WarSclerotic

Dozens of armed Salafist, Palestinian casualties in Egyptian copter strike in support of Gaza blockade.

Egyptian gunships on anti-terrorist raid in Sinai

A pair of Egyptian Air Force helicopter gun-ships surprised Salafist and Palestinian terrorists Tuesday, Sept. 3, by firing 13 rockets into two gatherings at Al-Muataa and Touma, south of the town of Sheikh Zuweid near the northern Sinai border with the Gaza Strip. Egyptian security officials reported “dozens” killed and wounded.

debkafile’s military sources report that the Egyptians struck to break up the stormy disturbances staged by thousands of Bedouin Islamists and armed Palestinians against the large-scale Egyptian military counter-terror operation ongoing in northern Sinai. An uproar erupted when Egyptian forces Saturday, Aug. 31 set about carving out two off-limits security zones to shut down the smuggling tunnels linking Egyptian Sinai to the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
This project aims at putting a stop to the free movement of Palestinian Hamas and Jihad Islami gunmen between the two territories.
Our military sources note that for the first time in eight years, the Egyptian army is honoring the obligation undertaken by the deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak in 2005, when Israel pulled out unilaterally from the Gaza Strip. That commitment was never upheld until now.

Since the coup against Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian army has embarked on two simultaneous strategic operations to curtail terrorist activities which endanger both Egypt and Israel:

1. They are cleansing the 14-kilometer long, 500 meter broad “Philadelphi corridor” separating Gaza from Sinai, which reaches up to the Egyptian-Israeli-Gaza border crossing of Kerem Shalom. Vegetation has been cleared and the Palestinian houses located there, which hid secret tunnel entrances, were flattened and their occupants forcibly evacuated to the Egyptian side of the divided town of Rafah.

2.  Egyptian Rafah is in lockdown behind dozens of checkpoints manned by Egyptian troops to seal the town against access. This move cuts both sides of Rafah off from northern Sinai.

An Egyptian military belt now fences in the entire Egyptian-Gazan border, cutting its connections to and from Sinai and providing the Egyptian army with full control over the smuggling tunnels still snaking underneath.

For some days, thousands of inhabitants of Rafah, Bir al-Abed and Sheikh Zuweid rioted in an effort to disrupt the Egyptian operations. Tuesday, Sept 3, the Egyptian commander of Sinai, Maj. Gen. Ahmed Wasfy decided to put a stop to the disturbances. He launched a surprise airborne rocket attack on the rioters after receiving warning that armed Salafists who had mingled among the rioters were preparing a major assault on the Egyptian forces engaged in establishing the two security zones.

Russia detects ballistic launch in Mediterranean; Israel denies knowledge | JPost | Israel News.

Report: Russia says ballistic ‘objects’ fired in Mediterranean – Middle East Israel News Broadcast | Haaretz.

Russian news agencies do not say who had carried out the launch but add that projectiles fell into the sea; the Russian Defense Ministry declines to comment.

A ship in the Mediterranean. Illustrative. Photo by AFP

Russian radar detected the launch of two ballistic “objects” towards the eastern Mediterranean from the central part of the sea on Tuesday, Russian news agencies quoted the Defense Ministry as saying.

The projectiles fell into the sea, state-run Russian news agency RIA cited a source in Damascus as saying.

Russia’s embassy in Syria said there was no sign of a missile attack or explosions in Damascus, according to the Itar-Tass news agency. A Damascus resident told Haaretz he had not heard anything that might indicate a strike on the capital.

The Interfax news agency quoted a ministry spokesman as saying the launch was detected at 10:16 A.M. Moscow time (0616 GMT) by an early warning radar station at Armavir, near the Black Sea, which is designed to detect missiles from Europe and Iran.

The agencies did not say who had carried out the launch and whether any impact had been detected. The ministry declined comment to Reuters.

The Israeli military said that it is “not aware” of any missile launch in the area.

“The trajectory of these objects goes from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea toward the eastern part of the Mediterranean coast,” Interfax quoted the ministry spokesman as saying.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu had informed President Vladimir Putin of the launch.

