Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Zoabi Encourages Uprising Against Israel - on Hamas Website
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hanin Zoabi

Flash 90

MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) took her campaign against Israel to a whole new level this week, Israel Hayom reports Friday - after she published an article on Hamas's official website encouraging an Islamist uprising against the Jewish state. 

Zoabi encouraged all Arab countries to help stoke a "popular uprising" against Israel, halt security coordination with the Palestinian Authority (PA) police in Judea and Samaria, and lay siege to the region.

Zoabi - who is a member of the Israeli Knesset - also put the word "Israel" in quotation marks for the entire article.

The inflammatory piece also attacks Operation Protective Edge against Hamas, which seeks to protect her home country against the thousands of rockets already fired by the terror group on Israeli citizens.

"There is no purpose to the military operation in Gaza," Zoabi writes. "Israel will in no way eliminate Hamas - neither the motivations behind the resistance nor the motivation to end the Occupation."

"Israel will in no way accomplish anything by brute military force, killing, and devastation," she added. "[Israel's] brutal aggression has no political policy other than fixing the current situation by continuing a series of crimes and violations against our people - stop that, and we will stop the rocket fire." 

"In order for 'Israel' to declare an end to the possibility of guarding its Occupation and deepening it, we must end the enemy's Trinity - the siege, the security cooperation, and the border [. . .] we must besiege 'Israel' instead of negotiating with it," she concluded. 

Last straw?

Hanin Zoabi has been linked to Hamas before, and is infamous for provocative speeches, including one in which she said that Israel has “no right to a normal life” and a later address claiming that “the Israeli occupation” was behind the murder of Israelis in Bulgaria. Recently, she declared that Israel should "thank her" for allowing Jews to live in the Jewish State. 

The anti-Israel MK was thrust back into the spotlight last month, after making a series of remarks defending Hamas's horrific abduction and murder of Israeli yeshiva high school students Gilad Sha'ar (16), Naftali Frenkel (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19), hy"d.

In the remarks, Zoabi refused to call their murderers "terrorists" and insisted that the abduction was a "legitimate" way to "fight the occupation." 

The latest salvo of verbal fire on Israelis resulted in both a personal and political backlash; Zoabi's family disowned her, passersby confronted her on the street and in restaurants, and the Knesset began several forms of legal proceedings for her ouster, in a bill dubbed "Zoabi's Law." 

Before the last elections, the Central Elections Committee banned Zoabi, under a clause requiring candidates and parties not to work against Israel's character as a Jewish, democratic state. 

However, the Supreme Court later overturned the decision and allowed Zoabi to run - a decision Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon lamented in June. 

"I was able to reject [Zoabi's] candidacy for the Knesset in the [Central] Elections Committee, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision," Danon said. ''This is a fiasco which the Knesset has to stop."

Editors note.....The question arises as to why Israel allows anti-Isarel Arabs in the Knesset? The answer is found in the fact that Israel's leaders do not want a Theocratic Jewish Sate. They want a Deomocratic/ Socialist state similar to the European model. That is why they allow damaging democratic principles to disrupt the Jewish State. That is also why they do not defend the Temple Mount. They are still rejecting God's Messiah, Jesus Christ.

West Tightens Noose on Russia's Energy Sector As Geopolitical Crisis Deepens
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Telegraph
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Debris of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region Photo: REUTERS

The new measures unveiled by the US Treasury move up the gears to the next level and target pillars of the Russian economy. They are intended to choke access to long-term Western finance and raise the cost for Russian companies and banks as they roll over $710bn (£415bn) of foreign currency debt, mostly in dollars.

“The latest US sanctions package risks setting off a vicious downwards spiral,” said Christopher Granville, from Trusted Sources. The measures directly target capital flows to Rosneft, the world’s biggest traded oil company, producing 4m barrels a day and generating $75bn of tax revenues for the Kremlin. The company’s share price fell 5.7pc in London.

The US also targeted Russia’s second-largest gas group, Novatek, as well as Gazprombank, the Russian development bank, VEB and leading arms companies. Russian premier Dmitry Medvedev called the measures “evil”, while the Russian foreign ministry vowed retaliation that will be “painfully and keenly felt in Washington”.

Mr Granville said the Treasury has deliberately left the door open for “even fiercer measures” unless Russian president Vladimir Putin halts support for the rebels in Ukraine, which is almost impossible for him to do. Russian bedrock demand is that Ukraine must remain a non-aligned state. It cannot be absorbed into the Western military and diplomatic camp, as implied by its EU association deal. Mr Putin is so deeply embroiled in the Donbass revolt that his own political survival might be in jeopardy if he were to capitulate.

Tim Ash, from Standard Bank, said new sanctions are “a seismic hit” for Russia’s economy. “The fact that such prominent companies are being sanctioned suggests the US is deadly serious,” he said. “Questions will now be asked which other companies will be next, and what assets and financing will be subject to further sanctions. Risk management teams are likely to dump Russian assets first, rather than be caught down the line with sanctioned Russian assets on their balance sheets.”

Mr Ash said it makes little difference whether the EU follows suit since any European company with business interests in the US will “ultimately be forced to comply”. Few dare risk the wrath of US regulators.

