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Palestinian Columnist: Israel, Not ISIS, Perpetrated Brussels And Paris Attacks As Revenge For Europe’s Hostility Towards It

March 28, 2016

Palestinian Columnist: Israel, Not ISIS, Perpetrated Brussels And Paris Attacks As Revenge For Europe’s Hostility Towards It, MEMRI, March 28, 2016

Muwaffaq Matar, a columnist for the Palestinian Authority (PA) daily Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, wrote that ISIS by itself lacks the power and ability to carry out massive attacks like those that occurred recently in Paris and Brussels, and that they were actually orchestrated by Israel, using ISIS as a tool. He claimed that Israel carried out the attacks as revenge for Europe’s recent moves against it, such as the EU’s decision to mark products manufactured in the occupied territories, and the French initiative to convene an international conference for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and, if it fails, to recognize a Palestinian state.

The following are excerpts from Matar’s column:[1]

27400Muwaffaq Matar (Image: Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, PA)

“The statement of French President [Francois] Hollande – that terrorism struck Belgium but hit the heart of Europe [as a whole] – is perfectly true. [2] However, the day will come, [perhaps] in a quarter of a century, when a French president will declare [the true identity of] those who struck the heart of Europe using the weapons and the tools of ISIS. Following a thorough examination of the situation and the unfolding of events, one definitely realizes that there are no coincidences and that the terror attacks in the capital of Europe were not just a reaction to the arrest of the mastermind behind the Paris attacks, Salah Abdeslam. They came at precisely the right moment for the real element that decided to target the heart of Europe while hiding behind the slogan of ISIS.

“I do not want to point fingers, but why is it that ISIS’s crimes and massacres in France and Brussels coincided with Europe’s first attempt to liberate itself from Israel’s blackmail and from the [guilt] complex over the persecution of the Jews in Europe? [Why did they coincide] with the European parliaments supporting the Palestinians’ right [to a state], for the first time? Was it not France that conceived the idea of an international conference that would lead to ending the conflict and the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories? [France] was also the one that threatened to recognize a Palestinian state if Israel refused to turn towards peace with the Palestinians, [peace] that would guarantee their rights as recognized by the UN. [And] was it not the European Union, headquartered in Brussels, that decided to mark the products of the Israeli settlements, thereby [adversely] affecting Israel’s economy?

“Have you heard of the European boycott of Israel, of the effective and impressive activity of [European] activists, and of Israel’s fear of this activity that is gaining momentum? Why then should we not regard this background as the reason [that prompted] those who are harmed by the new Europe [namely Israel] to strike at the heart of Europe, even though the one who physically carried out [the attack] was a barbaric ISIS criminal completely devoid of humanity? The lesson [to be learned] from a crime does not lie solely in its details, in the tools [used to perpetrate it] and in its appearance, but also in the motivations behind it, the circumstances that enabled it, and the [identity of] the true hidden criminal. This is doubly true when it comes to the motivations of those who committed a historic crime against an entire people… and who do not eschew the use of terror, in all its guises and slogans, as a means and a tool to kill three birds with one terror attack: the Palestinian bird, the Arab bird and the European bird.

“Let’s not forget that the compartmentalization that characterizes the activity of the global terror organizations [actually] makes it easy for security apparatuses to infiltrate them and manipulate their members for their own ends. ISIS does not have the ability to strike wherever and however it pleases. Some element or elements have infiltrated it to the core, and are using it as their current tool to take revenge on Europe and rip out its heart.”

 

Endnote:

[1] Al-Hayat Al-Jadida (PA), March 24, 2016.

[2] Apparently refers to statements made by Hollande in a March 22, 2016 press conference, a few hours after the attacks. Hollande said, inter alia, that “terrorism struck Belgium, but it was Europe that was targeted.” Nytimes.com, March 22, 2016.

Categories: Brussels terror attack, Islamic terrorism, Israel, Palestinian media, Paris Muslim attack
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Israel Warns Citizens to Leave Turkey ASAP

March 28, 2016

Israel counter-terrorism bureau has warned Israelis to leave Turkey immediately due to a concrete terror threat.

By: Hana Levi Julian Published: March 28th, 2016

Source: The Jewish Press » » Israel Warns Citizens to Leave Turkey ASAP

Hebrew inscription above the entrance to the ancient Ahrida Synagogue in the Balat neighborhood in Istanbul. The synagogue is 500 years old but “because Jews no longer come to pray during the week” it opens only on the Sabbath, according to Turkish officials.
Photo Credit: Hana Levi Julian

Israel’s National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau (NSCCTB) upgraded its travel warning for Turkey on Monday to that of a “high concrete threat.”

But the threat is not just terrorism, although that is where the current danger lies. Ultimately, there is a greater existential threat beneath.

The counter-terrorism bureau warned Israelis not to travel to the country, and told those who are already there to leave as soon as possible.

“The deadly 19 March 2016 attack in Istanbul, in which a group of Israeli tourists was hit, underscores the threat by Da’esh (ISIS) against tourist targets throughout Turkey and proves high capabilities of carrying out further attacks.

“Terrorist infrastructures in Turkey continue to advance additional attacks against tourist targets – including Israeli tourists – throughout the country,” the warning continued.

