WarSclerotic

Israel Hayom | ‘Iran engaging in nuclear explosives work now’.

Israel Hayom | The US and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

Elliott Abrams is a senior fellow for Middle East Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. This piece is reprinted with permission and can be found on Abrams’ blog “Pressure Points” here.

Egypt’s situation is in many ways immensely complicated. But in others, it is simple: Egypt’s new government is restricting human rights in ways that no American should ever support. During the Mubarak years, we often did support, or showed indifference, to violations of the basic rights of citizens, and we should not repeat that error yet again.

Today there is a simple case. The comedian Bassem Yousef, who is known as Egypt’s Jon Stewart, is being prosecuted for various non-crimes: insulting the president, spreading rumors, propagating lies — all charges that mean only that the powers that be don’t like what he is saying. Those powers know that his prosecution is under assault internationally, yet they have continued to pile on new charges.

We cannot prevent this, but we can make our attitude clear. In fact the Obama administration has, somewhat late and somewhat weakly, expressed disagreement, but we should be condemning these efforts to bring Egypt’s brief moment of freedom of speech and press to an end. To put it starkly, the U.S. has no interest in the success of the Muslim Brotherhood, in Egypt or anywhere else. The Brotherhood does not share our values, nor does it share our aspirations for the region. Its success is nothing we should seek or facilitate. There is of course a counterargument, that if the Brotherhood fails worse will follow — Salafis, for example.

In truth we do not know nor will we have any say in what is next for Egypt if and when citizens conclude that the Brotherhood cannot deliver the freedom or the economic progress that Egyptians appeared to seek when they drove Hosni Mubarak from power. Disorder is possible, a new dictatorship may arise, the army may take power, or Egypt may become an Arab Pakistan, where the army rules behind the facade of civilian politicians.

Egyptians and not we will determine all of this, so the best we can do — and it is important that we do this — is to stand for our own principles of freedom of speech, press, assembly, trade unions, religion, and free elections. The Bassem Yousef prosecutions (one must now use the plural) are indefensible and should be met with loud and repeated U.S. protests. We do not know where Egypt is heading, but we know what we believe and we ought to know that we must support those Egyptians who seek a truly democratic Egypt.

2 rockets hit Sderot as tensions rise on Gaza front | JPost | Israel News.

Projectiles fired into southern Israel for second straight day; IAF strikes targets in Gaza Strip for first time since truce.

Revealed: Qassam fell in empty Sderot preschool during Obama visit – Israel News, Ynetnews.

( This story is obvious and unadulterated disinfo.  There’s no way the damage would have been missed even on the day the missile was fired.  It wouldn’t have served Israel’s interest to have the people fired up calling for revenge while Obama was there. So… – JW )

Two weeks after US president’s visit, a partially-exploded rocket which penetrated roof found in Sderot preschool empty because of Passover recess

Neri Brenner

The rocket could have had devastating results and dramatically changed the current status quo in the south: Two weeks after US President Barack Obama‘s visit, it was discovered Tuesday that during his visit a rocket fired from Gaza had landed in a Sderot preschool – penetrating the roof and only partially exploding.

The rocket made its way through the roof of Margalit’s preschool in Sderot, which usually houses three year olds, and partially exploded.

According to estimates, it was fired from the Gaza Strip on March 21 – the day Obama gave his now famous Jerusalem speech – along with four other Qassam rockets fired at Sderot and the Gaza vicinity communities that day.

The projectile was only discovered Tuesday for the same reason it failed to cause causalities – school was out because of the Passover vacation.

The children are scheduled to return to the preschool on Wednesday. Staffers who arrived at the building Tuesday to prepare it for the children’s arrival discovered a hole in the ceiling and a Qassam on the floor. They immediately alerted security officials.

On the same day IDF forces identified five rockets being fired from the Gaza Strip, however, they thought only two had successfully landed in Israeli territory.

Qassam in Sderot (Photo: Roee Idan)

According to the IDF, five rockets were fired from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, after a relatively long period of calm following Operation Pillar of Defense.

One of the rockets exploded in the courtyard of a Sderot house, another fell in an open area, and the other two were assumed to have landed in Palestinian territory, as was the fifth. However, Tuesday it turned out that the fifth had in fact landed in the preschool.

Sarah Haziz, whose house was hit by the Qassam, recalls how the alarm caught her off guard while she was cleaning it.

“The house was full of water, I managed to lift my eight-year-old daughter to the sheltered area, but I was still outside when I heard the explosion.

“I knew the explosion was from my house. We’ve grown accustomed, it wasn’t the first time we’ve been hit.”

Israeli planes strike Gaza for first time since Pillar of Defense | The Times of Israel.

