[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] 06/29 Links Pt1: Israel might leave UNHRC; The Last of the Flotillas #FlotillaOfFools

From Ian:

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PMW: PA-Fatah summer camp for kids: AK-47 automatic weapons and youth in military uniforms dancing with rifles

More than 150 children "of Martyrs and prisoners" participated in the camp "Jerusalem in the Eyes of the Lion Cubs and Flowers of Palestine" run by the PA's National Security Forces in coordination with Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah's youth movement "the Lion Cubs and Flowers of Palestine."
The camp's closing ceremony, in which the campers paraded and danced in military garb with rifles, was attended by PA and Fatah officials, among them Nablus District Governor Akram Rajoub, Secretary of Fatah's Nablus branch Jihad Ramadan, and representatives of the PA National Security Forces. [Fatah-run Awdah TV, June 12, 2015]
Using summer camps like this reinforces the PA and Fatah's message to adhere to violence as a means to "liberate Palestine," which Palestinian Media Watch has exposed numerous times.
An article in Al-Asima, a bi-weekly distributed with the official PA daily, likewise promoted this message. In the issue following Israel's Independence Day - what the Palestinians call the Nakba - "the catastrophe," each page of the supplement which dealt with the Nakba showed this image with the text:
"The anniversary of the Nakba - What was taken by force, can only be restored by force."
[Al-Asima, bi-weekly distributed with official PA daily, May 27, 2015]
An article in the supplement used the following terms to refer to Israel:
"the so-called 'Israel'"
"the occupation state"
"the Zionist entity"

Israel said to reconsider UN Human Rights Council membership

In a closed meeting on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly announced he would reevaluate Israel’s membership in the United Nation’s Human Rights Council in light of the international body’s recent report on last summer’s Gaza conflict.
The announcement came as the commission of inquiry’s report on the 2014 Gaza conflict, released last week, was presented to the council in Geneva. The report concluded that Israel and Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip may have committed war crimes in the course of the 50 days of fighting. The UNHRC was set to vote on the findings later this week.
“As a result of the report, we will consider whether to remain or to leave the council,” the prime minister said, according to Army Radio.
In 2012, then-foreign minister Avigdor Liberman cut ties with the UNHRC over its probe into Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Israel returned to the council in 2013.
During the closed meeting on Monday, Liberman castigated Netanyahu for reversing the decision. “As foreign minister, I ended Israel’s involvement in the Human Rights Council. Why did you change that decision?” Liberman asked.

Col Kemp at UNHRC




Col. Richard Kemp: We are in a war with Islamic State

To dismiss these and earlier strikes such as the killings in Texas last month, in Paris earlier this year and in Sydney in 2014 as “lone wolf” attacks is self-deluding and dangerous.
The reality is that we have been at war with Islamist extremism since September 11, 2001, when Al-Qaeda attacked New York’s Twin Towers.
Al-Qaeda, with a range of other jihadists, including IS to which they gave birth, have been fighting that war against us ever since.
Friday’s attack in Lyon is a reminder of what lies ahead for the West.
These horrors have already visited our shores in the butchering of Drummer Lee Rigby in 2013 and the mass murder on London’s transport system in 2005.
Were it not for the skill of our intelligence services and police many more attacks would have been carried out here.
Since 2001, 27 major plots have been disrupted.
Many attacks have also failed due to the incompetence of the jihadists.
That is about to change. Large numbers of IS fighters have already returned to the UK from Iraq and Syria and more will follow.
This represents a step change in the threat we face. A terrorist becomes much more dangerous, willing and able to kill if he has already been involved in violence.
Many of those returning from Syria and Iraq are blooded.

Israel supporters to rally in Geneva against UNHRC Gaza report

Pro-Israel activists and human rights groups plan to rally in Geneva on Monday against the presentation of a UN Human Rights Council report that day, which charges that both Israel and armed Palestinian groups may have committed war crimes in Gaza last summer.
The report was published earlier this week, but this coming Monday its coauthors, former New York Supreme Court judge Mary McGowan Davis and legal expert Doudou Diène of Senegal, plan to present the document to the UNHRC that is holding its 29th session in Geneva this month.
Opponents of the report, including the State of Israel, are upset that it appears to equate the IDF with the Hamas terrorist group. They see it as one more biased report by the UNHRC against Israel.
“We want to make it clear to the United Nations that applying double standards toward Israel, falsely portraying Israel as a serial violator of human rights or even putting the democratic State of Israel into the same category as Hamas and other terrorist organizations is not only unfair, but also does great harm to the reputation of the UN and to the protection of human rights,” World Jewish Congress CEO Robert Singer said.
Separately, nongovernmental groups such as NGO Monitor and UN Watch plan to hold a number of panel events with military and legal experts to explain that Israel held to the standards set by international law when it battled Hamas during Operation Protective Edge.

