Archive for May 3, 2016

Iranian Hezbollah Organization Issues Threats Of Physical Harm Against Former Iranian Presidents Rafsanjani And Khatami, Calls On President Rohani To Cancel JCPOA

May 3, 2016

Iranian Hezbollah Organization Issues Threats Of Physical Harm Against Former Iranian Presidents Rafsanjani And Khatami, Calls On President Rohani To Cancel JCPOA, MEMRI, May 3, 2016

“Mr. President, you bear responsibility for every martyr whose blood has been spilled. If you look at all the breaches of promise and disruptions by ‘the Great Satan,’ America, and declare firmly that you are cancelling the JCPOA because of America’s violations [of it], history will never forget your heroic and revolutionary move; the heart of the Imam Mahdi will also rejoice because of you.

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In an April 12, 2016 interview, Mahdi Abdi, the director of affairs for the northwestern provinces and towns for the coordination council of the fundamentalist organization Hezbollah Iran, which is affiliated with Iran’s ideological circles, warned leaders of Iran’s pragmatic camp, including Expediency Council chairman and former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and former president Mohammad Khatami, not to undermine the status of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The interview was published by the organization’s Hezbollah Press website.

Echoing Khamenei’s accusations of treason against Rafsanjani,[1] Abdi accused both Rafsanjani and Khatami of treason, and threatened them with physical harm. He also demanded that they stop calling for the release of the 2009 Green Protest leaders – former Majlis speaker Mehdi Karroubi and former prime minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi, as well as Mousavi’s wife – who have been under house arrest since 2011.

Reminding Iranian President Hassan Rohani of what happened to Iranian officials who criticized Iran’s Islamic Revolution and the path of its founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Abdi warned him to neither trust the U.S. nor follow it, or to face the consequences. He also called on him to cancel the JCPOA.

The following are the main points of the interview. It should be noted that following its publication, the piece was removed from the website.

“This Is Hezbollah’s Final Warning To Hashemi [Rafsanjani] And The Grey Fox, [Former President] Mohammad Khatami, And To Anyone Who Even Thinks About Marginalizing The Imam Khamenei”

“The heart of [Iranian] Hezbollah is bleeding because of the tremendous disloyalty and the great treason of the unwise and two-faced [pragmatic camp leaders Rafsanjani and Rohani]. Imam Khamenei need not feel alone today because certain individuals who are betraying Islam and the Revolution are daring to boast and to express opinions in society, while others dare to speak about an end to the arrest of the hated leaders of the ‘2009 fitna’ [Mousavi and Karroubi]. [These traitors are] publishing [such statements] freely online and talking about it, and [expecting] the security apparatuses to remain silent.

“The hated leaders of the ‘fitna’ should thank God that they are under arrest. Otherwise, Hezbollah would not have given them a chance to breathe. This is Hezbollah’s final warning to Hashemi [Rafsanjani] and the grey fox, [former president] Mohammad Khatami, and to anyone who even thinks about marginalizing the Imam Khamenei, trampling the principles and foundations of the Islamic Revolution, and seeking to present the plan for a leadership council [as Rafsanjani recently proposed as a replacement for the position of Supreme Leader] in order to weaken the Rule of the Jurisprudent.

“If they are thinking of sparking more ‘fitna’ in Iran, Hezbollah will activate its popular punishment units, the ones called The Martyrs For the Revolution and Islam, and, once and for all, blind the eyes of the ‘fitna.'”

To President Rohani: “Hezbollah Obeys The Orders Of The Imam Khamenei And Will Never Allow These Things, Which Contradict Islam, To Be Carried Out In Iran”

“Mr. President [Rohani], many times the Koran called on Muslims to learn from history. We look at history today and see what became of those who trusted foreigners, especially those who trusted the bloodthirsty ‘Great Satan’ America. They all suffered harm, and ultimately ended up regretting having trusted America.

“If Islamic Iran wishes today to receive aid from the ‘arrogant nations,’ chiefly America, it must turn its back on the civilization of Islam and on the descendants of [Imam] Ali [that is, the Shi’ites] and must melt into their false civilization, must deny jihad, must abandon the oneness of God, and must enable them [i.e. the ‘arrogant nations’] to boycott Iran, using the human rights [issue] as an excuse. Or, much like the backwards Arab countries, [Iran] must hand over its interests and its oil in favor of the interests of the arrogance and of America, must back down from the explicit Koranic commandment about supporting the oppressed, and must form a friendly alliance with the occupying Israel.

“All the above contradict the original, noble civilization of Mohammad’s Islam. Hezbollah obeys the orders of the Imam Khamenei, and will never allow these things, which contradict Islam, to be carried out in Iran – because all the days are [the days of] Ashura [the Shi’ite days of mourning for the Imam Hossein who died in the Battle of Karbala in 680] and all the lands are [the lands of] Karbala – unless we lose our minds. Hezbollah will never forget all of this.

“Mr. President, tomorrow history will judge, and coming generations will ask: ‘Has the nation achieved anything from pouring concrete into the heart of Iran’s science [i.e. into the heavy water reactor in Arak, as required under the JCPOA]? Why do the officials still trust foreigners, although they repeatedly break their promises?’

“Mr. President, you bear responsibility for every martyr whose blood has been spilled. If you look at all the breaches of promise and disruptions by ‘the Great Satan,’ America, and declare firmly that you are cancelling the JCPOA because of America’s violations [of it], history will never forget your heroic and revolutionary move; the heart of the Imam Mahdi will also rejoice because of you.

“In the Islamic Republic [of Iran], the president, in his various terms of office, is legitimate so long as he truly believes, in thought and in action, in the rule of the jurisprudent. We must learn from history – from the fate of people such as [president Abolhassan] Bani Sadr [deposed in 1981] and [Ayatollah Hossein Ali] Montazeri [designated heir of Ayatollah Khomeini, who spent the latter years of his life under house arrest until his death in 2009], who trampled the line of [the rule of the jurisprudent], and were shamed and humiliated.”