Although Da’esh has carried out most of the attacks and the outlawed PKK Kurdistan Workers’ Party terror group has carried out the rest, for Israelis, the Hamas terrorist organization presents an equal threat. The international Hamas headquarters is located in Istanbul, and yet no mention has been made of its existence despite its ongoing pledge to annihilate Israel and her Jewish citizens. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party welcomed Hamas to the country; Erdogan is a passionate supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood which gave birth to Hamas.

This fact stands in stark contrast to Erdogan’s recent vows to “fight terrorist together with Israel,” leaving one to wonder where he really stands.

“In the wake of an NSCCTB assessment of the situation, it has been decided to upgrade the existing travel warning vis-à-vis Turkey from a basic concrete threat to a high concrete threat, and to reiterate our recommendation to the public to avoid visiting the country and – for Israelis currently in Turkey – to leave as soon as possible.”

There are many Israelis who live in Turkey. A large number are intermarried with Turkish citizens. Some are there because they simply love the beauty of the country, its music and its art. Others are there for reasons relating to their business or artistic concerns.

While it is possible to find a few imported kosher items here and there in Istanbul, one has to hunt very hard to track them down. There are no local kosher supervising agencies. The only exception is the hechsher provided by the Chief Rabbinate of Turkey on a few tourist-related items such as “Turkish Delight” candies.

For the kosher traveler, one can order La Casa packaged meals that are used by Turkish Airlines and under the hechsher of the Chief Rabbinate of Turkey. As it happens, La Casa is also a catering service and actually creates one of the best-quality meals in the industry. Jewish travelers rely on it when visiting Turkey — with the exception of one restaurant and a kosher butcher who stocks frozen foods, there are no other options.

JewishPress.com spoke exclusively with some Jews who live in the country during a recent visit to learn how Jews are faring in Turkey and to give them a voice, if possible.

Not one of the Turkish Jews with whom this news outlet spoke was willing to be identified and most were unwilling to meet in person. Of those who did agree to meet, the tension – nay, fear – was palpable. Even after assurances this reporter would not record the conversation, it took repeated promises that no names would be used before sources could relax enough to speak.

The following narrative is a mashup of the comments of several sources with whom this reporter spoke while in Turkey, in order to fulfill that promise of protecting their identities.

“We are not safe,” a Jewish source said in a theme that was repeated over and over, in every conversation with JewishPress.com. “In fact, no one is truly safe at the moment – my Muslim friends are in just as much danger right now as I am. Da’esh (ISIS) looks upon them as infidels because they drink coffee with me, we relate to each other. The PKK targets us all. Terrorism is a scourge that knows no boundaries. But for Jews there are other dangers besides anti-Semitism, which is also still rampant here.

“Those of us who still remember who and what we are, and want to remain as Jews, must consider our next steps carefully. Some have already left – many, in fact – quietly, carefully. It’s frowned upon because we are loyal Turks; but our loyalty is no longer appreciated by our government or even most of our countrymen.

“Most of the synagogues are closed. There are no kosher stores left. Our neighborhoods are gone. Those of us who want to marry have few options to find Jewish mates. Every time Israel gets involved in a war, we are blamed by extremists here, regardless of what happens — and we have nothing to do with it! But underneath, way deep, our neighbors hate us.

“Probably when those who decide to leave here, finally actually go, they will be allowed to take with them only a fraction of what they now own, if even that — just like any other Jew who has ever left anywhere else in this region.

“But Turkish Jews must soon make a choice: do we survive as Jews, or do we choose Islam?”

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Does Ya’alon Forget He Also Fired (Again) to Personally Confirm A Terrorist Kill?

March 28, 2016

There is a huge whiff of IDF hypocrisy here, a stink of “holier than thou.” It’s too convenient for pols to forget their own past.

By: Jewish Press News Briefs

Published: March 27th, 2016

Source: The Jewish Press » » Does Ya’alon Forget He Also Fired (Again) to Personally Confirm A Terrorist Kill?

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe “Boogie” Ya’alon.
Photo Credit: Yonatan Sindel / Flash 90

Thursday’s shooting of a disabled but not yet dead terrorist – and the defense establishment’s condemnation of the soldier who killed him – may have been a case of the ‘pot calling the kettle black.’

Particularly by Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, who, it turns out, has been down this road himself before.

Nearly 30 years ago, then-Lt.Col. Moshe Ya’alon commanded the elite Sayeret Matkal unit tasked with eliminating arch terrorist Abu Jihad in a special operation in Tunisia.

Abu Jihad had masterminded the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre, the most deadly terror attack in the history of the state. In that attack 37 Israelis, including 12 children, were murdered in cold blood by a terror cell led by Dalal Mughrabi.

The Palestinian Authority celebrates the anniversary of the event every year to this day.

Abu Jihad also was behind the attack on the Tel Aviv Savoy Hotel in 1975, in which three IDF soldiers and eight other hostages were murdered.

Both attacks were carried out by the PLO’s central Fatah faction, led by Abu Jihad.

On the day that Abu Jihad was assassinated at his home in Tunis, foreign media reported the IDF soldier who carried out the attack, special ops commander Nahum Lev, was in his 20s. Lev was the first religious officer in the elite commando unit, considered a “daredevil,” according to investigative reporter Ronen Bergman. He was a deputy under Ya’alon in leading the Abu Jihad operation, code-named “Show of Force,” which involved both the special forces units and the Mossad.