Experts Provide Alternative to UN's 'Morally Bankrupt' Report

Even as the UN report accusing Israel of "war crimes" in Gaza last summer is submitted to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Monday, a group of military, legal and Middle East experts are to hold an alternative event in Geneva to reveal the report's failings.
The alternative event is to start at 5 p.m. local time with a panel event discussing the facts missing from the UN report, which will be followed by a second panel focusing on the military and legal aspects of last summer's counter-terror Operation Protective Edge.
The event is hosted by the Amuta for NGO Responsibility, the UN ECOSOC-accredited parent organization of NGO Monitor, together with UN Watch, and will be live-streamed.
British Army Colonel (ret.) Richard Kemp, former head of the international terrorism and Iraq team for the Joint Intelligence Committee, will take part in both panels.
Kemp has called the UN report "morally bankrupt, making no distinction between the Israel Defense Forces, the legitimate armed forces of a Western liberal democracy and Hamas, an internationally-proscribed terrorist group that operates a tyrannical dictatorship over the citizens of Gaza."
"The report has no military insight and it is quite clear that the UN commissioners and the drafters of the report have no knowledge or experience of armed conflict."

Pre-Occupied UN Human Rights Council Debates One Issue – Israel

Iran and Syria headlined the wolf pack verbal assault on Israel at today’s 29th session of the U.N. Human Rights Council’s pre-occupation with the “occupation.”
This is the first time I ever have watched this much-talked about about circus, but none of the previous reports of the Council’s Israel bashing could have prepared anyone for what must be described as a humanitarian disaster.
Country after country attacked Israel for apartheid, occupation, violation of human rights and freedom, searches on the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, crimes and the violations of human rights. Morocco claimed that Israel is harming the “Islamic identity” of Jerusalem.
Qatar’s representative stated that Israel is not serious about peace, and charged that Israeli forces “have taken control of the third flotilla that was going to Gaza.”
Syria alleged that Israel is supporting terrorists in the Golan Heights, with the backing of the United States.

IDF intercepts Gaza bound flotilla without incident, redirects vessel towards Ashdod

An IDF spokesman said Monday morning that after careful deliberation and exhaustive diplomatic efforts, Israeli naval forces boarded and searched the flotilla Marianne av Göteborg, preventing the vessel from entering the Gaza Strip.
According to the IDF, Israeli security forces boarded the vessel without incident after passengers made it clear after numerous diplomatic communiques that they would not acquiesce to the army's demands to redirect away from the Gaza Strip. The vessel was being escorted to Ashdod and was expected to arrive later on Tuesday.
Shortly after the mission concluded, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement congratulating the Navy and Israeli security forces for a job well done while condemning the flotilla for aiding Hamas and casting a blind-eye while heinous atrocities are taking place everyday throughout the region.
"I want to commend the soldiers and commanders of the Navy who effectively obstructed participants from entering Gaza's shores illegally. This flotilla is nothing but a display of hypocrisy which only helps Hamas while ignoring other atrocities in the region," according to Netanyahu's statement.
"Israel is a democracy that protects itself in accordance with international law," the prime minister went on to say, adding "We are not prepared to allow the smuggling of weapons to terrorist organizations in Gaza like in the past through the sea."