Abdi concluded the interview by referring to a tweet by Rafsanjani about the current era as “an age of talks and not missiles”[2] and said: “It is enough to respond to Rafsanjani with a single word, and to say that had the Islamic State [ISIS] entered Iran and captured your daughter, you would have known the value of Iran’s missile and defense industry, and of the heroic deeds of the brave men of the IRGC.”

 

Endnotes:

 

[1] See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6373, Power Struggle Between Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei’s Ideological Camp And Rafsanjani’s Pragmatic Camp Intensifies – Part III: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Speaks Out Against Pragmatic Camp Leaders Rafsanjani, Rohani, April 5, 2016.

[2] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6373, Power Struggle Between Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei’s Ideological Camp And Rafsanjani’s Pragmatic Camp Intensifies – Part III: Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Speaks Out Against Pragmatic Camp Leaders Rafsanjani, Rohani, April 5, 2016.

 

Trump: Israel should keep building in Judea and Samaria

May 3, 2016

Trump: Israel should keep building in Judea and Samaria, Israel National News, Ari Soffer, May 3, 2016

Trump keep on buildingDonald Trump Reuters

Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump has said Israel should continue building in Judea and Samaria, insisting the Jewish state should “keep moving forward” in response to Arab terrorism.

Speaking to the UK’s Daily Mail, Trump emphasized his support for the State of Israel, and appeared to veer away from previous comments in which he declared that he would stay “neutral” on the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Trump referenced the “thousands of missiles being launched into Israel,” by Arab terrorists prior to the 2014 Gaza war, asking rhetorically: “Who would put up with that? Who would stand for it?”

He also said he would sharply depart from the policies of the current White House, which has put enormous pressure on Israel to halt all construction – in Jewish areas only – in Judea and Samaria.

Asked if he similarly thought a building freeze was a good idea, Trump responded: “No, I don’t think it is, because I think Israel should have – they really have to keep going. They have to keep moving forward.”

Watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLZA7ASKZwo

“No, I don’t think there should be a pause,” the GOP frontrunner added, while leveling criticism against the Obama administration for its treatment of Israel.

“Look: Missiles were launched into Israel, and Israel, I think, never was properly treated by our country. I mean, do you know what that is, how devastating that is?”

He did repeat his intention to negotiate a peace deal, however, but cautioned he would only do so if he believed the deal would be a permanent one.

“With all of that being said, I would love to see if peace could be negotiated. A lot of people say that’s not a deal that’s possible. But I mean lasting peace, not a peace that lasts for two weeks and they start launching missiles again. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump continued.

He also underlined his good personal relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu – despite the latter’s criticism of him last year for his comments about banning Muslim immigration, which eventually scuppered the billionaire’s planned visit to Israel.

Trump praised Netanyahu as “a very good guy,” and again attacked Obama for his hostile treatment of the Israeli leader.

“I don’t know him that well, but I think I’d have a very good relationship with him,” Trump said of Netanyahu, for whom he made an endorsement video during last year’s Israeli general election.

“I think that President Obama has been extremely bad to Israel.”

Trump also repeated his oft-stated astonishment over Jews who continue to support Obama despite his hostility towards Israel.

“I don’t even understand where – I have Jewish friends that support Obama. I tell them all the time, I say, ‘What are you doing? The Iran deal is a disaster for Israel,'” he said.

Leftist Violence and Double Standards

May 3, 2016

Leftist Violence & Double Standards, Front Page MagazineAri Lieberman, May 3, 2016

Violence and MSM

The so-called “mainstream” national media has developed a penchant for focusing on violence originating from certain quarters while all but ignoring hooliganism emanating from others. The disparity in treatment is due primarily to an agenda being pushed by leftist elements within the media establishment including but not limited to, MSNBC and the New York Times.

Violence emanating from Trump supporters buttresses a false narrative that many within the establishment media wish to propagate; namely that Trump’s immigration and border policies are laced with racist undertones. The issue is not framed within the context of securing borders, protecting U.S. citizens from crime and terrorism and curtailing an already overburdened entitlement system for illegals. Rather, Trump’s opponents and their allies in the media have succeeded in framing the issue as one involving racial divisiveness and incitement.

That narrative, displayed over and over again in print as well as social media has succeeded in fueling extreme left-wing violence at Trump rallies far outweighing the violence exhibited by a very limited number of Trump supporters. Yet violence by Trump supporters is still given prominence despite its limited scope and scale. Isolated incidents involving violence at Trump gatherings are given disproportionate coverage far beyond their importance.

Consider the side-by-side contrast of media coverage in two separate instances of violence at Trump rallies. On March 10, a 78-year old senior citizen punched an anti-Trump demonstrator in the face at a Trump rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The action was inexcusable and the perpetrator was arrested and rightfully charged with misdemeanor assault while his victim required no medical attention.

On Thursday and Friday, a large unruly mob of anti-Trump hooligans, some of whom displayed Mexican flags, assembled at the Orange County Fairgrounds in California where a pro-Trump rally was held. The mob quickly resorted to violence, blocking traffic, throwing bricks, ransacking police cars and attacking policemen. One bystander, who had the misfortune of wearing a Trump T-shirt was slugged in the face, knocked to the ground and required several unsightly stitches to close his wound. Several police cars were damaged and a police horse was injured. The resulting damage will reportedly cost the fairgrounds tens of thousands of dollars.

The former case involving the pro-Trump senior citizen made headlines nationally. Video of the incident was shown in an endless loop. Elements within the establishment media made certain to frame the issue as one with racial overtones, since the perpetrator was white and the victim, black. Coverage of the incident – which involved a single punch and no real injury – lasted for weeks with MSNBC and other media commentators noting (falsely) how Trump rallies draw racist crowds. Trump’s supporters were unfairly painted with a broad brush.

