WarSclerotic

Netanyahu: Iran is behind attacks… JPost – Diplomacy & Politics.

By REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that Iran is behind the two seemingly coordinated attacks launched on Israeli embassies in India and Georgia Monday. Tehran, he said, is “the world’s top initiator of terror.”

Over the past few months, he added, “we have seen attempts to hurt Israelis in Azerbaijan and in Thailand. All of these incidents were stopped with the help of local [authorities].”

In all of the recent attempts, Netanyahu said, “Iran and its proxy Hezbollah was behind the attacks”

Israel, he added, “will continue to work with local security forces to stop attacks and will act with a strong hand” and systematically fight international terror, “which comes from Iran.”

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said that Israel knows exactly how to identify those responsible for the attacks and how to identify those who carried them out, after two seemingly coordinated attacks were launched on Monday against Israeli embassies abroad. Israel, he added, will not allow terrorism to affect its agenda.

“It just shows that Israel and its citizens face terror inside and outside of Israel,” Liberman said. “We deal with it every day. We know how to identify exactly who is responsible for the attack and who carried it out.”

“We will not allow this to affect our agenda,” the foreign minister concluded.

In the first attack, the wife of an Israeli diplomat was injured when a bomb exploded in her car in New Delhi, India. The woman succeeded in driving to the Israeli embassy where she was evacuated to a nearby hospital.

Local authorities were investigating the possibility that the bomb was planted under the car or alternatively that an assassin on a motorbike attached it to the vehicle as it was driving. Indian television cited witnesses who saw a motorbike following the car and possibly throwing an object toward it before the explosion.

In the second attack, an embassy staffer in Tbilisi, Georgia discovered a bomb underneath his car as he was driving to the embassy Monday morning. The staffer – a local Georgian national – heard something during the drive, pulled over to the side of the road, noticed the bomb and called local authorities. The bomb was dismantled before exploding.

Analysis: An act of war? – JPost – Diplomacy & Politics.

Israeli embassy’s car hit by explosion near PM’s residence.

STAR News Bureau and agencies

New Delhi: A car belonging to the Israeli Embassy was gutted after it suddenly exploded in the VVIP area of Delhi on Monday.

The Innova SUV car bearing diplomatic number 109 CD 35 went up in flames after it exploded near a petrol pump, metres away from 7 Race Course Road – PM’s residence. Another car in the vicinity was also damaged.

Two persons are said to be injured and have been rushed to nearby hospitals.

The incident took place at about 500 meters away from the PM’s residence. The incident occurred at 3:15 pm.

Israel says bombs target embassies in India, Georgia
Bombers targeted staff at Israel’s embassies in India and Georgia on Monday, the Foreign Ministry of Israel said, with a bomb going off in New Delhi but a second device in Tbilisi defused.

In a first official response to the blast, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said there were two “attacks against Israeli embassies abroad.”

“This just means that the state of Israel and its citizens face a daily threat of terror, both physical and diplomatic. We know exactly whose responsible for the attack and who planned it and we’re not going to take it lying down,” Lieberman said.

“Today’s events remind us again how Israeli diplomats stand at the forefront of the fight which Israel is leading around the world, the minister added.

All of Monday’s incidents come a day following the fourth anniversary of the assasination of slain Hezbollah’s deputy leader Imad Mughniyah.

“There was an explosion in an Israeli diplomat’s car but we don’t know how it happened. We are in touch with the local authorities,” Israeli embassy spokesman David Goldfarb said.

“There was one attempted attack, and one successful, as it were,” said Paul Hirschson, a spokesman for Israel’s foreign ministry. “In both cases, the people concerned worked with the Israeli embassies.”

He also confirmed that a bomb had been found in a car belonging to a staffer at the embassy in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, which was defused by local police. Hirschson said the Israeli ambassador to India was not hurt in the New Delhi attack.

Israel had put its foreign missions on especially high alert ahead of the February 12 anniversary of the assassination, in 2008, of the military mastermind of Lebanon’s Hezbollah guerrillas, linked to the Shi’ite Islamist group Hezbollah, Imad Moughniyeh.

Iranian-backed Hezbollah had vowed to avenge Moughniyeh’s death in a Damascus car-bombing, blaming it on Israel.

Israelis had also warned of possible reprisals ordered by Tehran for the assassination of several scientists involved in Iran’s controversial nuclear program. No-one has claimed responsibility for the Iran killings.

– with agency inputs

Wife of Israeli diplomat wounded in car blast near New Delhi embassy – Haaretz Daily Newspaper | Israel News.

Suspected attack comes with 2 other reports suspected attacks in Amsterdam, Georgian capital of Tbilisi; both incidents come one day after 4-year anniversary of Hezbollah’s deputy leader’s assassination.

