WarSclerotic

Officials to AP: Israel hit SA-17 missiles shipment – Israel News, Ynetnews.

( This sounds right. – JW )

News agency quotes US and regional security officials as saying Israel conducted airstrike inside Syria hitting convoy of trucks; officials estimate target was SA-17 missiles which would be ‘game-changing’ in hands of Hezbollah

Roi Kais

Israel conducted an airstrike inside Syria overnight near the border with Lebanon, hitting a convoy of trucks, US and regional officials said Wednesday.

  The regional officials said Israel had been planning in the days leading up to the airstrike to hit a shipment of weapons bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon. They said the shipment included sophisticated, Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles, which would be strategically “game-changing” in the hands of Hezbollah.

A US official said the strike hit a convoy of trucks.

SA-17 missiles are self-propelled and have the capacity to hit jets at a low altitude. The system’s portability makes it harder to trace and enables it to surprise jets within its range. These attributes could jeopardize IAF jets should they operate against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

SA-17 missiles

A former senior security official in Lebanon told the Washington Post that the attack involved a missile fired by an unmanned Israel aircraft at a truck the Lebanon-Syria border. There were no casualties, according to him. The strike was on the Syrian side of the border, said the former official, who still has close ties to Lebanon’s senior security team and said he was told about the attack by a high-ranking official.

He said the truck was carrying weapons, although it was unclear what kind of weapons. It also was not immediately clear whether the truck was being used by the Syrian military or by Syrian rebel forces, who have been locked in a brutal, bloody civil conflict for almost two years.

Earlier on Wednesday, foreign and Arab media sources said Israeli forces attacked a target on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight adding that 12 IAF jets breached Lebanon’s airspace on Tuesday.

The US-based Al-Monitor website quoted Lebanese sources as saying the target was a weapons convoy traveling near Syria’s border with Lebanon. The report has not been corroborated by any Israeli source and the IDF refused to comment on the matter.

If Israel indeed conducted an airstrike, it may have been signaling to Bashar Assad that Jerusalem would not tolerate the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah. It is likely Syria is not interested in locking itself into a conflict with Israel for fear it would cause the Assad regime to collapse. Israel on its part, is not interested in engaging Hezbollah either.

Analysts estimate that Assad’s regime has a clear interest in transferring advanced “game-changing” weapons to Hezbollah in order to repay it for its assistance in Syria’s war against the rebels and to prevent the weapons from falling into rebels’ hands.

Hezbollah in turn could use the long-range Scud-D missiles to threaten Israel’s hinterland and defend itself against an Israeli airstrike.

On Tuesday, the World Tribune reported that Israel’s intelligence community has been tracking convoys of trucks that were bringing what appeared to be missiles and warheads from Syria’s Latakia region to Lebanon. Officials said the convoys were unloading the suspected weapons at Hezbollah warehouses in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

“When we said we mustn’t let terrorists lay a hand on Syrian weapon, we meant it,” Former Mossad Chief Danny Yatom told Ynet Wednesday.

According to Yatom, if foreign reports of an Israeli attack near the Syrian-Lebanese border are true, it means that Israel had a clear indication that Hezbollah had crossed a line.

Various Israeli sources spoke out recently, insisting that Israel would do anything to stop ammunition owned by Assad forces from making its way into the hands of terror organizations.

“Some things are casus belli,” Yatom said; “That would be the red line that we drew and Israel would be right to do anything it can to enforce it.”

Yatom addressed the possibility that Syria or Hezbollah would respond to the alleged attack, if said attack indeed happened, saying “I estimate that no such response will occur, since neither Hezbollah nor the Syrians have a motive to respond – Assad is preoccupied with his own affairs and Hezbollah is fully engaged in the effort to assist him, so they wouldn’t want to fight an even greater war.”

Ron Ben-Yishai, AP, Roi Mandel and Nir Cohen contributed to this report

Hagel pledges focus on Iran military opt… JPost – International.

By artaxes

I wondered what the IAEA means by ‘our observations’?

Are these the funny light reflexions you see when you look at your office desk?
According to an update of the WND-article the editor notes:

“However, no official statement by the IAEA has taken place since officials’ last unsuccessful trip to Tehran weeks ago when they requested to visit the suspected Parchin site. The last time IAEA inspectors were at Fordow was late last year. It also has not been allowed to install cameras at Fordow by the Islamic regime in Iran.”

http://www.wnd.com/2013/01/new-details-surface-on-iran-nuclear-explosion/

I also find the following observation suspicious.
In all previous incidents when the west made statements that condradicted Iranian statements like the US-denial of the captured drone the Iranians were eager to quickly show photos or videos that proved that the western statement were false thus exposing the west as liars and hypocrites and also scoring major propaganda points.
One wonders why they are not showing us live TV-footage about Ahmadinemonkey visiting Qom and the centrifuges.

Aide to Egypt’s President Morsi: Holocaust a ‘myth’ | The Times of Israel.