In the latter case, while the incident received prominent local media coverage, it lacked the national staying power of the Fayetteville incident even though the resultant violence was far more extreme and damaging. CNN tried to “balance” its reporting of the incident by citing claims by the louts that they were merely there to demonstrate their angst against Trump’s “message of hate.” Vandalism and property damage was justified as a “mere symptom of hate speech.” CNN bent over backward to provide justification or at least understanding of the demonstrators’ baleful actions. No such slack is ever afforded to Trump supporters.

Of course, there was no justification for the violence in Orange County just as there was no justification for the violence in Fayetteville. But for some inexplicable reason, in the eyes of agenda-driven leftist media outlets, not all acts of violence are created equal.

Bullying and hooliganism of the sort that had been characteristic of the radical right has now become part and parcel of tactics employed by the radical left. Whether it’s a professor calling for “some muscle” to eject a student reporter at the University of Missouri or pro-Palestinian activists disrupting a peaceful gathering at San Francisco State University, the methods are becoming more violent and their use, more frequent.

These incidents of radical leftist hooliganism are given mere scant coverage by the leftist media. Often, they are entirely ignored by left-wing media and only belatedly covered after non-mainstream bloggers bring it to the community’s attention by creating a social media storm.

In the case of Trump, it is readily apparent that certain elements within the mainstream media have sacrificed journalistic integrity to advance a particular ideology. It is indeed a sad reflection of the present state of journalism.

Florida Synagogue Bomber Plotted to Kill Jews for “Glory of Allah”

May 3, 2016

Florida Synagogue Bomber Plotted to Kill Jews for “Glory of Allah” Front Page Magazine, Daniel Greenfield, May 3, 2016

james-medina-11-e1462213958443

The last time I was in Los Angeles, there were guards at every synagogue. In New York, there are police officers in front of every synagogue. But the media won’t talk about Muslim anti-Semitism. Instead it’ll pretend that we face a grave Islamophobia threat. Two days from now this story will be buried beneath a deluge of “Muslims fear backlash” stories. And Jews will have to pray in synagogues under assault.

And so we turn to James Gonzalo Medina aka James Muhammad, who converted to Islam, threatened a church and then plotted to bomb a synagogue for Islam.

Medina has a number of prior arrests, including one in August 2012 when he was accused of sending violent threats via text message to a Coral Springs family.

One text read: “By next week, Ima bomb ya [curse word] … Bring him! I will buy a gun [off] the street and rampage [family member’s] church. Murder she wrote,” according to the 2012 affidavit.

And at some point, Muhammad/Medina prioritized killing Jews.

One of Medina’s associates informed the FBI source that Medina was planning to martyr himself in a firearms attack on the Aventura synagogue, using AK-47 assault rifles — then, the affidavit said, the conversation turned to claiming responsibility for it. Medina said he liked the source’s idea of using the name of a notorious terrorist group — ISIS or al-Qaida-linked Shabaab — to assume responsibility.

Medina, who told the source he had converted to Islam four years ago, said the planned synagogue attack would inspire other Muslims. Medina would later express his “current hatred for the Jewish people,” the affidavit said.

An FBI undercover employee questioned Medina about his resolve: “You’re sure this is something you want to do?” Medina answered: “I feel like it’s my calling,” adding he was “comfortable” with killing innocent women and children.

Initially, an FBI confidential source met with Medina and two of his associates in late March and discussed the attack plan for the first time, according to an FBI affidavit. In early April, Medina talked about the timing of the assault with the source, who mistakenly suggested it could be carried out in a couple of weeks on the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur — not realizing the upcoming holiday was Passover.

Medina’s response: “… that’ll be a good day to go and bomb them,” the affidavit said.

Before his arrest, Medina made three videos with his cellphone: In the first, he was recorded saying, “Aventura, watch your back. ISIS is in the house.” In the second, he said, “Today is gonna be a day where Muslims attack America. I’m going to set a bomb in Aventura.” And in the third, he said his good-byes to his family.

And yes, he knew what he was doing. The “not a Muslim” thing did not fly.

CHS: MEDINA doesn’t have passion.

TI: No, no listen, listen, listen … no no it’s possible. I always knew in my heart …

CHS: MEDINA is suicidal, he’s not a Muslim.

TI: No, no, no, no listen, listen, listen. When, when I first met him, you know what he taught me. He taught me something you know. It’s not like he’s not knowledgeable. It’s not like he’s not bullshit.

CHS: It’s ok.

TI: It’s not like he’s not religious.

CHS was the FBI’s informant.

On April 1, 2016, MEDINA met with the CHS and at one point, while driving around in the CHS’s car, MEDINA directed the CHS to the synagogue in Aventura, the site of MEDINA’s intended attack. MEDINA described the synagogue (“it’s a real big one”), and when they drove up to it, MEDINA pointed it out (“[Y]ou see the, the, the David’s triangle star.”) Then MEDINA redirected the conversation from the location of the attack to its timing. MEDINA stated, “You see it there. And you see, I mean that’s where it is, but you gotta know when to go like.”

MEDINA explained some of his religious philosophies that form the basis for his current hatred for Jewish people…  MEDINA explained that if he would conduct an attack be would want to do it at a synagogue because Jewish people are the ones causing the world’s wars and conflicts.

MEDINA further explained that attacking one synagogue would give hope and light to other Muslims in America.

MEDINA further explained that the “plot” that he and BH had discussed allowed them to “strike back to the Jews, by going to a synagogue and just spraying everybody … ‘ cause we’re Muslims you know what I mean? It’s a war man and it’s like it’s time to strike back here in America.” MEDINA then stated that he wanted to go inside to kill people while the others shot people as they were fleeing the scene.

MEDINA then commented that the news coverage could galvanize Muslims to worldwide action: “I wanna see it go worldwide with now all the Muslims realizing you know, when it’s our time .. . Next thing you know it will be in California, Washington, and the brothers are saying you know, it’s our time now.”