Several minutes later, however, a different man confirmed Abu Jihad’s death by shooting him again, just to make sure he really was neutralized. The man firing the weapon was the operation commander, Ya’alon himself.

Moments later, Ya’alon was heard on the comm device telling command, “The director and his three workers are on their way to a world that is wholly good.”

The man who told this story to Arutz Sheva on condition of anonymity said he related the incident for a reason: “Before everyone pounces on a combat soldier in a complex situation and hands down a verdict, they should show some sensitivity. Ya’alon rushes to condemn like other politicians but if they judge the soldier, then why not [also] judge Boogie (Ya’alon)?”

What is the difference between those decades ago, and last week – other than the fact that in the current situation, an Arab filmed this incident and posted it on social media?

The soldier who now sits in Prison 4, has said he considered the terrorist still to be a threat.

Whether or not he was actively a threat at that moment, it is certainly true that at some point in the future he would absolutely return to being a threat had he lived, as others have. About that there is no doubt whatsoever. One has only to examine the recidivist rate among those who were swapped in the exchange for former IDF soldier Gilad Shalit to see that truth.

Moreover, the terrorist was wearing a bulky, zipped-up jacket on an unseasonably hot day – standard wear for suicide bombers. It was reasonable to consider that he might be wearing a suicide belt, and could still detonate it, injuries notwithstanding. That discussion is also heard on the video footage.

Whether he followed IDF protocol or not is a separate issue. Many people forget rules when under pressure – the army has guidelines on how to deal with that – but, imprisonment? For shooting a terrorist considered a mortal threat?

Almost 30 years ago, a man who later became this country’s IDF chief of staff and then its minister of defense didn’t think it at all unreasonable.

How odd that today he believes the exact same action to now be “extreme.”

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EXCLUSIVE – Top Gazan Terrorist: Only A Matter of Time Before ‘Big Operation’ in Eilat

March 28, 2016

Top Gazan Terrorist: Only a Matter of Time Before ‘Big Operation’ in Southern Israel

By Breitbart Jerusalem

27 Mar 2016

Source: EXCLUSIVE – Top Gazan Terrorist: Only A Matter of Time Before ‘Big Operation’ in Eilat

David Silverman/Newsmakers/Getty

TEL AVIV – It is only a matter of time before the Islamic State’s branch in the Egyptian Sinai carries out a “big operation” in the Israeli resort town of Eilat and other parts of southern Israel, a leading Islamic State-allied militant claimed in an exclusive interview.

Abu al-Ayna al-Ansari, a Salafist movement senior official in the Gaza Strip, made the claim in a pre-recorded, hour-long interview to air in full on Sunday on “Aaron Klein Investigative Radio,” the popular weekend talk radio program broadcast on New York’s AM 970 The Answer and NewsTalk 990 AM in Philadelphia. Klein doubles as Breitbart’s senior investigative reporter and Jerusalem bureau chief.

Ansari is a well-known Gaza Salafist jihadist allied with Islamic State ideology. During the interview with Klein, Ansari seemed to be speaking as an actual IS member, repeatedly using the pronoun “we” when referring to IS and even making declarations on behalf of IS.

IS has been reluctant to officially declare its presence in Gaza for fear of a Hamas crackdown, but the group is known to be active in the coastal enclave and Ansari is a suspected IS leader. IS-aligned militants have taken responsibility for recent rocket fire from Gaza aimed at Israel.

Klein asked Ansari about IS’s capabilities inside Israel.

Ansari replied:

Israel and the United States are at the top of the list of the targets of the Islamic State. The Islamic State educates its people that Israel and the United States are the leaders of the infidels and we believe that Israel should be disappeared.

As for the question about the cells, I cannot give you any details but there is no doubt that the Islamic State keeps working on creating its infrastructure and cells all around the world. And I can confirm that the Wilayat Sinai, the Egyptian branch of the Islamic State that is operating in the Sinai, will be the pioneers in this confrontation with Israel or what is called Israel.

And I can confirm that it is only a question of time when there will be a big operation in Eilat and in the south of Israel. The Wilayat Sinai will be the ones responsible for the confrontation with Israel.

The Jerusalem Post, which also reported on Klein’s interview, noted Col. Yehuda Cohen, the commander of the Israel Defense Forces’ Sagi Brigade operating on the border with Egypt, warned in September that the Islamic State in Egypt will likely eventually attempt terrorist attacks against Israel.

“In the end it must be remembered this organization was formed by terrorists that dream of a terror attack against Israel, and it will come. It’s clear that there will be a terror attack against Israel, I believe that it will happen during my tenure,” Cohen told Israel’s Army Radio at the time.

“I teach my people to expect it to come tomorrow, to always be ready for it. When it happens, my doctrine is that we must strike a very strong blow at the same point and ensure that there are zero successful actions for the enemy,” he said, referring to the IDF.

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Why Israeli airport security is so effective

March 27, 2016

Guest Post: Why Israeli airport security is so effective | Anne’s Opinions, 26th March 2016

(This is a guest post by Ralph Goodman. Ralph Goodman is a professional locksmith and an expert writer on all things locks and security over at the Lock Blog. The Lock Blog is a great resource to learn about keys, locks and safety. They offer tips, advice and how-to’s for consumers, locksmiths, and security professionals.

I noted that this article is particularly relevant in these days of increased terrorism such as the Brussels airport bombing, and even more so in the light of the latest news that an Israeli security firm’s advice on Brussels airport security went unheeded.)