US intel agencies fabricated genocide of European Jews to ‘destroy Germany’s image,’ says official in charge of appointing newspaper editors

JERUSALEM (JTA) – A top Egyptian official close to President Mohammed Morsi in recent days called the Holocaust a “myth” and “an industry that America invented.”

Eddim is reportedly responsible for appointing the editors of all state-run Egyptian newspapers.

“US intelligence agencies in cooperation with their counterparts in allied nations during World War II created it [the Holocaust] to destroy the image of their opponents in Germany, and to justify war and massive destruction against military and civilian facilities of the Axis powers, and especially to hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the atomic bomb,” Eddim reportedly said.

He claimed that the 6 million Jews moved to the United States during World War II.

In response to the Egyptian’s claim, Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said in a statement, “The time has come for the State Department to inform the Egyptian government that the United States can no longer tolerate such anti-Semitic rants and Holocaust denial behavior from another top Egyptian official.”

Shihab Eddim’s remarks became public just days after Morsi was accused of say

Hamas denies its gunmen are aiding Morsi in Egypt | The Times of Israel.

Gaza-based daily blames Egyptian Copt organization for attempt to ‘demonize’ Palestinians

Egyptian protesters clash with riot police, not seen, near Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt, Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013 (photo credit: AP/Khalil Hamra)

Amid rumors of Hamas involvement in support of Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi, a Gaza newspaper has accused a Coptic Egyptian organization of fabricating the reports in order to incite against the Islamic leaders of the Gaza Strip.

Earlier this week, Egyptian media reported that 7,000 Hamas operatives had infiltrated the country through tunnels from Gaza to support Morsi’s ruling Freedom and Justice party, which is currently facing a massive popular uprising in the Suez region.

Hamas officials were quick to deny the Egyptian accusation.

Moussa Abu-Marzouq, deputy head of Hamas’s political bureau, wrote on his Facebook page that he was sorry that his organization and the Palestinians were being used as a tool in a domestic Egyptian conflict.

Hamas, Abu-Marzouq added, “stands at an equal distance from all political parties in Egypt.”

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum issued a statement calling the Egyptian reports “lies,” which he said aimed at “driving a wedge between Egypt and Palestine and ruining the reputation of Hamas and its fighting brigades.”

To add credence to the official denials, Hamas’s Gaza-based newspaper Felesteen on Tuesday published an investigative report exposing the “secret” of the Egyptian organization behind the anti-Hamas publications.

Reportedly, a Coptic organization called the Justice and Development Organization for Human Rights, based in Upper Egypt, was behind the incitement campaign. The organization, Felesteen charged, even supported the visit of Egyptian opposition activist Maikel Nabil to Israel.

Abdel Bari Atwan, editor-in-chief of the Arab nationalist daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi, which focuses on Palestinian issues, claimed in an op-ed Wednesday that the Egyptian reports were simply an attempt to victimize Palestinians, the default “weakest link” of the Arab world.

“The choice of Hamas… is a meticulously calculated one. The movement is Islamist and affiliated with the Brotherhood, very close to the mother organization in Egypt,” wrote Atwan. “Therefore, its current demonization is welcomed by certain circles in Egypt which are angry at the Brotherhood and wish to topple Dr. Morsi.”

Hamas doesn’t have 7,000 fighters, Atwan added, and even if it did — they could not cross the entire Sinai Desert unnoticed by Egypt’s security forces. 

“O Egyptian noblemen,” pleaded Atwan, “have mercy on the Palestinians.”

Ahmadinijad, guess who’s coming to dinner (Eye of the Tiger with lyrics) – YouTube.

Israel Hayom | Report: Israeli jets hit target in Lebanon-Syria border area.

No Israeli strike on Lebanon soil – Lebanese security source.

BEIRUT, Jan 30 (Reuters) – A Lebanese security source said on Wednesday that a reported attack by Israeli forces on a convoy near the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight had not occurred on Lebanese territory.

A western diplomat and regional security sources said earlier that Israeli forces had hit a convoy in the border area, a few days after Israeli Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said that any sign that Syria’s grip on its chemical weapons was slipping could trigger Israeli intervention. There were no details of precisely where the action had occurred.

“There was no Israeli strike in Lebanon,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. “Not in the territory or near the border with Syria,” he said, adding that he could not confirm or deny that there was a strike on Syrian territory.

President Bashar al-Assad has lost several military bases to rebels during a 22-month crisis. Israeli officials have been warning very publicly of a threat of high-tech anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles reaching Israel’s enemies in the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, an ally of Assad, from Syria. (Reporting by Oliver Holmes)

Western sources: Israeli aircraft target Hizballah missiles in Zabadani. S. Syria.