A ministry official had earlier criticized the United States for deploying warships in the Mediterranean close to Syria.

Hezbollah said to mobilize troops ahead of possible showdown | The Times of Israel.

With US strike on horizon, Arab media report Lebanese fighters absent from villages; joint command center with Assad formed

By Aaron Kalman September 3, 2013, 10:17 am

Hezbollah fighters hold party flags during a parade in a southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon. (photo credit: AP/Hussein Malla/File)

Hezbollah has reportedly redeployed its forces throughout the region ahead of a possible US strike against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad — a longtime ally of the Lebanon- based Shiite terror group.

Members of Hezbollah have “disappeared” from villages around Lebanon, AFP reported Tuesday, citing Lebanese media and witnesses. The site noted that Hezbollah fighters in strongholds along the coast, in the Bekaa valley, near the Syrian border and in southern Beirut had left town, with many turning off their cellphones to avoid being tracked.

While security measures remain in place, checkpoints around the terror group’s nerve center in the capital are now being manned by teenagers instead of regular Hezbollah fighters, the news agency said.

Witnesses in the area around Tyre told AFP there appeared to be a general mobilization of Hezbollah members in the area. On Monday the Arabic daily Al-Akhbar, a paper considered close to both Assad’s regime and Hezbollah, said the group “called on all its officers and members to man their positions.”

The “Syrian army has mobilized units” which had not yet taken part in the civil war, Al-Akhbar reported, drawing an image of drastic changes not only by Hezbollah but also by Assad’s regime. The two have “established an operations room” with representatives from both fighting forces, it said.

Hezbollah has threatened to hit Israel in response to a possible US military action against Syria currently being debated by lawmakers in Washington. On Monday, Lebanese media reported that Hezbollah planned to launch rockets at Israel from the Syrian city of Homs, to avoid drawing Lebanon into the conflict.

A report Monday night by Israel’s Maariv news outlet suggested Hezbollah had mobilized its fighters after Iranian intelligence forces warned the group about an upcoming Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear program.

The hike in tensions come as the US and France are mulling action against Assad’s regime for the reported use of chemical weapons in an attack on August 21 that the US says killed over 1,400 people.

Russia says ‘ballistic objects’ fired near Syria | The Times of Israel.

Moscow declines comment; news comes days after Russian Defense Ministry deploys spy ship to region amid rising tensions

An ARROW missile test was conducted over the Mediterranean Sea and declared a success. (photo credit: IAI via Tsahi Ben-Ami/Flash 90)

Two “ballistic objects” were detected being fired at the eastern Mediterranean, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

The Interfax news agency quoted the ministry say two “objects” had been fired from the central Mediterranean to the eastern coast of the sea at 10:16 a.m. Moscow time, which is an hour ahead of Israel.

The ministry said it had informed Russian President Vladimir Putin of the launch.

No other information was available. The Defense Ministry declined comment to Reuters.

The news comes as tensions have risen in the region over the possibility of a Western-led strike on Syria.

Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar Assad, on Sunday sent a spy ship to the region, amid a buildup of American naval power off the coast of Syria.

Egypt army pummels Sinai militants, killing dozens | The Times of Israel.

Official says helicopters fired 13 rockets at gatherings in peninsula

Egyptian army soldiers patrol in an armored vehicle, backed by a helicopter gunship, during a sweep through villages in the northern Sinai, Egypt, in May (photo credit: AP)

EL-ARISH, Egypt — Egyptian helicopter gunships fired rockets early Tuesday at militants in the northern Sinai Peninsula, causing “dozens” of casualties, a security official said.

He said the two aircraft surprised militant gatherings in three houses in two locations, al-Muqataa and Touma, south of the town of Sheikh Zuweyid near the border with the Gaza Strip.

Attacks by Islamic militants surged in the lawless Sinai after the toppling of Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi in a July 3 coup.

The official said “dozens” of militants were killed and wounded but that fighting was still ongoing. He did not mention if there were yet any soldiers on the ground to assess the number of casualties.

An eyewitness said the three houses were destroyed and part of a nearby mosque was damaged.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity according to rules, while the witness spoke anonymously because he did not want to be involved.