 

Ben Gurion Airport

Ben Gurion Airport

Introduction

Anytime there is a tragedy in the world there is often a propensity within our humanity that leads us to anger and sadness. These are not the feelings that lead to answers. Without answers, there will be no end to the violence. In the wake of the terror attacks in Belgium, and the growing threat of lone wolf attacks across the globe, it is important not to lose sight of the main concern. Priority one should always be security. Keeping human life safe needs to be at the forefront of the world’s priorities well before blame, and certainly before hate. The question then becomes one of practicality. How can the world protect itself from the random violence of a few misguided individuals? The task seems insurmountable. But it is not. In fact, we do not even need to turn the knowledge of history. The answers we seek are being used at this very moment to keep the nation of Israel protected.

30 Years of Success

At this point, it has been more than three decades since any Israeli airliner has suffered a single hijacking or act of terrorism. Compare that to track record to the USA’s own Travel Security Administration (TSA), that when tested by Homeland Security failed to detect deadly threats 96% of the time. From these shockingly different rates of success, most people would assume that it must take an eternity to get through Israeli airport security. But that is not the case. Every passenger flying from Israel is not forced to take off his or her shoes and belts. There is no blanket pat down procedure for all travelers. You do not have to pour out your water, and there is not a body scanner that projects a simulated naked picture of every person’s body. In fact, most passengers pass through the security of Israeli airports faster than they would in the US. How is this possible? What are their policies? And is it possible to scale the success of this security to larger volume airports?

How They Do it

1. Personal Screening

The most glaring difference between Israel’s security and all other airport security is the personal attention every person receives. If you have never traveled through an Israeli airport, then this may seem invasive, and time-consuming. But with an average interview length of fewer than 30 seconds, it is hardly an inconvenience. The mentality of the security agents is that less than 1% of all of the people flying is a suspicious person, so there is no reason to treat everyone like a suspect. In fact, by limiting the number of people that need to be scrutinized, the vetting process can be done more efficiently and with greater depth. This personal interaction also begins before you get to the airport itself. People entering are screened before they drive in and park. Monitored before they enter the building. And interrogated with varying degrees of intensity upon entering. There are still metal detectors to walk through, but not every bag is screened. This shows a heavy reliance on the individual interaction between the security personnel and the passengers. With the track record they have, it shows that there may not be a need for anything more invasive or time-consuming.

2. Perimeter Patrols

Humans and remote controlled rovers monitor the outside of the airports. This allows the large area to be surveilled on multiple levels. The fences and surrounding areas are investigated for suspicious people and objects. If a planted item needs to be detonated, the unmanned rovers can do that remotely. The use of robots is meant to increase productivity by decreasing the time it takes to identify and neutralize a threat. These perimeter precautions also extend to the employees, which is a historically weak part of most airport security. Employees at Israeli Airports are scanned with biometric technology which checks fingerprints, and in some cases, conducts retinal scans. This solves any issues that may arise from non-passenger threats.

3. Air Marshals

airport2

Assuming that there is ever an active threat that boards a plane, at least, one Air Marshal is placed on each flight. Though there has never even been a bombing that needed to be thwarted on a flight, this security remains active. In the instance of all other security measures failing the plane will still be protected. Israeli security understands that there are many ways unsuspecting items can be turned into weapons. Glass can be broken to make a makeshift knife, and credit cards can be sharpened to have a razor edge. It may not have happened yet, but Israel’s Airport Security will be ready when it does. And in that situation trained military professionals that can neutralize a target in seconds. Though life is important, the marshals are said to terminate threats with extreme prejudice.

4. Profiling

Perhaps the most divisive methods used for security, profiling is also credited with being the most effective. Most officials are willing to say that race, gender, age, and religion are all factors in the profiling algorithm, but it is said that the methods extend far beyond just those features. Nir Ran, who is a former head of aviation security at the ISA (Israel Security Agency) and former Security Director at the Israeli Airline El Al, said “The passenger himself, arriving at the flight with a bomb in his suitcase will not necessarily be a Muslim, will not necessarily be a young man…on the contrary…in most of the cases… the people that were carrying the bomb to the plane were non-Muslim. [They were] young women” (VOA). If the people being stopped did not fit the profile that many think of as potential terrorists, then it could be said that these profilers are more unbiased than average citizens. This practice is not at all politically correct, but it has a proven history of working with the use of highly trained and intelligent workers.

Conclusion

The most important thing that we can learn from this effective security is that safety is possible. There are ways to protect life effectively, even in the chaotic times we live in. There is no way to doubt track record of these policies. Even if you do not think that profiling is morally right, there is no way to posit that it is not actively defeating terrorism. Because, although Israel may be a small nation, it is most certainly a target by the very same groups that are carrying out plane and airport attacks around the world. The morality of the practice must be balanced not only with your moral teachings but also weighed against the suspended liberties we have all endured. Being treated like a criminal without provocation, all in the name of security that does not protect us is a high and unnecessary price. Israel’s airport security embodies the humanity and personal attention that such complex issues need. There is no need for hate. There is not even a call for war. Security is possible with a reinvestment in education and training for the world’s transportation agencies. Have faith that peace can come without the loss of life or liberty.