By Barak Ravid and Amos Harel

The wife of an Israeli diplomat was moderately wounded on Monday when a car bomb exploded outside of Israel’s embassy in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Haaretz has learned.

The incident came one day after the fourth anniversary marking the assassination of Hezbollah’s deputy leader, Imad Mughniyah, which the Islamist organization blames on Israel.

	Car of Israeli official catching fire in New Delhi following a bomb attack.
	Photo by: Indian media

Also on Monday, a Georgian worker employed by the Israeli embassy in Tbilisi alerted police after noticing a strange object attached to a car assigned to the Israeli enboy to the country.

A Georgian television channel reported that the explosive device neutralized in Tbilisi was attached to the car of Israeli ambassador to the country Yitzhak Gerber.

Israeli embassies have been put on high alert around the time of the anniversary of Mughniyah’s assassination in 2008, fearing Hezbollah retribution over the Damascus attack against the group’s the military leader they attribute to Israeli.

According to the report by Real TV, Gerber’s driver Roman Khachaturian discovered a black plastic bag attached to the car’s bottom. He then notified police, with local officers dismantling the bag and finding an explosive device comprised of a hand-grenade.

Indian security officials examining Israel Embassy car after a bomb attack in New Delhi, India, Monday, Feb. 13, 2012AP

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The charge was then neutralized, with the car transferred to closer examinations by Israeli security officials.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry has in response to the events instructed all of its diplomats to stop using their vehicles until they are checked by security officials.

Foreign Minister Avigdor said immediately following the incidents that Israel would not toleratean attack on its officials abroad, adding that Monday’s incidents show Israel and its citizens face a daily threat of terror, both “physical and diplomatic.”

In February 2011, Israeli embassies throughout the world received several suspected terror threats that coincided with the third anniversary of Mughniyah’s death. The threat was believed to be directed at embassies in Africa, Southeast Asia and Caucasus

Israel’s Counterterrorism Bureau cautioned the Israeli public at the time that because of the increased threat of terror attacks against Israelis abroad, travels certain destinations should be avoided, including Egypt, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania and Venezuela.

Just ahead of the anniversary this year, there were indications of a threat against Israeli diplomats and tourists in Bulgaria, Last month,however, the head of the Counterterrorism Bureau said it has no concrete information regarding a possible terrorist attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria.

The bureau emphasized that the initial warning from the head of security at the Transportation Ministry regarding increased security in European countries took place more than three weeks ago.

The Transportation Ministry continues to insist that the threats are credible and that Israeli tourists in Europe should be vigilant.

Danny Shenar, head of security at the Transportation Ministry, told Haaretz that he asked European security services “to tighten security around groups of Israelis in various resorts like ski resorts and hotels.” According to Shenar, “I asked to formally tighten security because I am worried about a security-related incident.”

Shenar added: “I’ve asked security services in Europe to escort groups of Israelis and conduct searches with police dogs.”

Two attacks target Israeli embassies in Georgi… JPost – Defense.

DEBKAfile, Political Analysis, Espionage, Terrorism, Security.

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report February 13, 2012, 1:52 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israel car blown up in New Delhi

debkafile’s counter-terrorist sources report a bomb attached to the car of an Israeli Defense Ministry official in New Delhi blew up and injured his wife Monday, Feb. 12. The Indian police reports two people were injured in the blast that was triggered remotely near the Israeli embassy and opposite the Indian Prime Minister’s Office. The Iranian media report six to eight casualties. Police have cordoned off the area and declared a terror alert. The details of the attack are not yet clear.

Israeli diplomats and foreign officials have been ordered to stop using their own vehicles and be extra-vigilant  after the second bombing attack.
In the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, a bomb attached to the car of a local Israeli embassy employee was discovered and defused before it exploded.

It is not known if the bomb was rigged to kill the employee or to blow up remotely against the embassy building after the vehicle was driven into the compound. Sunday, Feb. 11, was the fourth anniversary of the death of Hizballah’s commander Imad Mughniye in Damascus. Tehran is marking the first anniversary of the assassinations of two of its nuclear scientists. Both attribute the attacks to Israel and have sworn vengeance.
Our counter-terror sources report that the attacks on Israeli officials used the same sticky bomb method as was used to kill the Iranian scientists.

‘White House doesn’t want Israel to start a war – yet’ – Israel News, Ynetnews.

Newsweek explores internal conflict within US administration regarding Iranian threat; describes US-Israel intelligence ‘dance’; says Obama trying to ‘manage the wild card that is Israel’

Yitzhak Benhorin

WASHINGTON – “Obama’s Dangerous Game with Iran” – that is the name chosen by Newsweek magazine, which this week explores the internal conflict within the American administration regarding the Iranian threat.

The feature also delves into the intricate relationships between Israel and the US on the matter, suggesting that both sides are, at times, not as forthcoming with each other as it may seem.