PM Netanyahu's Statement Following Navy Action

"I would like to commend the sailors and commanders of the Israel Navy for their determined and efficient action in detaining the passengers on the ship that tried to reach the Gaza coast in contravention of the law. This flotilla is nothing but a demonstration of hypocrisy and lies that is only assisting the Hamas terrorist organization and ignores all of the horrors in our region. Preventing entry by sea was done in accordance with international law and even received backing from a committee of the UN Secretary General.
Israel is a democracy that defends itself in accordance with international law. We are not prepared to accept the entry of war materiel to the terrorist organizations in Gaza as has been done by sea in the past. Just last year we foiled an attempt to smuggle by sea hundreds of weapons that were destined for use in attacks against Israel's citizens.
There is no siege on Gaza. Israel assists in transferring goods and humanitarian equipment to Gaza – approximately 800 trucks a day that have recently brought into Gaza more than 1.6 million tons of goods. Moreover, Israel assists in hundreds of humanitarian projects, through international organizations, including the building of clinics and hospitals.
Israel is a state that seeks peace and acts in accordance with international law so that its people can live in safety and its children grow up in peace and quiet."
Following is a copy of the letter that was issued last night:
"Welcome to Israel,
You seem to have gotten lost. Perhaps you meant to sail to a place not far from here – Syria, where Assad’s army is slaughtering its people every day, and is supported by the murderous Iranian regime.
Here in Israel we face a reality in which terrorist organizations like Hamas try to kill innocent civilians. We defend our citizens against these attempts in accordance with international law.
Despite this, Israel transports goods and humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip – up to 800 trucks a day. In the past year we enabled the entry of over 1.6 million tons of products, an average of one ton per person in the Gaza Strip. By the way, these supplies are equivalent to 500,000 boats like the one you came in on today.
Israel provides assistance to hundreds of humanitarian projects through international organizations, including the building of clinics and hospitals.
However, we will not allow the terrorist organizations to transfer weapons into the Gaza Strip by sea. Only one year ago, we thwarted an attempt to smuggle hundreds of weapons into the Gaza Strip by ship. These weapons were meant to target innocent Israeli civilians.
There is no siege on the Gaza Strip, and you are welcome to transfer any humanitarian supplies for the Gaza Strip through Israel.
Barring the entrance of boats and ships into the Gaza Strip is in accordance with international law, and was even backed by a committee commissioned by the United Nations Secretary General.
If you were truly concerned about human rights, you would not be sailing in support of a terrorist regime which summarily executes citizens in the Gaza Strip, and uses children as human shields.
If you were to travel around in Israel, you would see for yourself that the only stable democracy in the Middle East guarantees equality for all its citizens and freedom of worship for members of all religions; it is a country that upholds international law so that its people can live in safety and its children grow up in peace and quiet."

David Horovitz: A big Israeli welcome for the former president of Tunisia

Three days after a home-produced gunman massacred dozens of tourists and destroyed his country’s relatively good name, does Moncef Marzouki still think sailing to aid Hamas in Gaza was the smartest use of his time and reputation?
s I write these lines, Moncef Marzouki, the man who until last year was president of Tunisia, is aboard a Swedish-registered boat called the Marianne along with more than a dozen fellow “human rights activists” being brought to port in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, having sought to breach Israel’s security blockade of the Gaza Strip.
While president Marzouki has been at sea on his mission to Gaza, one of his fellow countrymen, Seifeddine Rezgui, cold-bloodedly massacred dozens of innocent people, mainly British and other European holidaymakers, who had mistakenly believed they could safely vacation in his country.
Rezgui, 23, a one-time breakdancing enthusiast and Real Madrid soccer fan with a university degree, was radicalized right there in Tunisia; he had apparently never traveled abroad. A home-grown killer. And he was turned into an Islamic extremist mass-murderer, selecting Westerners in his beach-killing spree, extremely rapidly — possibly as recently as the past six months.
Many thousands more Tunisians have been similarly indoctrinated with the perverted version of Islam that is now producing murderous outrages with terrible predictability across the Middle East and far beyond; even as it has sought to shift toward democratic stability, Tunisia is widely reported to have provided more recruits for Islamic extremist groups, most emphatically including Islamic State, than any other nation on earth. That river of recruitment was flowing full speed in the three years of the Marzouki presidency.
As the Israeli Navy escorts him into port, has the former president of the world’s largest supplier of Islamic extremists paused for thought? Has he engaged in a little introspection? How has the news of Seifeddine Rezgui’s act of barbarism been affecting him?

NGO Monitor: “Freedom Flotilla III”: Connections to French Government Funding

NGOs in the “Freedom Flotilla Coalition” include: European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza, Freedom Flotilla Italia, Gaza’s Ark, IHH, International Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza, Ship to Gaza Greece, Ship to Gaza Norway, Ship to Gaza Sweden, Canadian Boat to Gaza and Rumbo a Gaza. Also participating in the project are Palestine Solidarity Alliance – South Africa, Miles of Smiles and Life Line Gaza – Jordan. See below for details on some of these groups.
In addition, according to its website, the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine (Plateforme des ONG françaises pour la Palestine) is also a supporting organization of the flotilla. The Platform, however, is not referenced on the Flotilla Coalition website.
- The Platform is a network of over 40 highly politicized NGOs that are active in promoting BDS campaigns and other demonizing activities against Israel. Members include AFPS, CCFD-Terre Solidaire, LDH, Amnesty
- International France, and others.
- The Platform received a grant of 225,000 euros from the French Development Agency (AFD) beginning in 2014 over a three-year period.
- The Platform is also active in demanding an end to all relations and agreements between the European Union and Israel. Platform members, including CCDF and AFPS, were also behind the BDS campaign against the Orange mobile phone network in Israel, which was promoted by the Platform.