MEDINA then discussed placing the bomb in the parking lot of the synagogue, and added, ” [W]e can just lay one out there and then bomb it later … I’d like to put it like, as close as possible, to the door.”

MEDINA envisioned a terrorist operation that would inflict maximum casualties, commenting “‘Cause, uh, I’m sure this is gonna be hammered. All these people gonna die.” He provided detailed instructions to the CHS about how to drop him off and then pick him up after the bomb had been strategically placed.

MEDINA again recounted the operational plan, with emphasis on the fact that it shoUld be when the synagogue is full of people: “[Y]ou just let me in there real quick, and I find my opportunity to walk in while the service already started … When I see, uh, I find the clearance, it’s where you’re gonna tell me, okay now, pull up and drop me off.” MEDINA flatly told the CHS, “Oh my God, I can’t wait.”

MEDINA told a story about a Jewish woman he had met earlier who had given him a ride. A discussion had ensued regarding her fear of Muslims once she realized MEDINA was a Muslim and her thoughts that MEDINA might kill her. Thereafter, MEDINA remarked to the UCE and the CHS that he had told her, “[Y]ou know, we’re, we’re just getting bombed for no reason, and it was time to get out. But it made me just think more that, you know, it just, when she said that you will kill me, I’m thinking yeah man, I want to. You know what I mean? I really do … ”

The UCE asked, “Why do you wanna do this?” MEDINA responded, “Because I realize that I have a lot of love for Allah. And I know that all these, all these wars that are going on, it hurts me, too. You know? It’s my call of duty. I gotta 10 get back, when I’m doing this, I feel that I’m doing it for a good cause for Allah.”

MEDINA’s comments prompted the UCE to ask another question about his motivation, “What message are you sending?” The UCE wanted to know more about MEDINA’s purpose in attacking the synagogue, including what claim of responsibility would be made. MEDINA answered that “I’m gonna call that it’s ISIS in America.” MEDINA plainly told the UCE that “I do want to get the bomb,” and though he had considered using an AK.-47 assault rifle to “just go in there and rampage everybody,” he concluded, “Well I’d like to use the bomb.” MEDINA added, “And I’m hoping that that one bomb can just cause a big damage you know? And let them realize that their Yom Kippur’s going down.”

MEDINA responded that it is Allah’s will and that he’s not crazy and reckless to the point where he would get the UCE arrested: “No I’m not like that.” The UCE cautioned MEDINA one more time that “once you do this, there’s no going back.” MEDINA reiterated his plan to personally deposit the bomb, and after it detonated, enjoy watching the news coverage of the attack: “That we, they, whatever they’re sayin’, that they’re being bombed and all of that … , and knowing that it was from us. And just getting’ a joy that I’m doing this you know, I did it. It worked out. And whatever happens, it’s for the glory of Allah.”

2 days.

Then the media will be running stories about how Islamophobia is the real problem and Muslim anti-Semitism doesn’t actually exist. Then The Nation will be doing sob stories about Medina claiming that he was a mentally unstable man used as a pawn by the FBI, just like they’re still doing for synagogue bomber Ahmed Ferhani in New York.

London Is About To Elect A Muslim Mayor Who Has Defended Islamists, 9/11 Terrorists, And Who Is Endorsed By Anti-Semites

May 3, 2016

London Is About To Elect A Muslim Mayor Who Has Defended Islamists, 9/11 Terrorists, And Who Is Endorsed By Anti-Semites

by Raheem Kassam3 May 2016

Source: London Is About To Elect A Muslim Mayor Who Has Defended Islamists, 9/11 Terrorists, And Who Is Endorsed By Anti-Semites

Getty

Londoners go to the polls on Thursday to choose a replacement for the outgoing Mayor, Boris Johnson MP. Despite the fact the Labour Party is currently mired in an anti-Semitism scandal, if all things remain equal, expect the party’s candidate Sadiq Khan MP to be confirmed in the early hours of Friday morning.

Mr. Khan, 45, has had a successful career in the Labour Party, being elected to parliament in 2005, becoming a Minister of State in 2008 with a promotion in 2009. He was a Shadow Secretary of State for Justice from 2010-15, and has been running for London Mayor since then.

POLLING

In fact, as I predicted in January, the polls have changed very little since the beginning of the year. This is despite a negative-ad onslaught by the Conservative Party and its candidate Zac Goldsmith – the multi-millionaire son of Eurosceptic royalty Sir James Goldsmith, and brother of socialite and Vanity Fair editor Jemima Khan.

Mr. Goldsmith and his ‘Back Zac’ campaign have used the last few months to highlight Sadiq Khan’s proximity to Islamic extremists, extremism, and this past weekend, to anti-Semitism.

But perhaps it speaks to the mindset of Londoners, and certainly the British capital’s demographic shift, that such news has scarcely affected Mr. Khan.

In January, a YouGov poll put Mr. Goldsmith on 35 to Mr. Khan’s 45 per cent. When you take into account London’s supplementary voting system, the numbers after the second preference votes are counted ended up 45-55 to Mr. Khan.

Last week, that number stood at 40-6o to Mr. Khan. After second preference votes, the extremist-adjacent candidate has a 20 point poll lead.

While last week’s events – when one of Mr. Khan’s most prominent backers Ken Livingstone was implicated in a Hitler/anti-Semitism scandal – may serve to keep some of Mr. Khan’s voters at home, it is hard to imagine the Conservatives overturning such a drastic poll lead.

A MUSLIM MAYOR?

Polling suggests some people are nervous about having someone like Mr. Khan near an office that wields so much power, responsibility, and cash.

Private conversations with Westminster insiders often see Lutfur Rahman – the former Mayor of Tower Hamlets – raised as another example of a prominent Muslim mayor.