DEBKAfile Special Report January 30, 2013, 3:00 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israeli warplanes carried out overnight sorties up until Wednesday, Jan. 30 against missile and arms convoys standing ready in southern Syria for transfer to Hizballah in Lebanon, according to Western sources.. debkafile’s military sources report that the consignments were destroyed. The Lebanese army reported the heavy presence of an approximate 12 Israeli jets over its territory during the night up until 0200 hours Wednesday. Our sources report that it was suspected in Israel that Syria and Hizballah would take advantage of the rainy and overcast weather conditions in the last 24 hours to push advance weapons systems across the border from Syria into Lebanon.
The operation aimed at giving teeth to Israel’s longstanding threat ever since 2011 to hit military targets in Syria if necessary to prevent the handover of those sophisticated missiles to Hizballah.

It was also a warning that Israel would again send its bombers to destroy chemical weapons or nerve gas to prevent them reaching the hands of Hizballah or any other terrorist groups.

Israel attacks target on Syria-Lebanon border, Western sources say – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

Report of attack comes soon after Lebanese army says IAF fighter planes flew over Lebanon in three separate missions; Israeli officials have repeatedly warned this week that Syrian chemical weapons could be falling into the wrong hands.

By Barak Ravid and Reuters | Jan.30, 2013 | 1:49 PM | 1

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Israeli forces attacked a target on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight, foreign sources said on Wednesday, at a time of growing concern over the fate of Syrian chemical and conventional weapons.

The Israel Defense Forces refused to confirm or deny the report. “We do not comment on reports of this kind,” an Israel Defense Forces spokeswoman said.

The reported attack came soon after the Lebanese media said that Israel Air Force jets had flown over Lebanon’s air space in three separate missions late Tuesday and early Wednesday. There was no confirmation of that report from Israel, either.

Live Blog – Haaretz brings you the latest updates in real time

3:20 P.M. Vice Premier Silvan Shalom, on Israel Radio, was asked if there was unusual activity on the northern front.

“The entire world has said more than once that it takesdevelopments in Syria very seriously, developments which can bein negative directions. And therefore the world, led by [U.S.]President [Barack] Obama who has said this more than once, is taking allpossibilities into account and of course any development whichis a development in a negative direction would be something thatneeds stopping and prevention.”

3:03 P.M.: Security source tells AFP: The air force bombed a weapons convoy just as it was crossing from Syria into Lebanon.

2:56 P.M.: The French newspaper Le Figaro: Israeli security sources say the target of the attack was a weapons convoy traveling from Syria into Lebanon. Not clear whether the attack took place inside Syria or in Lebanese territory.

2:27 P.M.: Reuters reports that Israel has sent its national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, to Russia and its military intelligence chief Major-General Aviv Kochavi to the United States for consultations.

1:58 P.M.: Laura Rozen, of Al-Monitor, posts on Twitter that the “#Israel jets said to have struck alleged weapons convoy in Syria, after #IDF intel chief consultations in Washington”.

1:45 P.M. Security source: There was definitely a hit in the border area”;  A Western diplomat in the region who asked about the strike said “something has happened”, without elaborating.

An activist in Syria who works with a network of opposition groups around the country said that she had heard of a strike in southern Syria from her colleagues but could not confirm.

The sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, had no further information about what might have been hit or where precisely the attack happened.

Background

Earlier this week, the Lebanon Army reported that the IAF had violated Lebanon’s airspace on Saturday in four different incidents. The Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star reported that IAF fighter jets were seen flying around the Beka’a Valley.

Also Saturday, the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal said that an explosion struck a weapons storage facility in an area of southern Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah. The report was not confirmed by Lebanon’s government or by the Lebanese army. The latter said it had conducted a number of controlled explosions on Saturday of munitions left over from the Second Lebanon War.

According to the daily, the explosion took place in the small town of Machghara, located in the Beka’a Valley. It said that a cloud of smoke was seen rising from the site, which was quickly cordoned off by Hezbollah forces.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned his cabinet ministers of the risk that chemical weapons from Syria could be falling into the hands of Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“It is necessary to look at our surroundings, both at what is happening with Iran and its proxies, and what is happening in other arenas – lethal weaponry in Syria, which is steadily breaking up,” Netanyahu said during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.

Also Sunday, Vice Premier Silvan Shalom said that any sign that Syria’s grip on its chemical weapons was slipping, as President Bashar al-Assad fights rebels trying to overthrow him, could trigger Israeli intervention. 

The commander of the Israel Air Force, Major General Amir Eshel, on Tuesday issued his own warning over the volatility of Syria and its weapons. Addressing the international space conference in Herzliya, Eshel described Syria as a “country falling apart”, adding: “Nobody has any idea right now what is going to happen in Syria on the day after, and how the country is going to look. This [sectarian crisis] is happening in a place with a huge weapons arsenal, some of which are new and advanced, and some of which are not conventional.”

Israeli sources said on Tuesday that Syria’s advanced conventional weapons would represent as much of a threat to Israel as its chemical arms should they fall into the hands of Syrian rebel forces or Hezbollah guerrillas based in Lebanon.