Israeli Embassy Complains over French Funds to Flotilla NGO

Israel's embassy in France has formally complained to the French government, following an Arutz Sheva report which revealed Paris is funding at least one of the extremist organizations involved in coordinating the anti-Israel "Freedom Flotilla III" to Gaza.
The flotilla is attempting to breach the IDF's blockade of the Hamas-ruled territory, which the 70-odd anti-Israel activists taking part claim is "illegal." In 2011, however, the UN's Palmer Report ruled that the blockade was in fact an entirely legal means for Israel to prevent weapons and rocket-making equipment from being smuggled into Gaza.
Last week Arutz Sheva revealed that among the NGOs involved in the flotilla initiative is the Platform of French NGOs for Palestine, an umbrella organization for more than 40 anti-Israel groups that is very active in the so-called BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement against Israel.
The report revealed that the Platform has received more than half a million Euros in funding from the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement or AFD), essentially France's equivalent of USAID, including a €225,000 grant in March 2014, spread out over three years.

'Chance for Palestinian statehood, like flotilla, has sunk to the depths'

Education Minister Naftali Bennett responded Monday after the IDF intercepted a Gaza-bound flotilla, saying Israel would continue to defend itself and it would prevail.
"From flotilla to flotilla the Palestinians remind us that they are not a partner for peace but rather a partner for terror, whether from the sea, sky or land," Bennett said.
Using sea terminology, Bennett said along with the flotilla, the chance for the Palestinians to achieve statehood has "also sunk to the depths."
Bennett added that the Palestinians have, against their children's will, turned them into accessories of terror instead of investing in their education.

The Last of the Flotillas

The flotilla stunt has sunk.
This morning’s end to the latest maritime Vaudeville act by a motley collection of anarchists, anti-Israel activists including an Arab Knesset Member, leftists and bored people looking for adventure may be the last attempt to break the Israel blockade to prevent terrorists and weapons from reaching Gaza by sea.
International media have not been able to whip up much anti-Israel rhetoric in their news dispatches of the peaceful takeover of the Marianne and the apparent U-turn by three other boats in the flotilla.
The voyage of the Marianne may have been the best thing for Israel since earlier this month when Hamas fired a Kassam rocket at Israeli civilians but saw it fall short of its mark and explode on a house in Gaza.
The only real success of Hamas, and the entire Palestinian Authority, has been to turn self-defeat into a principle.
Pro-Hamas activists have been trying to break the maritime blockade for more than six years, but their main aim has been to fuel the anti-Israeli media with stories about how the Israeli army is stopping good Samaritans from trying to save Gazans caught in a humanitarian crisis caused by the presumably heartless land blockade by Israel.

German Double Standard: Naval Blockade OK for Us, Not Israel

As European and Arab anti-Israel activists confront the Israeli navy over its lawful naval blockade of Hamas's terrorist regime in Gaza, a surprising new poll in Germany released Sunday reveals the anti-Semitic double standards applied to the Jewish state.
According to a YouGov poll commissioned by the Europe Israel Public Affairs/Press association (EIPA), Germans hold a significant bias against Israel's right to defend itself and its citizens from Hamas's attempts to smuggle in weapons, reports the European Jewish Press.
The poll found 52% of Germans would support their own country if it imposed a maritime blockade against a hostile terror regime in a neighboring region - but only 30% support Israel's right to conduct the same exact defensive maneuver in Gaza.
Asked directly about Israel's naval blockade of Gaza, 44% of Germans said they oppose it, and of them 17% strongly oppose it.
A full 30% said goods should be allowed into Gaza without inspection by Israel or any other monitoring body, despite the constant attempts by Hamas to smuggle weapons into the coastal enclave to be used against Israeli civilians. Another 36% think the UN should be the only body allowed to supervise the influx of goods.
Just a paltry 13% supported Israel's right to inspect humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

Hamas unveils ‘new tunnel’ it says reaches into Israel

Hamas has built a new fortified tunnel that reaches into Israeli territory, according to members of the terror group who spoke to an Iranian TV channel Sunday.
The attack tunnel is said to be 3.5 kilometers long and will be used in the “next round” of violence with Israel, masked Hamas operatives told Al-Alam, Iran’s Arabic-language channel.
From the footage aired on the news network, it was not clear if the tunnel was in fact new or if the segment inside the tunnel was filmed before the 50-day conflict last summer and repackaged.
Israel destroyed at least two dozen tunnels used by Hamas and other Gaza-based terror groups during the operation. Some were used to devastating effect to ambush and kill IDF soldiers in the course of the war.