Mr. Rahman was removed from office, accused by critics of playing sectarian politics with the area’s Muslim population, of backing Islamists, and of distributing tax payer cash to his favoured Muslim groups to secure their support.

Mr. Rahman was found guilty of “corrupt and illegal practices” – and has perhaps set back the plight of the few, integrated British Muslims in elected life. He – alongside politicians like Humza Yousaf, Sayeeda Warsi, Rushanara Ali, Shabana Mahmood, Yasmin Qureshi, Amjad Bashir, Naz Shah, and Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh – have created a deep distrust between British voters and Muslim politicians.

In fact one third of Londoners remain suspicious of having a Muslim Mayor, and the likes of Sajid Javid or Syed Kamall suffer because of their co-religionists’ insistence on fellow-travelling with extremists, if not holding extremist views themselves.

EXTREMISM

And Mr. Khan can hardly claim a clean record. Mr. Goldsmith’s attacks are not without basis, though they have been shrugged off as “racism” or “Islamophobia” with the assistance of the left’s useful idiots like Owen Jones.

Apart from his somewhat threatening statements about not voting for him while claiming that “he is the West”, Mr. Khan’s own track record is perhaps one of the most sour of all Muslim politicians in the Western world.

In 2001 he was the lawyer for the Nation of Islam in its successful High Court bid to overturn the 15-year-ban on its leader, Louis Farrakhan.

In 2005 and 2006 he visited terror-charged Babar Ahmad in Woodhill Prison. Mr. Ahmed was extradited to the U.S. in 2012, serving time in prison before being returned to the UK in 2015. Mr. Ahmed pleaded guilty to the terrorist offences of conspiracy, and providing material support to the Taliban.

And Mr. Khan also campaigned for the release and repatriation of Shaker Aamer, Britain’s last Guantanamo detainee, who was returned to the UK in November.

Both Messrs Aamer and Ahmed provided Mr. Khan with links to the advocacy group CAGE, which described the Islamic State executioner Mohammed Emwazi as a “beautiful young man”, and which has campaigned on behalf of both men. Mr. Khan is reported to have shared a stage with five Islamic extremists, including at sex-segregated events. Even so, his poll numbers remain firm.

The ConservativeHome website lists even more concerns, including:

  • letter to the Guardian in the wake of the 7/7 terrorist bombings on London, blaming terrorism on British Government policy;
  • His legal defence of Zacarias Moussaoui, a 9/11 terrorist who confessed to being a member of Al Qaeda;
  • His chapter in a book, entitled ‘Actions Against the Police’ which advises on how to bring charges against the police for “racism”. This is the same police force that Mr. Khan as London mayor would exercise authority over;
  • His defence of Islamist extremist Azzam Tamimi. When Dr. Tamimi told a crowd that the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammed would “cause the world to tremble” and predicted “Fire… throughout the world if they don’t stop”, Mr. Khan, who shared a platform with him, dismissed the threats as “flowery language”;
  • His platform-sharing with Suliman Gani, a south London imam who has urged female subservience to men, and called for the founding of an Islamic state.

THURSDAY

Londoners may, in small part, be swayed by the clutch of anti-Semitism that is now perceived to grip Labour. But with Mr. Khan’s lead, it is unlikely to be a large enough swing to keep him out of office.

On Friday morning, Londoners will likely get the news that their mayor for the next four years is a man with the judgement, priorities, and fellow travellers as laid out above. This, combined with an annual £16bn budget, and an army of police, bureaucrats, and officials, would make Mr. Khan one of the most powerful Muslims in the Western world.

This hollow fabric either must inclose,
Within its blind recess, our secret foes;
Or ‘t is an engine rais’d above the town,
T’ o’erlook the walls, and then to batter down.
Somewhat is sure design’d, by fraud or force:
Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse.’

– Virgil’s Aeneid 

How Many Molenbeeks in France?

May 3, 2016

How Many Molenbeeks in France? Gatestone InstituteYves Mamou, May 3, 2016

♦ “There are today, we know, a hundred neighborhoods in France that present potential similarities with what’s happened in Molenbeek.” — Patrick Kanner, Minister for Urban Areas.

♦ The Salafists, in fact, do not want to “take the power in these neighborhoods.” In many, they already have it.

♦ “The farther I walked between the buildings, the more I was stunned. A courtyard of Islamist miracles; an enclave that wants to live like during the times of Muhammad. Bakery, hairdresser… It’s a mini Islamic Republic. During the sermons, they denounce, they criminalize. A woman who smokes? A degenerate. A woman who does not veil herself? A tease. A man that does not eat halal? He has an express ticket to hell.” — Paris Match.

♦ Remadna received a death threat over the phone: “We know where your kids go to school,” and “your daughter is very pretty.” The next day, a delegation of completely veiled Salafist “true Muslim mothers” came and told her, “We want mosques, not schools.”

Patrick Kanner, France’s Minister for Urban Areas, was undoubtedly not planning to tell the truth on March 27.

He was on the set of Europe 1 TV to emphasize the left’s credo: Islamist terrorism is rooted in poverty and unemployment. But they asked one question again and again: “How many Molenbeeks are in France?” Finally, he said: “There are today, we know, a hundred neighborhoods in France that present potential similarities with what has happened in Molenbeek.”

Molenbeek, as the entire world knows today, is the neighborhood of Brussels that has become the epicenter of jihad in Europe. It is a neighborhood under Salafist control that sent three of its residents to assassinate hundreds of people in Paris on November 13, 2015. These are the residents of the same neighborhood that bombed the Brussels airport and the Maalbeek Metro station.

1577The Molenbeek neighborhood of Brussels has become the epicenter of jihad in Europe. Abdelhamid Abaaoud (right), mastermind of the November 2015 attacks in Paris, lived in Molenbeek. Amedy Coulibaly (left), who in January 2015 murdered a policewoman and four Jews in Paris, spent time in Molenbeek.