Categories: Security, Terrorism
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Report: UK Pays Millions to Known Terrorists

March 27, 2016

Report: UK Pays Millions to Known Terrorists, The Jewish Press, March 27, 2016

Palestinian-presidential-palaceThe PA presidential palace / Photo credit: Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (PECDAR)

Thousands of Palestinian terrorists, including masterminds of suicide bombings and murderers of women and children, are given cash handouts by the UK, the Daily Mail revealed Sunday. A Mail two-month global investigation has revealed that in Judea and Samaria and Gaza, “despite promises by the ruling Palestinian Authority (PA) to end the practice of paying aid money to convicted terrorists … [have] simply duped the West by allowing the Palestine Liberation Organization to hand out the cash instead.”

Britain gives £72 million ($101 million) a year to the Palestinian Arabs, according to the report, “more than one-third of which goes straight to the PA,” which “openly admits supporting terrorists whom it hails as heroes for fighting illegal occupation, awarding lifetime payments that rise depending on time spent in jail and the seriousness of crimes.”

One example is a Hamas “master bomber” Abdallah Barghouti, who was given 67 life sentences: he has received a total of £106,000 ($150,000). UK funds also pay out “salaries” to the families of suicide bombers, as well as to “teenagers involved in the latest upsurge of deadly attacks on Israel.”

The UK government’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the European Union “are still effectively supporting these payments to thousands of terrorists – despite claims to have ended such links two years ago,” the Daily Mail report insists. This has been confirmed “by former prisoners and families receiving the cash, and in official statements by the PA.” Chairman Mahmoud Abbas used part of the UK gifts — £8 million ($11.31 million) — to build a palace in Ramallah.

The Sunday report presents an interview with Ahmad Musa, a convicted double murderer sentenced to life in prison, who was released from Israeli prison after five years, as part of Israel’s gestures to move along the “peace process.” He gets £605 ($855) every month. Others like him get much more, and after they die, the cash goes to their families. The money for these payments comes from British and European taxpayers. Amjad Awad, who murdered Ehud and Ruth Fogel and their three children in 2011, has received an estimated £16,000 ($22,600) from the fund so far.

Amr Nasser, adviser to the PA minister of social affairs, told the Mail: “It is not a crime to be fighting occupation. These people are heroes. We could be giving them much more money and it would not be enough.” Nasser added that, when Palestine wins its independence, its government would seek reparations from Britain for its historic role in encouraging Zionism. “You should pay us more money,” he stated.

Categories: Britain, Europe, Israel, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian terrorists
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Angry Israelis Demonstrate Outside Prison Where IDF Soldier Jailed for Killing Terrorist [video]

March 27, 2016

Angry Israelis Demonstrate Outside Prison Where IDF Soldier Jailed for Killing Terrorist , The Jewish Press, Hana Levi Julian, March 26, 2016

PROTESTERS-THIS-IS-WARAngry IDF veterans and other Israelis protest jailing of soldier who shot and killed terrorist to ensure he was neutralized in Hebron. Photo Credit: screenshot / social media

Demonstrators waving posters, honking horns and yelling slogans gathered in Be’er Sheva Saturday night to protest against the arrest and jailing of an IDF soldier who shot and killed a terrorist who was apparently “neutralized” in Hebron last week.

The protesters stood across from Prison No. 4 on Saturday night, where the soldier is incarcerated, according to Israeli radio.

One of the protesters spoke with Channel 1 as other bystanders shot video with their cellphones, saying that he had served as a member of the Border Guard Police, and as a father of two combat soldiers, understood the necessity for army discipline.

(Video at the link. — DM)

“But the army knows how to deal with this, and this should have been left to the army to deal with, and it wasn’t. This soldier was arrested because things were being dealt with in the light of the cameras, rather than in the military court, where it belongs.

”Moreover, we are at war. We need to deal with the situation on the ground, and we’re not doing that…. I have served in Judea, Samaria, Gaza, everywhere, and I have lost friends in all those places. I know what war is. This is war.”

Another protester, also an IDF veteran said, “The government keeps talking about a wave of terror, a terror wave. This is not a terror wave, this is a war. It’s a war.

“How do you know when a terrorist is neutralized? If his hands are cuffed, fine. If he takes a bullet to the head, then yes, you know. But if he has taken a bullet to a leg, he can still move. If he has taken a bullet to an arm or elsewhere, he can still move — and they do. We have seen it, and we have seen soldiers die because of it. So that is not neutralized. Neutralized is when you know he cannot move.”

Categories: IDF, Israel
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New video corroborates Hebron soldier’s testimony, supporters say

March 25, 2016

New video corroborates Hebron soldier’s testimony, supporters say, Times of Israel, Staff, March 25, 2016

(Sentence first, trial later, said the mad queen.

angryqueen[1]_thumb[3]

— DM)

Screen-Shot-2016-03-24-at-14.30.03-635x357An IDF soldier loading his weapon before he appears to shoot an unarmed, prone Palestinian assailant in the head following a stabbing attack in Hebron on March 24, 2016. (Screen capture: B’Tselem)

Supporters of an IDF soldier being investigated for shooting an apparently disarmed Palestinian assailant in the West Bank city of Hebron on Thursday posted a video online of the moments before the shooting, which they say shows as reasonable the soldier’s claim that he feared the attacker may have had an explosive device.