Bombing run comes hours after three missiles shot out of Strip at Israel

Two Israeli F-15I ‘Ra’am’ fighter jets during maneuvers. (photo credit: CC BY TSgt Kevin J. Gruenwald, USAF, Wikimedia)

Israeli planes carried out bombing sorties over the Gaza Strip late Tuesday night, responding to rocket attacks out of the Palestinian enclave earlier in the day.

The air force bombing was the first Israeli attack on Gaza since an informal cease-fire was signed between Jerusalem and the Strip’s Hamas rulers in November following an eight-day mini-war to stem rocket fire dubbed Pillar of Defense.

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A Hamas spokesperson said the planes struck an area in northern Gaza near Jabal al Rayes, with no injuries. Other reports from inside the Strip indicated an open field east of Gaza City was also struck.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck at least one terror target in Gaza.

The sorties are likely meant seen as a warning to the Strip not to escalate the violence.

Earlier in the day, three missiles were fired at Israel from the central Strip. Two landed inside Gaza and a third struck an open area in the Eshkol region, the IDF said.

There were no injuries in the attacks.

The Mujahadeen Shura Council took responsibility for the attacks, saying they were in response to the death of a Palestinian inmate in an Israeli jail Tuesday morning. The death of Maysara Abuhamdia of cancer sparked violence among Palestinian security prisoners and violence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Rocket fire from Gaza has largely tailed off since the end of Pillar of Defense, but there have been sporadic attacks.

Two weeks ago, four rockets were fired at Israel from Gaza, likely timed to coincide with the visit of US President Barack Obama.

On Tuesday, parents and teachers found one of the rockets in the yard of a Sderot kindergarten, which had been on Passover break during the attack.

An rocket fired on Ashdod in February was also linked to the death of a Palestinian in Israeli custody.

Spurning US, Egypt doubles down against satirist | The Times of Israel.

( Is there anything these vile Islamists can do that will lose them the support of the US? – JW )

Morsi’s party says US comments about Bassem Youssef are a ‘blatant intervention’ in Egypt’s internal affairs

Egyptian TV host Bassem Youssef addresses attendants at a gala dinner party in Cairo, Egypt on December 8, 2012 (photo credit: AP/Ahmed Omar)

Israel hits Syrian outpost in response to cross-border fire | The Times of Israel.

Army post at Tel Hazeka targeted by IDF tanks after patrol comes under attack by light arms and mortar lands in Golan; no injuries or damage on Israeli side

An IDF tank in a firing position on the Golan Heights last year (AP/Ariel Schalit)

Israeli troops fired tank shells at a Syrian army post Tuesday night after Syrian fighting spilled over into Israel in two separate incidents.

The response came a few hours after an IDF patrol on the border came under light fire from across the border and a Syrian mortar landed in the southern Golan Heights. There were no reports of injuries or damage in either incident.

The attacks came shortly after Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, during a tour of the border area, vowed to continue responding to cross-border Syrian fire.

The Israeli tanks hit an outpost at Tel Hazeka, close to where the patrol came under fire. It is not known if there were casualties on the Syrian side. The IDF said it “accurately targeted the source,” of the fire.

In the late afternoon, a shell fired from Syria slammed into Israel near Tel Fares.

Israel has come under spillover fire from Syria’s civil war from time to time, responding on occasions by shooting missiles back into the Syrian Golan Heights, where anti-Bashar Assad rebels are waging a bloody battle for control of the country.

IDF officials estimate that the cross-border fire is likely accidental, but fears of spillover violence have shaken nearly four decades of calm along Israel’s armistice line with Syria, with the UN peacekeepers in place since 1974 scaling back activities.

Earlier in the day, Ya’alon said that Jerusalem would continue to respond to fire from Syria, which he said may or may not be intentional.

“I visited the Northern Command to closely monitor the developments. Across the border there’s been a bloody civil war going on for two years, but we do not interfere as long as it does no damage to our interests,” Ya’alon said. ”When it does, by sporadic shooting that may or may not be deliberate, we respond by paralyzing the sources of fire, as has been the case already.”

Defense Minister Ya’alon during visit to the IDF Northern Command, Tuesday (photo credit: Ariel Hermoni/Ministry of Defense/Flash90)

Late last month, IDF soldiers fired a Tammuz missile at a Syrian army position in Tel Fares, from which shots were fired both that day and the previous day across the border into the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. The missile destroyed the Syrian post and reportedly wounded two gunmen there.