The reactions to Kanner’s statement have not been slow. The first secretary of the Socialist Party, Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, accused Kanner of “dissolving national harmony.” Julien Dray, another leading figure of the Socialist Party, also criticized Kanner, telling him: “I do not like it when we stigmatize [people].”

Nonetheless, Kanner will not let himself be intimidated. In a March 28 interview in Le Parisien, he recalled,

“Amedy Coulibaly [the killer in the Hyper Cacher attack], who was from the Grande-Borne à Grigny, Mehdi Nemmouche [the Brussels Jewish Museum killer], who passed through the Bourgogne neighborhood in Tourcoing. and Mohamed Merah, who was from the Mirail neighborhood in Toulouse.”

Malek Boutih, Socialist Deputy, came to Kanner’s aid. He declared,

“It is the first time that a minister of the suburbs says even a little bit of the truth, namely that the ghettos have transformed, little by little, into zones that we cannot control very well… Neighborhoods that are incubators for terrorists.”

Samia Ghali, a Senator from Bouches du Rhones (Socialist Party), echoed the statements of the Minister for Urban Areas: “There are training camps in the neighborhoods of Marseille where people are learning to shoot.” She adds, “I’ve gotten to the point of asking if we should build walls to protect schoolyards from Kalashnikov bullets or from rifles finding their way into the school yard.”

Gilles Kepel, professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies, and one of the best experts on Islamism in France, explained in early April that three ingredients are necessary for making a Molenbeek:

“1) A strong system of crime organized around kif [a type of marijuana]; 2) Hideouts for terrorists and sites where they can stock weapons; 3) Local politicians who accept that the Salafists have opened countless uncontrollable mosques.”

These three ingredients would be uniformly present in all 100 French Molenbeeks, added Kepel. But the goal of the Salafists, he adds, is actually to seize neighborhoods in order to wage a “enclave war.”

Patrick Kanner, the Minister for Urban Areas confirmed this view: “The Salafists want to take the power in these neighborhoods.” The gravity of the situation was recently underscored by Prime Minister Manual Valls: a fundamentalist “minority,” he said, is about to win “the ideological and cultural battle” over Islam.

The Salafists, in fact, do not want to “take the power in these neighborhoods.” In many, they already have it.

On January 27, the magazine Paris-Match dedicated several pages to the neighborhood Reine-Jeanne in Avignon, a large city in the south of France, where the Salafists have systematically exploited half a million Muslims.

“The farther I walked between the buildings, the more I was stunned. A courtyard of Islamist miracles, a Salafist pocket, an enclave that wants to live like during the times of Muhammad. Bakery, hairdresser, building managers, teenagers. All (or almost) overcome with the Koran. Well, their Koran. It’s a mini Islamic Republic.

“During the sermons, they denounce, they criminalize. A woman who smokes? A degenerate. A woman who does not veil herself? A tease. A man that does not eathalal? He has an express ticket to hell. That female neighbor, the one who is divorced, with three kids, and works with men? She will end up losing her virtue. She should just give up. In order to not pass for an ‘easy woman,’ the unlucky choose the hard life, welfare benefits!”

In Sevran, a suburb of Paris, the Salafist mosque was sealed off several weeks ago because it had been recruiting a dozen young Muslims for the Islamic State. Six may have already been killed in Syria. Nadia Remadna, a Muslim social worker, lives in Sevran. She started the local “Mothers’ Brigade” to help women keep control over their children, against the Islamists. In 2014, she wrote the provocative book, How I Saved My Children, with the sub-title “Before, we feared our children would fall in with delinquents. Now, we fear they will become terrorists.”

On March 14, Remadna received a death threat over the phone: “We know where your kids go to school,” and “your daughter is very pretty.”

The next day, a delegation of completely veiled Salafist “true Muslim mothers” came and told her, “We want mosques, not schools.”

On March 29, the philosopher Yves Michaud spoke to the magazine Paris Match about his students:

“My ex-students who teach today in the suburbs… tell me that among their students they have some who could become terrorists overnight. They take on the weight of Islam, of adolescence, of the ghettoization that makes them question their identity, of cultural disorientation. It is an ideal breeding-ground for the jihadist calling.”

How many Salafists are there in France? 15,000 to 20,000, according to Bernard Godard, former head of the Bureau of Religion for the Ministry of the Interior. According to the politician Antoine Sfeir, there are 20,000 to 30,000 Salafists. According to police sources, out of 2,500 listed Islamic places of worship in metropolitan France, at least 90 are Salafist. The number doubles every three years. They are located in the suburbs of Paris, in the Lyon region and in Marseille.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, 41 Islamic places of worship have been the target of “infiltration,” meaning that “traditional” imams are being forcibly evicted and replaced by Salafist imams.

The real question is: If the state is aware of the situation — and it is — why has it not banned Salafism, and why does it not expel the Salafist imams who are prospering not only in these neighborhoods, but also on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter?

Israel Thwarted Attempted Smuggling of Ammonium Chloride to Gaza

May 3, 2016

Israel Thwarted Attempted Smuggling of Ammonium Chloride to Gaza, Israel DefenseOr Heller, May 3, 2016

Amonium chloridePhoto: Nitzana Customs

Before the Passover holiday, customs and ISA officials at the Nitzana Border Crossing used by Egypt, Israel and the Palestinian Authority seized four tons of ammonium chloride concealed within a shipment of salt. Ammonium chloride can be used in the production of long-range rockets and the quantity of material seized had the potential to yield hundreds of such weapons.

About a week before the Passover holiday, a shipment arrived at the Nitzana crossing, used for the passage of goods between Israel, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority. The shipment was intended for delivery to Gaza and was declared to contain 40 tons of salt. A thorough examination performed by Customs at Nitzana revealed that amidst the 40 tons of salt, 4 tons of ammonium chloride was concealed. Ammonium chloride is defined as dual-purpose and the transfer of such material to the Gaza Strip requires a license because it can be used by terrorist organizations, such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad to manufacture long-range rockets. Recently, the ISA has grown increasingly concerned regarding the large amount of salt ordered to Gaza and that the shipments of salt are used for smuggling of chemicals designated for the production lines in the Gaza Strip, especially rocket production.