Egyptian security forces have stepped up counterinsurgency operations in the Sinai since the overthrow of Morsi, whom the military has alleged turned a blind eye to militants there.

On Aug. 10, military helicopters fired three missiles targeting a meeting by suspected militants in Sheikh Zuweyid, killing 12.

Also in Sinai, army commandos arrested late Monday two members of an al-Qaida-linked group that had in the past fired rockets at Israel, another security official said.

The official said the commandos stormed two houses in the Jura village near Sheikh Zuweyid and detained two members of a group known as the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem.

The official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity according to rules, said the two were experienced in setting up and firing the rockets used in the attacks.

Security forces have a long list of wanted militants, who are concentrated along the border area with Gaza and Israel and in the central Sinai mountains.

The Mujahideen Shura Council claimed several rocket attacks on Israel, the latest on August 13.

Israel said then that its defense system, the “Iron Dome,” had shot down a rocket launched from Egypt targeting the Red Sea resort of Eilat. There were no injuries.

European disgrace – Israel Opinion, Ynetnews.

Shimon Shiffer

American President Barack Obama’s decision to postpone punishing the Syrian regime for using chemical weapons against thousands of citizens already allows us to reach some gloomy and pragmatic conclusions about the world we live in; a world which permits, in practice, the use of horrifying weapons which are completely banned by international treaties.

Europe is being exposed here, and not for the first time, for its hypocrisy and disgracefulness. Europe, which has not ceased to criticize Israel‘s conduct in the territories, even if we have no reason to be proud of this conduct, has lost its right to lecture anyone – especially us. We have all seen Europe shirk its duty to prevent the use of weapons for mass destruction. The British Parliament tied Prime Minister Cameron’s hands, and other countries in the continent are waiting for America soil its hands.

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said several years ago in a conference in Europe that the Europeans are living at the Americans’ expense and waiting for the US to clean the gutters around the world for them. What we have seen in the past few days in Britain and France points to deep corruption and unwillingness to take part in the responsibility to manage world crises.

Israel, which was founded on the ruins of Europe, must remember and make a connection between the millions who died in gas chambers in the concentration camps and the thousands of citizens, many of them women and children, hurt by the chemical weapons launched by Bashar Assad. It is our moral duty to voice our stance clearly and poignantly and denounce the bloody regime in Syria – even if the decision not to intervene in the civil war in Syria is justified. It’s not all about politics.

Another lesson from the recent days’ events has to do with Israel’s stance towards the regimes surrounding us in light of the American conduct. Israel must signal to the US that it favors stable regimes in Egypt and Jordan over alleged “democracies” existing in the West’s imagination and in utopian books based on a collection of assumptions and different nonsense, like the book published by the designated Israeli Ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, and former Minister Natan Sharansky.

We must convince the American administration that removing the Muslim Brotherhood, which was elected in a democratic process, is a thousand times better for the regional peace and stability than a radical Islamic regime. We should also remind them that Hamas gained control of the Gaza Strip in democratic elections. Israel gave in to American pressure – and we are paying the price to this very day.

President Obama’s prestige suffered a heavy blow in the past 48 hours, but make no mistake: America remains the most important world power. If Obama receives the Congress’ approval to strike in Syria and punish Assad, he will fix what he broke.

Damascus, Tehran and the Dahiya Quarter in Beirut are waiting impatiently to see what America will do. I’m willing to guess that Obama will eventually wipe the smiles off the faces of Assad, Rohani and Nasrallah, and that the sigh of relief heard in those places will be replaced with sounds of anxiety in light of the strength of the American war machine.

Obama is not looking at our region, but at the legacy he wishes to leave behind. And he has no intention of wasting the recognition he gained as the first black president of the United States.

Sources: Internal dissent in Iran rising over the growing Syria turmoil | JPost | Israel News.

‘Obama assures Netanyahu on Iran’ | JPost | Israel News.

For Netanyahu, Iran Is Personal – OpEd Eurasia Review.