The soldier was arrested Thursday after he was filmed shooting the Palestinian shortly after the latter had stabbed a different soldier. When the suspect shot him, the Palestinian was already lying on the ground wounded, as a result of troops’ gunfire during his attack.

The soldier was brought to the Jaffa Military Court Friday for an extension of his remand. He is now being treated as a murder suspect.

The Palestinian was one of two stabbers who attacked soldiers near the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron.

F160324WH01Israeli soldiers remove the body of a Palestinian man who stabbed a soldier in the West Bank city of Hebron on March 24, 2016. The Palestinian was shot at the scene after stabbing and lightly wounding an Israeli soldier. (Wissam Hashlamon/Flash90)

The soldier’s shooting drew widespread condemnation, including from Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it a violation of the army’s ethical code. The army’s Military Police have launched a criminal investigation into the incident.

An investigation was also launched Thursday by the Central Command into the apparent failure of two officers on the scene to prevent the shooting.

But in a video posted on the Ynet news site, rescue crews are shown moments before the shooting, with the conversation clearly focused on the possibility that the stabber continued to constitute a threat to those around him.

“That terrorist is still alive, the dog! Don’t let him attack us!” one medic is heard saying after apparently seeing the Palestinian moving.

“It looks like he has a bomb on him,” shouts another voice. “Until a sapper comes, nobody touches him!”

The video appears to corroborate the suspect’s own testimony to investigators according to which the Palestinian was still “moving underneath his jacket, where he could have been hiding explosives or weapons,” as the soldier’s attorney Benjamin Malka explained Thursday.

This warning, however, was not unique to this incident. It is standard IDF operating procedure to assume that an assailant has an explosive device to carry out a secondary attack on first responders.

Other soldiers can also be seen in the two videos from the scene standing next to the two Palestinian assailants, making it unclear how serious the threat of an explosive device was considered by the people on the scene.

The graphic video of the Thursday morning incident went viral on Israeli social media, sparking controversy.

But lawyer Malka told Ynet shortly after the incident that his client should not be judged before an army investigation is completed.

In the video, the soldier is partially blocked from view by other members of his unit when the shot is fired. However, the impact of the bullet can be seen. The Palestinian man can then be seen bleeding from the head.

(Video contains graphic images)

 

In an earlier interview with Army Radio, Malka called his client an “outstanding soldier, salt of the earth,” adding that “he has yet to be allowed to defend his innocence.”

The video prompted the IDF to launch an investigation into what it said was “a very grave” incident.

IDF spokesman Brig. Gen. Moti Almoz said the soldier had been arrested and pledged that there would be a thorough investigation into the shooting. “This is not the IDF, these are not the values of the IDF and these are not the values of the Jewish people,” Almoz said.

Ya’alon said the case would be handled “with all due severity,” saying the soldier’s apparent actions were “in utter breach of IDF values and our code of ethics in combat.”

As news of the shooting spread, Israeli lawmakers from the center-left reacted harshly, warning of the dangers of moral decline and of loose rules of engagement in the military.

The Palestinian Authority, meanwhile, accused Israel of committing “a war crime,” with PA Health Minister Jawad Awwad saying the Palestinian assailant had been “executed” by soldiers, and claimed the footage was “irrefutable evidence that Israeli soldiers commit field executions.”

Israel has come under criticism from Europe and the United States for allegedly using excessive force in stopping Palestinian terrorists. The PA and some countries, notably Sweden, have accused Israel of extra-judicial executions — something Israel has vigorously denied.

The incident in Hebron marked the first attack since Saturday, breaking a rare calm spell amid a wave of violence in the West Bank and Israel that has raged for nearly half a year.

In the nearly six months of Palestinian terrorism and violence since October, 29 Israelis and four foreign nationals have been killed. About 190 Palestinians have also been killed, some two-thirds of them while attacking Israelis, and the rest during clashes with troops, according to the Israeli army.

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Palestinian Campuses “More Hamas than Hamas”

March 25, 2016

Palestinian Campuses “More Hamas than Hamas”

by Khaled Abu Toameh March 25, 2016 at 5:00 am

Source: Palestinian Campuses “More Hamas than Hamas”

  • While the anti-Israel activists are busy protesting against Israel on Western campuses, Palestinian students and professors are persecuted by their own Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas governments.
  • Let us redefine “pro-Palestinian.” Instead of bashing Israel, real pro-Palestinians will demand democracy for those they champion, and scream for public freedoms for Palestinians under the PA and Hamas regimes, which have always smashed dissent with an iron fist.
  • PA security forces systematically target students and academics under various pretexts. Hundreds of students have been rounded up. Many remain in detention without the possibility of seeing a lawyer or a family member.
  • Palestinians on campuses in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have once again been reminded that they remain as far as ever from achieving a state that would look any different from the other Arab dictatorships in the region. The campus incidents, which have hardly caught the attention of the international media and anti-Israel activists in the West, also expose the media double standard about human rights violations.
  • In the first case of its kind under the PA, Kadoori University in Tulkarem suspended a student who hugged his fiancée in public.

These are the days when everything is backwards. The “pro-Palestinian” activists on university campuses throughout the Western world have gotten into the spirit: Palestinian students and academics in the West Bank and Gaza Strip endure daily harassment by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Hamas, because all that gets the activists going are “Israeli abuses.”

Apparently, today, to be “pro-Palestinian” one has to be “anti-Israel.”