The ISA estimates that the importer of the latest smuggling attempt is a Gaza resident associated with Hamas. The importer was believed to have been urged by the terrorist group to bring the materials into the Strip for manufacturing use by Hamas. The ISA emphasized that this case illustrates that terrorist operatives in Gaza smuggle dual-use materials into the coastal Palestinian enclave for militant purposes under the guise of imports intended for the civilian population and construction of restoration projects.

ISA and the Customs Administration view this incident as severe and intend to continue to identify and thwart the smuggling of dual-use materials, while prosecuting those involved in smuggling attempts. The cooperation between the Customs Administration and ISA has already led to the thwarting of dozens of smuggling attempts of prohibited products and materials into Gaza, which were allegedly intended for terrorist organizations, including: sulfuric acid, diving Suits, polyurethane propellant for rockets, sulfur rods, fiberglass rolls, and a special coal used to fuel iron furnaces for processing metals.

Palestinians: Preparing Their People for Statehood?

May 3, 2016

Palestinians: Preparing Their People for Statehood?

by Khaled Abu Toameh

May 3, 2016 at 5:00 am

Source: Palestinians: Preparing Their People for Statehood?

  • The internecine strife in Fatah no longer appears restricted to the loyalists of Dahlan and Abbas. It is threatening to erupt into an all-out war between contesting camps. Some Palestinians see the internal strife as the most serious challenge to Abbas’s rule over Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, especially in wake of growing criticism among Palestinians against Abbas’s policies and autocratic regime.
  • The criticism has escalated following last week’s humiliating defeat of Fatah to Hamas at the student council election of Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah.
  • Hamas is thriving on the mayhem among the top brass of Fatah and disgust with Abbas and the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank. Rather than striving to improve the lives of Palestinians, Fatah leaders spend their time playing at being gangsters, settling scores. Meanwhile Abbas continues his charade of lies with the international community that he and his Fatah faction are ready for a sovereign state.

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas’s ruling Fatah faction is supposed to be preparing its people for statehood. But it seems to be busy with other business.

According to sources in the Gaza Strip, Hamas security forces recently uncovered a scheme to assassinate a number of senior Fatah officials living there.

The sources claimed that ousted Fatah operative Mohamed Dahlan, who has been living in the United Arab Emirates for the past five years, was the mastermind of the alleged scheme. Dahlan’s men in the Gaza Strip were planning to assassinate Fatah officials closely associated with his rival, Abbas, the sources revealed.

Dahlan’s hit list included Ahmed Abu Nasr, Jamal Kayed, Emad al-Agha and Mamoun Sweidan.

After the alleged plot was uncovered, Hamas summoned a number of top Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip and asked them to take precautionary measures to ensure their safety.

Abbas and Dahlan have, for the past five years, been at each other’s throats. The two were once close allies and had worked together to undermine the former Palestinian Authority president, Yasser Arafat.

But the honeymoon between Abbas and Dahlan, a former security commander in the Gaza Strip and an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), ended several years ago.

Abbas woke up one morning and discovered that his erstwhile ally and friend, Dahlan, was an in fact a bitter enemy. On instructions from Abbas, Palestinian security officers raided Dahlan’s residence in Ramallah and confiscated documents and personal belongings. Dahlan fled the West Bank and has not set foot since in Ramallah or any other Palestinian city.

Next, Abbas had Dahlan dismissed from Fatah on charges of murder and financial corruption. Since then, Dahlan, who has become an “advisor” to the rulers of the United Arab Emirates, has been waging a fierce smear campaign against Abbas and his Fatah loyalists.

Now, the sources in the Gaza Strip are claiming that Dahlan was behind a plot to eliminate those loyalists.

The claim came after clashes erupted between Dahlan and Abbas supporters in parts of the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (left) and Mohamed Dahlan (right), a former Fatah commander and minister, have, for the past five years, been at each other’s throats. The two were once close allies and had worked together to undermine the former PA president, Yasser Arafat. (Image sources: U.S. State Dept., M. Dahlan Office)

Last week, the Fatah leadership expelled from its ranks nine Dahlan supporters. They were accused of attacking the home of Abdullah Abu Samhadanah, a senior Fatah official and Abbas loyalist.

Earlier, loyalists to Abbas and Dahlan were busy hurling chairs and stones at each other. The incident took place at a rally to commemorate slain PLO leader Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad), assassinated by Israeli commandos in Tunisia in 1988. On May 1, another scuffle broke out between the two sides, this time in the Gaza Strip’s Jebalya refugee camp. That incident occurred during a rally held on the occasion of International Workers’ Day.

This internecine Fatah strife no longer appears restricted to the loyalists of Dahlan and Abbas. It is threatening to erupt into an all-out war between contesting camps. Some Palestinians see the internal strife as the most serious challenge to Abbas’s rule over Fatah and the Palestinian Authority, especially in wake of growing criticism among Palestinians against Abbas’s policies and autocratic regime.

The criticism has escalated following last week’s humiliating defeat of Fatah to Hamas at the student council election of Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah. Many in Fatah hold Abbas and his veteran old guard leaders personally responsible for the defeat.

In a move that shows that the plot inside Fatah is thickening, sources close to Hamas claimed this week that another senior Fatah official in the West Bank was behind a plan to liquidate top members of the faction in the Gaza Strip.

According to reports published on a number of Hamas-affiliated websites, the former head of the General Intelligence Force in the West Bank, Tawfik Tirawi, was the mastermind behind the alleged scheme. The reports claimed that Hamas summoned Ahmed Nasr, a top Fatah official, and informed him of Tirawi’s purported plan to kill other Fatah leaders as well as Nasr himself. Nasr has confirmed that he was asked by Hamas to take precautionary measures to avoid any attempt on his life.