September 3, 2013

By Anders Persson and Maysam Behravesh

For the most part in recent years, the debate on Israeli-Iranian enmity in general and Israel’s threats to take military action against Iran’s nuclear program in particular has been framed around such “structural” or “big” issues as the regional balance of power, state survival, national interests, and hegemonic dominance in the greater Middle East. While each of the factors sheds light on a unique aspect of the controversy, a good case can be made for the presence of personal dimensions to the increasing exacerbation of hostilities, rendering the whole problem yet more difficult to resolve. In the prime time of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s career as the Iranian president from 2005 to 2013, many academics and politicians alike were highlighting his thirst for grandeur, messianic beliefs and apocalyptic worldview as a major driver behind the escalation and thus an important cause for concern. This analytic perspective appears to enjoy adequate ground on the Israeli side too, and more specifically, applies to the incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Time and again over the past years, Netanyahu has pledged to use whatever it takes to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, including military force. With his pompous rhetoric and explicit threats, Netanyahu has placed himself in an “all-in” zero-sum situation vis-à-vis Iran. Like in poker, all-in means that you either win all or lose all. So, if Iran, which he firmly believes is dashing for the bomb, is forcefully stopped, he will be a national winner and probably secure himself a heroic place in Israeli history. If he fails to take action, however, and Iran is allowed to cross Israel’s red lines, Netanyahu will go down in history as the biggest loser ever in Israeli politics.

The whole issue of Iran’s nuclear program, with its alleged weaponization activities, has therefore personal importance for Netanyahu too. Throughout his political career, he has always been driven by feelings of unrecognized grandiosity. His father, Benzion Netanyahu, was ostracized by Israel’s labor establishment and forced to pursue his academic career abroad. His wife Sara has been on the record saying her husband “is the very best prime minister ever to serve in Israel.” Though Winston Churchill is his role model, Netanyahu has nothing of his stature in Israel, and, of course, even less so abroad, where he is often accused of not acting ”Churchillian” and for missing ”Churchillian moments”.

In Israel and abroad, it is widely believed that Netanyahu is seeking his place in the history books with his campaign to halt Iran’s nuclear venture. Obsessive attempts on his part to personalize such a matter, which has enormous implications for Israel’s national security and interests, partly explains why the Israeli military is suspicious of his policy line and more often than not expresses opposition to an attack on the Islamic Republic. While few in Israel doubt the gravity of the threat of a potential Iranian bomb, many worry about Netanyahu’s true motives behind a forceful action to take it out. The former iron triangle of the Israeli military, namely former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi, former head of Mossad Meir Dagan, and former director of Shin Bet Yuval Diskin, all opposed an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities during their incumbency because they could not trust Netanyahu’s intentions and the disinterestedness of his attitude towards the issue. Stressing that Netanyahu is “possessed” by Iran, Diskin, for example, has quoted Bibi as saying that “his mission on Iran is on a much grander scale” than the previous Israeli strikes on Iraqi and Syrian nuclear facilities.

Though much of what happened during this time (around 2009-2011) in the corridors of power in Israel, is still under gag orders, leaks to the media point to a devastating situation in Israeli politics where the military leadership under Ashkenazi and Dagan refused to carry out a P-plus order from Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Ehud Barak, which would have prepared the Israeli military for an imminent strike on Iran’s nuclear installations. In a functioning democracy, such acts of defiance by the military, which almost resemble a coup d’état, would be incomprehensible. Ashkenazi, Dagan and their allies also reportedly took measures to prevent Netanyahu and Barak’s favored candidate for new chief of staff, Yoav Galant, from assuming office in 2011 and revoked the security clearance from Netanyahu’s national security advisor, Uzi Arad, a move which led to his resignation in 2010. Galant and Arad had been strong advocates of attacking Iran.

The question of whether Israel will use military force against Iran is one of the decisive questions of our time. A lot is at stake here for Netanyahu. Everything that his critics have ever said about him – that he is a cheap demagogue, that he has a weak character, that he is indecisive, and that he is no Churchill – will be proven correct if one day Iran should exceed Israel’s red lines. Iran is personal for Netanyahu.

Anders Persson is a Swedish expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has a Ph.D. in political science from Lund University, Sweden. Maysam Behravesh is a Ph.D. candidate in political science at Lund University