Ya'alon: Israel told rebels not to harm Syrian Druse, and to keep terror groups from border

Jerusalem has conditioned medical aid to Syrian rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime on their keeping terrorist organizations from getting close to Israel's border, and not harming Syria's Druse population, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Monday.
Ya'alon, in a briefing with diplomatic reporters, said that contrary to rumors that have circulated among Israel's Druse, causing a great deal of agitation that led to the “lynching” last week of a Syrian rebel being transferred via ambulance to Israel, the Syrian Druse community was not currently threatened.
That murder, Ya'alon said, has led to calls for vengeance in Syria against the Druse community there.
He also said that while some Israeli Druse have called on Israel to aid their Syrian brethren, who are fighting with the Assad regime, the Syrian Druse are not keen on getting assistance from Israel. Being seen as receiving support from Israel, Ya'alon said, does not serve their interests.
Ya'alon said that Israel's policy regarding Syria was to remain outside of the conflict there, but to make sure that Israel's “red lines” were not crossed. Among those red lines was the transfer of strategic weapons to Hezbollah, and the infringement of Israeli sovereignty.

Going Operational: US, IDF Begin Training 'Magic Wand' Operators

The US and Israel defense establishments have launched the first course for operators of the Magic Wand anti-missile system, which is scheduled to go operational in the coming months. It will complement the Iron Dome system, which deals mostly with short range missiles, and counter both short and medium range missiles, with a focus on accurate missiles.
The third layer of protection, which will deal with long range missiles, is the Arrow system, which is not yet operational.
The Magic Wand, which has also been called David's Sling, is believed to be primarily intended against the threat of missile attack by Hezbollah, which is thought to have at least 100,000 missiles, many of them accurate. Former prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak recently warned that "We have not really dealt with 100,000 rockets, and we have not started to deal with the matter of their accuracy.” Citizens would be in for a great shock when accurate missiles – as opposed to the inaccurate variety they have been used to – begin raining down on them, he said.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu recently said that "Iran is seeking to cover Israel with intense fire,” and that in Lebanon, “the Iranians are inserting the most advanced weapons in the world, and strengthening Hezbollah, so that it can hit any spot in Israel.”
The security establishment is reportedly rehearsing for nightmare scenarios involving up to 4,000 Israelis killed in the initial days of a war with Iranian proxies.

Government plans to build 30 km fortified fence on Jordanian border

The government will build a fence along part of the border with Jordan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday, before a meeting with the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
The new fence will span the 30 km of the border with Jordan northeast of Eilat, to the Timna airport, and will be built entirely on Israeli land, thus not harming Jordan or its national interests, Netanyahu explained.
"This is an important part of our national security," he stated.
The Security Cabinet authorized on Sunday the fence's construction and funding, he said.

Female soldier wounded in Bethlehem stabbing attack

A female Israel Defense Forces soldier sustained moderate to serious wounds Monday morning in a stabbing attack at around 11 a.m. at a checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Her female attacker was detained and questioned at the site of the attack. Police said that two more knives had been found in her bag.
The 20-year-old victim was evacuated to Hadassah Medical Center, Ein Kerem, in Jerusalem.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said that the victim was conscious following the attack and was suffering from stab wounds to the upper part of her body. The Ynet news site reported that she had sustained wounds to her neck.
Prof. Yoram Weiss of Hadassah later told Israel Radio that her wounds were less serious than had initially been thought, and that she did not need major surgery.

IDF Stops Jerusalem Arab Teenager with Automatic Machine Gun

Alert Military and Border Police officers caught a 15-year-old Jerusalem Arab early Monday morning trying to enter the city with an automatic weapon.
IDF soldier Daniel Malkha was on duty at the Shuafat checkpoint at 2:45 a.m. Monday when he asked the teenager to go through a routine check with a metal detector.
The device sounded a warning that the teenager was carrying a metallic object, and when a second check revealed the same result, Malkha asked the suspect to take off his sweat jacket.
The teenager was seen with a Carl Gustav automatic gun stuck in his pants, and Malkha and his commander disarmed the boy.
He now is being interrogated by security officials.
Officers noted that there are “repetitive attempts” to attack Israelis.