Hamas claims that Tirawi’s alleged plot was uncovered during the interrogation of Marwa al-Masri, a senior Fatah member. Hamas security forces arrested her as she was about to leave the Gaza Strip for Ramallah.

Dahlan and Tirawi, who were once viewed by many Palestinians as potential successors to Abbas and promising new leaders representing the “young guard,” apparently had different motives behind their alleged schemes.

While Dahlan may have sought revenge against Abbas and his loyalists, Tirawi apparently wanted to create instability in the Gaza Strip by blaming Hamas for the assassination of top Fatah officials.

Dahlan sought revenge against Abbas for expelling him from Fatah and making him into a “refugee” in the United Arab Emirates. Tirawi, for his part, wished to undermine Hamas’s rule in the Gaza Strip by killing some of his own colleagues in Fatah.

Tirawi and al-Masri, who has since been released from dentition by Hamas, have vehemently denied that they were plotting to eliminate senior Fatah officials in the Gaza Strip.

Whether true or not, Fatah’s credibility is crumbling, not only among the Palestinian public, but also among its own supporters. Hamas is thriving on the mayhem among the top brass of Fatah and disgust with Abbas and the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank. Rather than striving to improve the lives of Palestinians, Fatah leaders spend their time playing at being gangsters, settling scores. Meanwhile, Abbas continues his charade of lies with the international community that he and his Fatah faction are ready for a sovereign state.

Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Cessation of hostilities in Aleppo to be announced in coming hours

May 3, 2016

Cessation of hostilities in Aleppo to be announced in coming hours – Lavrov

Published time: 3 May, 2016 11:55 Edited time: 3 May, 2016 13:34

Source: Cessation of hostilities in Aleppo to be announced in coming hours – Lavrov — RT News

A cessation of hostilities in the Syrian city of Aleppo will be announced in the coming hours, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after talks with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.

Lavrov added that the US and Russian militaries are currently holding talks on the Aleppo ceasefire.
“I hope that in the coming hours such an agreement will be announced,” the minister said after the meeting in Moscow.

According to UN special envoy Staffan de Mistura, the stalled Syria peace talks could be resumed if an Aleppo ceasefire is agreed. He added that there is now a possibility to relaunch the ceasefire by extending local truces.

I have a feeling and a hope that we can relaunch this,” De Mistura said. “We all hope that … in a few hours we can relaunch the cessation of hostilities. If we can do this, we will be back on the right track.”

Lavrov also announced the creation of a new Russian-US monitoring center in Geneva, Switzerland, which will oversee ceasefire violations in Syria.

“We are grateful to the UN for its help in solving logistical issues on the creation of this center in Geneva where the militaries of the two countries will discuss face-to-face specific developments on the ground,” he said.

Moscow is also urging Washington to distinguish between extremists and the Syrian opposition, Lavrov added.

To make the ceasefire work and make it inclusive, our partners must do everything possible to remove the moderate opposition, which relies on foreign support, from the positions occupied by the terrorists.

Lavrov also called for an extended ceasefire in Syria. “Of course, there are separate groups who would like to undermine the cessation of hostilities, to provoke an escalation [of the crisis]. We can’t let them do it,” he said.

Lavrov also warned against any calls for a ground operation in Syria.

Russia is concerned, and not just us alone, about Turkey’s shelling of the Syrian territory, continued creation of certain security zones in Syria, not to mention the increasing calls for a ground operation.”

Moscow is convinced “that such calls come from those who are not interested in the real political settlement [of Syrian crisis] and who rely on a military solution.”

“We are convinced that this is the way to a catastrophic situation, and such appeals should be stopped,” Lavrov said.

In April, the Geneva peace talks were gridlocked after the Saudi-backed Syrian opposition withdrew from the negotiations, citing the deteriorating situation in Aleppo.

Acknowledging the increasingly shaky state of the ceasefire in Syria, de Mistura then expressed hope that Russia and the US could breathe new impetus into the process, halting the fighting on the ground and solidifying the political transition process.

On Monday, the Free Syrian Army refused to recognize partial ceasefires or local lulls in violence, claiming that if the UN-backed truce was not implemented in full, the group would reserve its right to withdraw from the Geneva talks and respond to any attacks.

UN official: Hamas doesn’t use cement for terror

May 3, 2016

Senior UN official denies Hamas uses cement for terror tunnels UN Assistant Secretary-General says ‘no proof’ Hamas uses construction material for ‘military purposes.’

By Matt Wanderman

First Publish: 5/3/2016, 1:45 PM

Source: UN official: Hamas doesn’t use cement for terror – Defense/Security – News – Arutz Sheva

Terror tunnel Flash90

UN Assistant Secretary-General Robert Piper claims that there is no proof that Hamas is taking advantage of UN-provided construction material for “military purposes,” the pro-Hamas Middle East Monitor reports.

He made his remark after Israel announced that it was blocking the transfer of cement into Gaza because Hamas uses it to build terror tunnels. Piper said that the United Nations has provided 1.2 million tons of construction materials to Gaza, though he did not explain why despite that very few reparations have been carried out since 2014’s Operation Protective Edge.

Recently, the Palestinian Authority claimed that the reconstruction is stymied by a lack of funds. Critics, including the Gaza-based think tank PalThink, say that the PA is trying to improve its own standing rather than Gaza. “Whenever the PA proposes development plans, it mixes between the reconstruction of Gaza and its own financial needs in order to get billions for its treasury,” says isntitute head Omar Sha’ban.

Despite Piper’s protestations, Hamas seems to make far more progress on building tunnels than on repairing residential neighborhoods and public services.

Robert Piper heads the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), which handles natural disasters and complex emergencies.