For the self-appointed advocates of the Palestinians at Western university campuses, the Palestinian issue is nothing but a vehicle for spewing hatred toward Israel. In good, backwards form, Israel is castigated, and the PA and Hamas are free to abuse their own people.

It seems that in the view of the anti-Israel folks, the Palestinians should not even hope for human rights under the Palestinian regimes.

So while the anti-Israel activists are busy protesting against Israel on Western campuses, Palestinian students and professors are left to be persecuted by their own governments.

Instead of campaigning for reform and democracy in the West Bank and Gaza, these activists spend precious energy trying to take down Israel. The Palestinian students and academics are left to their own devices.

Palestinians living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas suffer an abysmal level of freedom of expression — and always have. This is the grim reality that the international community and protesting students prefer to ignore. For them, human rights violations must have a “made in Israel” sticker on them.

Here is a suggestion: Let us redefine “pro-Palestinian.” Instead of bashing Israel, the real pro-Palestinians will reveal themselves by demanding democracy for those they champion. True pro-Palestinian activists will scream for public freedoms for the Palestinians under the PA and Hamas regimes, which have always smashed dissent with an iron fist.

In the past few days, Palestinians on campuses in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have once again been reminded that they remain as far as ever from achieving a state that would look any different from the other Arab dictatorships in the region. The campus incidents, which have hardly caught the attention of the international media and anti-Israel activists in the West, also expose the media double standard about human rights violations in the territories.

In the most recent case, Hamas security guards detained a number of students at Palestine University in the Gaza Strip who protested against the administration’s refusal to allow them to sit for examinations because they had not paid tuition in full.

The students complained that the guards conducted “humiliating” body searches and confiscated their mobile phones. Some said they were physically assaulted.

In another high-profile incident in the Gaza Strip last week, The Islamic University suspended UK-educated Professor Salah Jadallah for criticizing Hamas and the university administration on Facebook. The move drew sharp condemnation from many Palestinian students and academics, who took to social media to voice their fury over the suspension.

Professor Jadallah’s suspension is far from unusual in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, where students, journalists and social media activists have repeatedly fallen victim to the Islamist movement’s harsh clampdowns.

A founder of Hamas in northern Gaza, Professor Jadallah was until recently considered within Hamas’s inner circle. His scathing remarks on Hamas, which he posted on his Facebook page, have turned him into a persona non grata on campus and he is being treated as a “fifth column” by his erstwhile Hamas colleagues. Professor Jadallah is being targeted: what, one might ask, is happening to ordinary Palestinians?

Campuses in the West Bank are faring no better. The Palestinian Authority’s security forces systematically target students and academics under various pretexts. Hundreds of students have been rounded up by these security forces in recent years as part of a crackdown on critics and Hamas “supporters.” Many of the students remain in detention without the possibility of seeing a lawyer or a family member.

Just this week, Palestinian security forces arrested four more university students and teachers: Izaddin Zaitwai, Ehab Ashour, Zuhdi Kawarik and Awni Fares.

It is not only political critics of the PA and Hamas, however, who are of interest to the security forces in Palestinian regimes.

In the first case of its kind under the Palestinian Authority, the Kadoori University in Tulkarem suspended a student who hugged his fiancée in public after offering her a wedding ring. The student, whose identity was not revealed, was accused of “immodest conduct” and is facing a disciplinary hearing. A university spokesman accused the “hugging” student of “slandering” the university’s reputation and defended the punishment.

Left: Hamas supporters are shown in a video screenshot marching during a student council election rally at Bir Zeit University, near Ramallah, on April 20, 2015. Right: Kadoori University in Tulkarem this month suspended a student who hugged his fiancé in public. The student was accused of “immodest conduct” and is facing a disciplinary hearing.

The decision to suspend the student sparked a social media storm, with many Palestinians accusing the Palestinian Authority and Kadoori University of seeking to be “more Hamas than Hamas.”

If the putative champions of the Palestinians in the West continue to disregard the trampling of Palestinian human rights by the PA and Hamas, there may not be any Palestinians left to champion.

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

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What We Could Learn from Israel

March 24, 2016

What We Could Learn from Israel, Gatestone Institute, Vijeta Uniyal, March 24, 2016

♦ To become a successful nation, India realizes that we have to emulate the Jewish quest for spiritual and worldly learning. We need a nation of empowered men and women, free and fearless to develop social, technological, entrepreneurial and humanitarian creativity, even while under constant attack.

♦ When we see the restoration of Jewish State and revival of Judaism in its ancient lands, we Hindus see ourselves. If Judaism is incomplete without the Jewish homeland, the essence of Hinduism is indivisible with the geography of India. Just as Jews were forced out and in exile for millennia, Hindus too suffered a millennium of Islamic and later European subjugation in their own homeland.

♦ Recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Mumbai, Paris, Istanbul and Ankara are simply what Israel has been living with for decades — and India, France, Belgium and Turkey do not have “settlements.” The conflict is not about “settlements”. It is about one group of people trying imposing its will, culture, religion and way of life on another group. With Israel, the “settlements” are only the pretext. If you look at any map of “Palestine,” it has the exact outlines of Israel.

For most Indians, it is hard not to feel a deep sense of historic gratitude towards Israel and the Jewish people. The State of Israel came to our military aid in just about every war India fought as an independent nation since 1947. Our elected leaders, in their vanity, polished their statesmanlike credentials denouncing Israel at every possible international gathering, even as they kept on turning to the Jewish State for help in times of dire need, whether civilian or military. From Golda Meir to Ariel Sharon, Israel never turned down any request.