Arab Rock Barrage Strikes Schoolbus in Jerusalem

A bus carrying young children from the eastern Jerusalem neighborhood of Ma'ale Hazeitim, located on the Mount of Olives, to their school located more centrally in the capital city came under a barrage of rocks Monday morning.
Masked Arab terrorists hurled dozens of the potentially lethal rocks at the bus and the children inside, but fortunately none were wounded in the fusillade. Damage was caused to the windshield of the bus however.
The attack is part of an ongoing wave of rock attacks on roads throughout eastern Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. While the Arab attacks continue on a near daily basis, only a small portion of the attacks are reported on in the mainstream media as most instances only involve damage to property.

Ambulance Driver: Arab Shot At Me 'Boldly, Without Shame'

In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Shalom Galil, the ambulance driver who was shot at Saturday night as he was driving along a road adjacent to Beit El in the Binyamin region of Samaria, north of Jerusalem, told of his harrowing experience.
The traces of at least three direct hits from the bullets were later located on the ambulance, but fortunately no one was wounded in the incident.
“I returned from Ofra, which is a few kilometers north of Beit El,” Galil said. “This was on a new highway that was recently opened. The terrorist was standing outside his vehicle, with the car's motor running. Without shame, without trying to hide and boldly looking at me, he drew his weapon, and began shooting.”
Asked if he knew what was happening, he said that he did realize that he was being shot at. “You don't really have a lot of time to think when your window is being shot up,” he said, adding that he really did not suspect that he would be a victim of an attack until the shooting actually started. “I thought it was strange that the Arab was standing outside at night like that. I was planning to call the local security people in the area and report him.”
After shooting at his ambulance and missing, the terrorist began shooting at another vehicle that was driving behind him – and missed in that attack as well. “After that he got into his car and disappeared.”

Ramadan So Far: 12 Days of Terror

The advent of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has ushered in a month of daily terror against Israeli Jews by Muslim terrorists.
Terror attacks, which unfortunately have not been rare in Israel regardless of the Muslim fast month, have become even more frequent in recent days.
On Friday, June 19, two days after Ramadan began, Danny Gonen, 25, of Lod, was murdered in a point-blank execution after he had hiked to a Samaria spring.
Paramedics and a large team of IDF security forces – including at least one military helicopter – arrived at the scene after responding to reports that terrorists had opened fire on an Israeli vehicle at 4:15 p.m. that day.
Gonen was initially evacuated by helicopter from the scene and transferred to Tel Hashomer hospital unconscious and in critical condition, but he succumbed to his injuries shortly afterwards.
Two days later, on June 19, a Border Policeman was stabbed by a terrorist near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem. The Border Policeman was seriously injured but regained consciousness on Monday and began communicating, despite the severity of his injuries.

His Father was Lynched in Ramallah; Today He Protects Israelis

The son of an IDF soldier brutally lynched by Palestinian Arab terrorists in Ramallah fifteen years ago has enlisted to the Israel Police corps - and is determined to make his father's story heard.
Reservists Yossi Avrahami and Vadim Nurzhitz lost their way to their base on October 12, 2000, ending up in the Palestinian Authority (PA) controlled city of Ramallah by mistake. PA police forces took the two into custody.
Word reached local PA residents that undercover Israeli agents were being held in the building; some 1000 rioters reportedly gathered outside. The IDF declined to take action to rescue the soldiers; they were eventually stormed by the rioters.
One terrorist, Aziz Salha, reached the soldiers first, where he brutally murdered them - stabbing, beating, and dismembering them along with other rioters. He famously then stuck his bloodstained hands out of the window of the room where the two were held, eliciting cheers from the crowd.
The crowd then dragged the bodies to a central square, beating them further before setting up a victory celebration. PA police forces did not attempt to intervene and in some cases, participated in the barbarism.

Lebanese-Canadian confesses to Cyprus terror charges

A Lebanese man with a Canadian passport pleaded guilty on Monday to terror charges linked to nine tons of potential bomb-making material found in his Cyprus home, authorities said.
Hussein Bassam Abdallah, 26, appeared before the criminal court in the southern coastal town of Larnaca under tight security. He will be sentenced later on Monday.
He pleaded guilty to charges under the terror act of participation in and supporting a terrorist organization, plus illegal possession and transfer of explosive materials, and belonging to a criminal organization.
The charges against him cover the period of 2012 until May 27, 2015.
Authorities said the accused has links to Lebanon’s Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.

