” he added. “[Sisi] was overtly clear about the strong ties between Israel and Egypt.”

In a first, new Egyptian schoolbook teaches peace deal with Israel

The peace treaty signed between Israel and Egypt in 1979 will for the first time be taught in Egyptian schools, Army Radio reported Tuesday.
The station said a reporter had read the new schoolbook on Egypt’s modern history, which includes a chapter dealing with the Camp David agreement.
The peace deal is described in a matter-of-fact way, without bias or any attempt to present Israel in a negative light, the report said.
The authors of the Egyptian schoolbook, intended for the ninth grade, detail eight clauses from the agreement, which are reproduced in the book verbatim. These include phrases on Israel and Egypt“ending the state of war” and on “each side respecting the sovereignty and independence of the other side.”

Russia's Trap: Luring Sunnis into War

After Russia's increasingly bold military engagement in war-torn Syria in favor of President Bashar al-Assad and the Shiite bloc, the regional Sunni powers -- Turkey and its ally, Saudi Arabia -- have felt nervous and incapable of influencing the civil war in favor of the many Islamist groups fighting Assad's forces.
Most recently, the Turks and Saudis, after weeks of negotiations, decided to flex their muscles and join forces to engage a higher-intensity war in the Syrian theater. This is dangerous for the West. It risks provoking further Russian and Iranian involvement in Syria, and sparking a NATO-Russia confrontation.
After Turkey, citing violation of its airspace, shot down a Russian Su-24 military jet on Nov. 24, Russia has used the incident as a pretext to reinforce its military deployments in Syria and bomb the "moderate Islamists." Those are the Islamists who fight Assad's forces and are supported by Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. The Russian move included installing the advanced S-400 long-range air and anti-missile defense systems.
Fearing that the new player in the game could vitally damage their plans to install a Sunni regime in Damascus, Turkey and Saudi Arabia now say they are ready to challenge the bloc consisting of Assad's forces, Russia, and Shiite militants from Iran and Lebanon.

White House Misses Required Deadline To Present ISIS Plan

The Obama Administration’s deadline to present a plan to defeat Islamic State to Congress by Feb. 15 has come and gone, with no strategy presented.
The report, which is required by law, is officially passed due, according to a press release by House Committee on Armed Services Chairman Mac Thornberry . When contacted by The Daily Caller News Foundation about the delivery of the report, committee communications director Claude Chafin actually said he triple checked, and the report had not been delivered.
“Unsurprisingly the Administration cannot articulate a strategy for countering violent extremists in the Middle East,” said Thornberry’s press release. “Time and again, the President has told us his strategy to defeat extremist groups like ISIS and al-Qaida is well underway; yet, months after the legal requirement was established, his Administration cannot deliver that strategy to Congress.”
“I fear the President’s failure to deliver this report says far more about the state of his strategy to defeat terrorists than any empty reassurance he may offer from the podium,” noted the release.

Kindergarten Kids Reenact ISIS Massacre during a Children's Show on Hizbullah-Iraq TV

SAS used Israeli-made rifle to decapitate ISIS beheader

Last week a British soldier from the elite Special Air Service unit used an Israeli made rifle to decapitate an ISIS instructor who was showing new recruits how to behead prisoners.
“One minute he was standing there and the next his head had exploded.” reported an eyewitness to the Mirror.
The irony of the situation was not lost on the sniper who had to “aim to miss” the intended target in order to hit him, due to the special nature of the bullet fired.
The British sniper decapitated the ISIS executioner with a single bullet from a long range rifle, reportedly from a distance of 1,200 meters. The slug used in the execution is often referred to as a “wounding” bullet due to the “tumbling motion” it makes when fired. The resulting effect causes the bullet to cartwheel around inside a body once it hits its victim rather than flying straight through flesh. The effects are devastating. While the bullet is made internationally, the rifle that was used for the incredible shot was created and developed by Israel.
The Daily Express quoted an unnamed source who identified the sniper’s weapon as a Dan .338 equipped with a suppressor “which reduces the sound and eliminates any flash from the barrel”.
The Dan is an Israeli manufactured sniper rifle that weighs 5.9 kilograms and was created by renowned weapons designer Nehemia Sirkis and Israel Weapons Industries (IWI) in 2014. Israeli news site Mako reported that the gun is sold to police units and militaries around the world and is accurate up to 1,200 meters, a distance that was well used by the SAS sniper.

ISIS Pulls Propaganda Video After Executioner is Discovered to be Porn Star (satire)

In what appears to be a recurring problem, as republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz recently realized, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has pulled its latest execution video from social media after one of the executioners in the video was discovered to have previously worked as a soft-core porn actor.
The video featured a group of Shia Muslims sitting in a group-therapy circle speaking about their infidel beliefs when a bearded ISIS member enters the room and beheads them. The bearded man, however, was found to have been played by actor Muhammad Hardwood, best known for his roles in soft-core porn movies including “Bangin’ in Baghdad” and “Sharia Shagging.”
“We put out an open casting call for actors, specifically asking for a muscular, bearded man who knew how to handle his sword,” an ISIS spokesman told The Mideast Beast. “An intern, who has since been burnt to death, was in charge of vetting the actors but clearly failed to do so.”
Following the removal of the video, Mr. Hardwood said he was disappointed but held no hard feelings towards ISIS over its decision.
“I certainly understand how association with questionable sexual practices could hurt ISIS’s stellar reputation,” Mr. Hardwood wrote in a tweet.

French feminists liken Saudi Starbucks ban on women to Nazi Germany

A French feminist organization has called for a boycott of Starbucks over a sign typed in both Arabic and English on the door of a branch of the cafe in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia that informed customers that women were banned from the store and would not be served, according to reports by the Independent.
"Please no entry for ladies only send your [male] driver to order," read the green sign taped to the door of the international coffee chain store in Riyadh.
A group called Osez Le Feminisme, a French NGO, posted last week on their Facebook page which has nearly 80,000 followers, calling for a "Girlcott" of all Starbucks branches.
The post, written in French, read, "Since women do not have access to the cafés in Saudi Arabia, I have decided to stop going there myself. The sexism spoiled the coffee."

Iranian scientist: Genetically modified foods a 'Zionist plot'

Iran and other Muslim countries are known for their “creative” accusations against the United States and Israel, but the latest one is particularly amusing.
An Iranian researcher quoted by PressTV is claiming that imports to Iran of genetically modified products are nothing a “Zionist plot” to infect Iranians with diseases.
Ali Karami, specialist in medical biotechnology and genetic engineering, said he believes an “import mafia” is behind the distribution of such products in the country.
He also claimed to have received death threats after his first interview on the issue with the Tasnim news agency was published a month ago.
“The mafia importing certain genetically modified products even kills for its interests. Be careful,” said Karami, according to PressTV, before adding, “The fact is the lives of people are not important to American and Israeli companies because two sweet businesses are involved.”
“First, the contaminated food causes illness and then the patient needs drugs and medication. This is capitalism where money is the criteria and pharmaceuticals and medicine is a multi-trillion-dollar industry,” he went on to claim.
Karami said the proliferation of genetically modified products is part of a “dangerous plot to control Iran, the Middle East and the Islamic world in general.”

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