Getting nothing in return, the tiny and beleaguered nation paid a price for its support for India. At times, adversely affecting its relations with China or annoying its most vital ally, the United States, by extending support to a “socialist” country at the height of the Cold War.

If there ever was a true sign of goodwill extended from one nation to another, Israel had shown it toward India and so many other nations, from Zaire to Haiti and elsewhere.

Despite this, it took India more than four decades just to treat Israel as an equal partner on the world stage — when India established full diplomatic relations with Israel in January 1991.

India, however, had one redeeming quality. Although our political leaders hitched their wagon to the Soviet Union and the Pan-Arab nationalism in the early days of the Cold War, the Hindus of India, who constitute an 80% majority of the country’s population, have been steadfast and consistent in their support for the State of Israel and the Jewish people. An international survey conducted by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2009 found Indians having the most favorable opinion of Israel, even ahead of U.S. respondents by a small margin. In August 2014, at the height of Gaza conflict, the city of Calcutta staged a 20,000-strong rally in support of the Jewish State, making it probably the largest pro-Israel rally that Asia ever witnessed.

Finally, with the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014, the India’s official policies have begun to reflect the desires and aspirations of the majority Hindu population of the nation.

1524Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New York, on September 29, 2014. (Image source: Israel Government Press Office)

To become a successful nation, we realize that we have to emulate the Jewish quest for spiritual and worldly learning. We need a nation of empowered men and women, free and fearless to develop social, technological, entrepreneurial and humanitarian creativity, even while under constant attack.

The homecoming of the Jews and restoration of the Jewish State in its historic land has been a source of great hope for us Hindus. When we see the restoration of Jewish State and revival of Judaism in its ancient land, we Hindus see ourselves.

If Judaism is incomplete without the Jewish homeland, the essence of Hinduism is indivisible with the geography of India. Just as Jews were forced out and in exile for millennia, Hindus too suffered a millennium of Islamic and later European subjugation in their own homeland.

After surviving the most vicious genocide in human history — a brutal and systematic attempt by Nazi Germany to annihilate the entire Jewish population of Europe, claiming six million Jewish lives, the Jewish people worked to create a nation based on democracy, freedom, equality for people of all religions and ethnicities — the only democracy in the Middle East.

Today, over a million Arabs enjoy equal citizenship rights in Israel, and a level of religious liberty and rule of law never seen before in the Middle East. Arab Israelis are present in all walks of Israeli life; holding top positions in business, academia, media, government as well as military leadership.

The tiny nation of Israel absorbed wave after wave of immigration, including a million Jews driven out of the Arab lands soon after the creation of Jewish State in 1948, Ethiopian Jews, and Russians escaping communism. Today, Israel is home to over 80,000 Jews of Indian origin. They have been fully integrated, and have excelled in all areas of society. They serve gallantly in the Israel Defense Force and bring glory to the country in sports. An IDF soldier of Indian origin, Barak Refael Degorker, was killed by Hamas during the Gaza conflict of 2014. Mumbai-born Sarah Avraham became Israel’s 2012 women’s Thai boxing champion.

As the nation-states of Europe drive toward an impending disaster in failing to assert their spiritual and national identity in the face of the massive influx of Muslim migrants, only the example of Israel offers us hope.

We must admit the failures, based on European liberalism, in our nation-building project. Western-style “affirmative-action” has failed to rid the country of caste-based discrimination, and all that the European style of hyper-sensitivity towards “Muslim sentiments” has done is stifle cultural freedoms in the country. India became the first nation to ban Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses, before even Iran, Saudi Arabia and other theocratic Islamic regimes announced their fatwas and bans. For decades, India shied away from technological and academic cooperation with Israel. India seemed to have been trying to act even more Arab than the Arabs themselves.

Only an enlightened nation, built on a strong bedrock of Hindu unity, can ensure a secure and prosperous future for India. We cannot build a nation on foundations of an unjust and immoral caste system.

Just as the resurgence of Judaism in its historic and ancestral homeland means no threat to the Muslim faith, Hindu resurgence and unity should cause no harm to religious minorities of other faiths. Countries that would like to succeed and thrive would do well to follow the example of Israel.

The terrorism originating from neighboring Muslim lands must not only be countered militarily, but also with a renewed assertion of our on spiritual and national identity.

Arabs and Muslims might surely realize that they themselves have been the biggest losers of the wars of fanaticism they have waged, and turn their attention to rebuilding their societies and facing the real issues of violence, bigotry, ignorance and poverty — to name just a few.

Until then, we all have a nation to build and a home to defend.

Recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Mumbai, Paris, Istanbul and Ankara are simply what Israel has been living with for decades — and India, France, Belgium and Turkey do not have “settlements.” The conflict is not about “settlements”. It is about one group of people trying imposing its will, culture, religion and way of life on another group. With Israel, the “settlements” are only the pretext. If you look at any map of “Palestine,” it has the exact outlines of Israel.

It is beyond our scope, as Indians, to heal the pathologies of the Muslim world. We can only limit the damage by defending our home and securing our national borders.

Until that day comes, we would all do well to stand with Israel.

Categories: Hindus, India, Israel, Jewish state
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