A military spokesman said the soldiers responded with “accurate fire toward the Syrian post from which they were fired upon.” He could not say whether it was regular Syrian forces or rebels who fired. He spoke on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Speaking Tuesday, Ya’alon, on his first visit to the IDF Northern Command since taking office, reiterated that Israel would act to keep Syria’s vast cache of chemical weapons from falling into the hands of jihadi fighters among the rebels or the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which is allied with the regime.

“We have acted to stymie this in the past and will continue to do so,” Ya’alon claimed, possibly alluding to a reported Israeli strike on what Syria called a research facility late last year. Media reports have surmised that a weapons convoy to Hezbollah was actually targeted.

However, added Ya’alon, “All in all, the Golan Heights is quiet.”

Syrian opposition forces on Monday night reportedly captured the northern city of Al-Safira, which is close to many ammunition factories and what is believed to be the regime’s largest cache of chemical weapons.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jerusalem Post – Breaking News.

Syria mortar shell strikes Golan; Defense Minister: Israel will respond to any security threats – Diplomacy & Defense – Israel News | Haaretz Daily Newspaper.

IDF patrol also comes under light fire in Golan; Defense Minister Ya’alon made comments prior to shell attack during his first visit to the Syria border on Tuesday morning, also said Israel determined to prevent arms transfer to Hezbollah; also Tuesday, two rocket fired from Gaza lands in western Negev.

By Gili Cohen and Eli Ashkenazi | Apr.02, 2013 | 8:41 PM | 2

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon at IDF outpost in Golan Heights Photo by Gil Eliyahu

A mortar shell fired from Syria landed in the Israeli Golan Heights on Tuesday evening, and an Israel Defense Forces patrol came under light fire in a separate area of the northern territory.

A string of bullets from the mortar shell hit an IDF jeep touring in the central Golan Heights, near Tel Fares. The jeep sustained light damage, but no casualties were reported in either the shell or light fire incident..

It is not yet clear whether the fire was shot by Syria rebels or forces loyal to President Bashar Assad, and whether it was directed at the IDF force or strayed from the fighting north of the border. The IDF did not response to the either fire.

Also Tuesday, militants Gaza Strip launched two rockets at the western Negev. There were no reports of casualties in either of those strikes.

Last week, IDF troops fired a retaliatory missile into Syrian territory near the Golan Heights and destroyed a machinegun position, in response to two security incidents in less than 24 hours. At least two Syrian soldiers were wounded from that Israeli fire.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon toured northern Israel along the border with Syria earlier Tuesday, accompanied by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yair Golan in his visit to various military bases in the north, including the one hit by cross-border fire from Syria last week.

Golan briefed Ya’alon on IDF protocols involving cross-border fire during their tour, saying that the military only responds when the shooting is continual and after a warning is delivered to UN peacekeeping forces.

Ya’alon, meanwhile, said that while Israel would not intervene in the Syrian crisis, it would respond to any violation of its security interests.

“Across the border a bloody civil war has been taking place for the past two years with tens of thousands dead, but we will not intervene as long as the fighting does not affect our security interests,” Ya’alon said. “When it does, whether the sporadic shooting is intentional or not, we will respond, just as we did last week.”

Ya’alon also that Israel was determined to prevent the transfer of arms from Syria to Hezbollah. “We have acted and will continue to act to thwart the transfer of weapons to the hands of irresponsible elements,” he said.

The new defense minister hinted that Israel was behind an aerial attack two months ago that targeted a weapons convoy in Syria, possibly confirming foreign media reports.

Former Defense Minister Ehud Barak had also previously hinted that Israel was responsible for the attack, telling the media at a European security conference that “what happened in Syria proves that when we say something we mean it – we will not allow advance weapon system to be transferred to Lebanon.”

Far away from the border with Israel, fierce battles raged Tuesday between Syrian rebels and government forces across eastern districts of Damascus, activists said.

Five shells fell on the north-eastern neighborhood of Barzeh, inflicting casualties, the pro-government al-Dunia television station also reported without giving details.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based opposition organization, said at least four people from the same family were killed in the shelling on Barzeh, where it said there was heavy fighting.

Clashes and shelling were also taking place in parts of the Jobar district near al-Abbasiyeen square on the eastern fringe of central Damascus, the opposition group said.

Fighting has increased in southern and eastern Damascus since late March, and rebel mortar attacks on government-held areas have intensified. Last week, rebels warned civilians to evacuate areas near government buildings and security installations.

Jerusalem Post – Breaking News.

( If this is a pattern, fasten your seat belts and pray for Israel’s soldiers. – JW )

An IDF patrol was fired on near the Syrian border in the Golan Heights, near Tel Hazeka, on Tuesday evening Channel 10 reported.

Earlier in the evening on Tuesday, Channel 10 reported that a rocket fired from Syria fell in the Golan Heights near Tel Fares.