Must Watch: Dome of the Rock Power Washing

Ramadan 2015: Friday, after the second set of prayers, Muslim worshipers wrote names and other graffiti on the marble walls of the Dome of the Rock, the ancient Islamic shrine atop the Temple Mount.
This time it was not a mosque where Jews could be blamed. The graffiti was quietly washed away without protests, riots or headlines.

Palestinian Prime Minister Promises Free Education to Families of Terrorists

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah pledged on Saturday that the Palestinian Authority would continue to provide the children of terrorists killed in attacks on Israel with free education and healthcare, regardless of the PA’s economic status.
Hamdallah’s remarks were made at a rally in Ramallah which was held for the families of terrorists, Israel’s NRG reported.
Saturday’s special event included the participation of the Secretary General of the International Martyr Family Fund, Mohammad Sebihat, as well as Leilah Ghnaim, in addition to Hamdallah.
Hamdallah said that the Palestinians must “set aside differences of opinion.” He added that “in the holy month of Ramadan, we have a a national responsibility obligating us to work for the sake of our people and to advance the culture of cooperation and love.”
Hamdallah blessed the attendants, especially the families of the terrorists among them, over the advent of the month of Ramadan. He expressed hope for the “end to the occupation of the land of Palestine, freedom to the prisoners, and the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the full land of the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its eternal capital.”

PA’s Abbas gives Hamas Tuesday deadline to join unity government

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday that Hamas has until Tuesday to join a new unity government.
Abbas’s ultimatum came during an interview with the Saudi TV network Al-Arabiya.
In order to join the government, Hamas and other Palestinian factions would have to accept the PLO’s political program, he said. Hamas and the PA have been holding consultations over the possibility of forming a new unity government.
The PA leadership insists that Palestinian factions wishing to join the proposed government must accept the PLO’s political program, including recognition of the two-state solution.
The PA also wants Hamas and other Palestinian factions to accept the three principles outlined by the Quartet – United Nations, European Union, Russia and the United States – for the diplomatic recognition of a Palestinian government.
These principles are: a Palestinian state must recognize Israel without prejudging what various grievances or claims are appropriate; abide by previous diplomatic agreements; and renounce violence as a means of achieving goals.

PFLP Says Fatah-Hamas Unity Government Won't Happen

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) began holding negotiations with the Hamas and Islamic Jihad terror organizations on Saturday to form a new unity government, but according to a senior member of the Communist terror group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) the efforts are doomed to failure.
Rabah Muhanna of the PFLP's politburo told the Palestinian Arab Ma'an News Agency on Sunday that "a few people think that the consensus government is about to be formed, but the truth is there will be no consensus government soon."
After Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas dissolved the dysfunctional unity government earlier this month, a PLO committee on Saturday launched a week of talks with Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but officials say the negotiations will likely need extending.

Hamas leader confirms rumors of indirect talks with Israel

Senior Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef said Sunday that indirect talks have been carried out between Israel and Hamas for the purpose of calming tensions in the area.
Speaking to Channel 1 on Sunday, he warned that the situation between Israel and Gaza could erupt once again if the Strip is not quickly rebuilt.
On Thursday Israeli authorities released on Thursday Yousef from Ofer Prison. As the West-Bank-based founder of Hamas, he had been on administrative detention since last summer.

Hamas to Legalize Gay Suicide Bombers (satire)

In a nod to the recent US Supreme Court ruling legalizing same sex marriages, Hamas has agreed to allow gays to serve as suicide bombers as part of an overall campaign to liberalize the Gaza Strip.
Ahmed al-Tabi, Hamas’ cultural minister promised that “a future of equality is in store for Palestinians” and that “the Zionist entity does not have a monopoly on progressive policies. And by the way, they’re still way, way behind most western countries despite all of the media hype. We’re just way, way, way behind.”
“We want to create a society where a homosexual feels comfortable strapping on a suicide belt and blowing himself up. There’s no reason that only a straight man or woman should have that privilege.”
Hamas has further agreed to implement an affirmative action program to encourage more gays to train to be bombers.
“Here at Hamas, homophobia is a thing of the past. May we reach a point where all the gays have blown themselves up.”