The magazine quotes Pentagon sources as saying that for the most part, the US prefers to “look the other way” when it come to Israel’s covert operations against Iran, especially when it comes to the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists.

Newsweek presents a basic question: Can US President Barack Obama “keep nukes out of the mullahs’ hands, prevent the global economy from imploding, manage the wild card that is Israel – and get reelected”?

The cover of Newsweek

The mistrust between Washington and Jerusalem regarding Iran dates to “well before Obama moved into the White House,” the report said, citing an Israeli source as saying that Jerusalem was – and to some degree still is – concerned about the fact that Obama views Iran “in the context of a broader non-proliferation policy… the Israeli factor did not play prominently.”

Washington has made its reservations clear – “The White House doesn’t want Israel to start a war – not yet, anyway,” a senior administration official told Newsweek.

Mossad Chief Tamir Pardo’s recent trip to DC was meant,

according to a US official privy to matter, “to take the pulse of the Obama Administration and determine what the consequences would be if Israel bombed Iranian nuclear sites over American objections.”

The magazine’s source said that Pardo raised many questions, including: “What is our posture on Iran? Are we ready to bomb? Would we (do so later)? What does it mean if (Israel) does it anyway?”

Israel, the report said, has essentially ceased sharing a “significant amount of information” with the US regarding its military preparations for a possible strike.

Keeping up appearances

Newsweek compared Obama’s situation to three-dimensional chess, saying that he must find a way to keep Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, prevent the oil-based global economy from slipping into chaos and “manage the wild card that is Israel.”

“Israel’s national interests are not always in line with Washington’s. And a messy war – or perceived weakness on Iran – could tip the election for the Republicans in November,” the report said.

Obama insists that the financial sanctions imposed on Iran “have serious bite,” but in the event of an Israeli attack on Iran “United States may get drawn into a war that could set the Middle East further aflame and send global markets into a terrified frenzy.”

Meanwhile, it seems both Israeli and American intelligence officials expressed concerns that Obama “might put an end to an elaborate shadow war they had been waging” – referring to the covert cooperation between the Bush administration and Israel, meant to set back Iran’s nuclear development.

Obama eventually listed to his advisers and decided to that he would pursue both the covert and diplomatic paths simultaneously.

Still, the magazine noted that while the US and Israel usually enjoy a strong relationship on security and intelligence matters, the differ on the question of strategy, citing that while Israel has no qualms about assassinating Iranians involved in nuclear research, the US law forbids it.

“The Israelis handled everything that was kinetic, and we did the nonkinetic activities, sometimes along with the Israelis… When it comes to assassinations and industrial ‘accidents’… the Israelis don’t want to say and we don’t want to know,” a Pentagon source said.  

These legal delicacies, the source added, are the reason US intelligence officers are “always careful about what we said to the Israelis in meetings, and they knew why… We often held things back from them – satellite imagery and other kinds of intelligence that could have helped them with their activities.”

Adding to the mix is the well-known frosty relationship between Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The differences regarding the need for an operation in Iran have only increased tensions.

Still, according to the magazine, Israeli officials now believe that Obama “has undergone a positive evolution in his views on Iran”

“Today, when you listen to Obama … you get the feeling the Americans are ready to attack if worse comes to worst,” an Israeli source said.

‘Mossad chief probed US reaction… JPost – Iranian Threat – News.

BBC News – Syria rejects new Arab League peace mission proposal.

IDF’s UAV Unit Expanding, Upgrading – Defense/Security – News – Israel National News.

UAV launch

Israel news photo: Flash 90

The “Sky Rider” unit, IDF’s elite UAV operating force, is implementing a series of changes and upgrades, IDF magazine Bamahane reported. Among other changes, a UAV squad will be assigned to every active battalion in the IDF.

The duration of the course required for joining the unit will be lengthened from 8 months to a year. The additional four months will include collaborative training with other battalions.

In March, graduating officers joining the unit will begin their own training course specific to the unit, as opposed to simply joining the general Combat Officers’ Course.

Several non-commissioned soldiers and commanders will be promoted to officers’ ranks, strengthening the unit’s presence in the field.

“The decision to assign officers will drastically improve the quality of command,” said unit commander, Col. Uri Gonen. “The training an officer undergoes is much longer than that of regular soldiers, and it includes making better, army-wide connections with the various units. In a unit that cooperates so frequently with other units, the commander should feel at home in any unit, from armor to infantry, so that he can effectively manage the dialogue and collaboration between units.”

Within the next year, the Sky Rider unit expects to receive a new version of its trademark UAV, the “Skylark,” from Elbit. The new version will boast improved communication devices and greater operational range. In addition, an operator will have the ability to fly several UAVs simultaneously. The new version will pass operational trials within the next year, and soldiers will begin training with it in November