Senior Israel, Egypt officials meet in Cairo for first time since 2011

One week after Egypt said it would return its ambassador to Israel after a three-year hiatus, top diplomatic envoys from the two states met Sunday for talks in Cairo to discuss the deadlock on the Palestinian front and security issues facing the region.
While specific details from the confab were under wraps, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was “pleased” with the outcome of the talks and that the two countries see “eye to eye” on a number of issues, the NRG news site reported. The session was believed to be the first between senior Israeli and Egyptian figures in Cairo since 2011.
Israeli diplomats were said to be satisfied with Cairo’s plans to maintain its tough stance toward the Hamas group, which rules the Gaza Strip, despite recent media reports signalling an easing of restrictions on the Palestinian enclave.
Foreign Ministry director Dore Gold and Egyptian diplomats hashed over topics such as Iran’s nuclear program, growing Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East, Cairo’s foreign policy toward Hamas and a possible re-launch of peace talks with the Palestinians — in the first powwow of its kind between the two nations in four years.

Car Bomb Attack Kills Egypt’s Top Public Prosecutor

Egypt’s top public prosecutor died on Monday of wounds sustained in a car bomb attack on his convoy as it was leaving his Cairo home on Monday in a marked escalation of Islamist militant attacks on the judiciary.
Judges and other state officials have increasingly been targeted by radical Islamists opposed to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and angered by hefty prison sentences imposed on members of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood.
Monday’s attack claimed the most senior state official since Sisi, a former army chief, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi in 2013 after mass protests against his rule. Mursi was sentenced this month to death over a mass jailbreak in 2011.
State media, medical and judicial sources confirmed the death of chief prosecutor Hisham Barakat at a hospital in the residential district of Heliopolis where he had undergone surgery hours earlier.
Health ministry spokesman Hossam Abdel Ghaffar had earlier said that Barakat suffered a dislocated shoulder and a deep cut and may have fractured his nose.
There was no confirmed claim of responsibility for the attack, in which security sources said a bomb in a parked car was remotely detonated as Barakat’s motorcade passed by. They initially said a car bomber had rammed into the convoy.

Turkish riot police break up Pride parade in Istanbul

Turkish riot police dispersed a Gay Pride event on Sunday using tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, the 13th Istanbul LGBTi Pride Parade was initially approved to take place but then unexpectedly banned by the Istanbul Governor’s Office, which cited the ongoing Muslim holy month of Ramadan as the reason for the cancellation.
Thousands of people had gathered at the event in Istanbul’s Istiklal Street and began to chant slogans denouncing the “fascism” of the regime under the Islamic-conservative President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after which police moved in.
There were no initial reports of injuries or arrests during the clashes.
US pop artist Lady Gaga posted a message on her Twitter account, apparently directed at the Governor of Istanbul, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, calling on him to end the violence and let the march continue.

Saudis Say Mossad Broke Into Cave Of Wonders, Stole Lamp (satire)

Saudi officials accused Israel today of stealing the contents of the magically concealed Cave of Wonders, where the legendary Lamp of the Genie is said to be hidden, among vast quantities of enchanted treasure.
For centuries, nations have been scouring the globe for relics and powerful objects that would give their armies or governments an advantage in the international arena. Perhaps the most famous example involves Nazi Germany’s separate attempts to lay hands on the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail in the 1930’s, both foiled by an American archaeologist. Less well-known attempts have fared similarly poorly, and experts say if the Saudi accusations are true, it would represent the first time a genuine magic or supernatural object has been seized by a government.
“The closest the world has come, to date, has been the placement of the Ark of the Covenant in some nameless, gargantuan army warehouse somewhere in the US,” said historian Marian Ravenwood. “But it’s been decades, and the records are gone. Who knows if the warehouse even exists anymore? In this case, we have reports of an actual magic object that stands to be used, and that’s not just unusual – I think it’s unprecedented, at least in terms of authenticated events.”
The Cave of Wonders, a vast underground facility in the Arabian Desert near the ruins of Agrabah, can only be located by joining two halves of a medallion with the image of an insect on it, and following the glowing trail that it leaves as it flies toward the cave. Archaeologists say that when the medallion arrives at the hidden location, it again splits in half, and the place where each piece strikes the sand becomes the glowing eye of a panther that has lain dormant for centuries and demands that the visitor identify himself. According to existing sources, only certain individuals are permitted to enter the cave, which will collapse into an unrecognizable portion of the desert floor if an unworthy candidate enters.

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Posted By Ian to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 6/29/2015 12:00:00 PM