The sanctions do not prohibit US citizens and firms from operating in Russia, or holding shares and bonds in companies on the list. Nor do they stop Rosneft or Novatek delivering oil and gas to global markets. But they do prevent Americans lending fresh money beyond 90 days maturity, which threatens slow suffocation.

Rosneft has to repay or roll over $32bn in the next 18 months, mostly in dollars. Sberbank analysts said the oil group may have to run down its cash reserves of $20bn and ultimately rely on “anti-crisis” funding from the government.

Russia can weather the crisis for a while with foreign reserves above $480bn. The risk is a return to the slow decline of the early 1980s as companies are forced to shelve investment. The country is counting on Western joint ventures and technology to launch a wave of oil and gas exploration as output stagnates and reserves run low in the West Siberian fields.

Rosneft is drilling with ExxonMobil in the Arctic, and has signed an accord with BP to develop shale oil in the Volga.

Russia’s oil industry is dependent on imported US know-how to open up the vast shale deposits of the Bazhenov Basin, an area the size of France. The political risk is becoming exorbitant.

Ian Bond, from the Centre for European Reform, said: “Exxon and BP need to think very carefully about the extent of their exposure in Russia.”

The situation is most delicate for BP, which owns almost 20pc of Rosneft’s shares as a legacy from the TNK-BP venture. The company said it is studying the latest sanctions carefully.

Mr Bond said China is unlikely to rescue the Kremlin as the West pulls back. “They drove a very hard bargain on the gas pipeline deal [with Gazprom] and they are not going to roll over Russian debt at low interest rates out of friendship for Putin,” he said.

Europe is deeply divided over sanctions, with Poland and the Baltic states taking a militant stand while Italy and Spain have been dragging their feet.

Yet EU leaders have agreed this week to further measures, calling on the European Investment Bank and the European Bank for Development and Reconstruction to suspend new funding in Russia.

Crucially, they told EU lawyers to draw up plans so that Russian entities can be targeted for the first time, aiming at those that “actively provide material or financial support to the Russian decision-makers responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilisation of eastern Ukraine".

The Kremlin is unlikely to cut off Europe’s gas supplies in retaliation since this would further cripple the Russian economy but it may try to pick off the smaller states one by one.

“Any country that relies 100pc on Russia for its gas should be preparing a Plan B,” said Mr Bond.

Two Years of U.S. - Iran Backchannel Talks Flop. Sanctions Lose Power
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The breakdown of the long, frustrating and wearisome nuclear talks, to which six world powers and Iran have clung through thick and thin, will scarcely surprise watchers, certainly not the regular readers of DEBKA Weekly.
This publication consistently reported this past seven months that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had come down against diplomacy and forbidden Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Mohammad Zarif to enter into any substantial negotiations. Both were barred from making concessions on Iran’s nuclear program outside the terms of the interim Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), inked November 24, 2013 in Geneva.
This fiasco also marks the bankruptcy of two years of secret back-channel dialogue between the administration of US President Barack Obama and the Iranian supreme leader.
After three days of hemming and hawing with his Iranian counterpart, the only comment US Secretary of State John Kerry was able to muster up July 15 in Vienna was that “tangible progress” had been made in the negotiations and that he would return to Washington to consult with Obama about whether or not to extend the Sunday, July 20, deadline for a final agreement.

Khamenei is dead against nuclear concessions

Kerry’s influence on Washington’s foreign policy is in steep decline. His attempt to keep up the charade that meaningful diplomacy with Tehran still lies ahead was mirrored by Zarif, who implied in an interview with the New York Times Sunday, July 13, that Tehran is prepared for further concessions if Washington does the same.
This was no more than a transparent play for a good press ahead of another aimless talking session.
The hands of Zarif like President Rouhani were tied firmly by Khamenei, when he announced publicly on July 7 that his country must significantly expand its uranium enrichment capacity, if it is to meet its long-term energy needs.
In an unusually detailed speech on Iran’s nuclear program and the challenges it faces, Khamenei conceded that Iran did not need to increase capacity immediately, but made it clear that his government sought the right to carry out industrial-scale enrichment in order to be self-sufficient in nuclear fuel for its research reactors and for the Russian-built power station at Bushehr.
“On the issue of enrichment capacity," Khamenei said, "their [the West's] aim is to make Iran accept 10,000 SWU [Separative Work Units]. Our officials say we need 190,000 SWU. We might not need this [capacity] this year or in the next two or five years, but this is our absolute need and we need to meet this need."

The pro-diplomacy Rouhani and Zarif have outlived their worth

Khamenei used technical language and references to “civilian power” to convey his flat opposition to any restrictions on Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium or sacrifice a single centrifuge. Washington finally took a stand against leaving Iran in possession of 15,000 centrifuges, on the grounds that they would leapfrog its advance to a nuclear bomb.
Despite this major gap, Washington is expected to insist that the back-channel with Tehran is still open and that a deal is still attainable at the formal P5+1 versus Iran forum.
None of this will affect Iran’s supreme leader's adamant rejection of any concessions for the sake of a comprehensive nuclear deal. He will also place Rouhani and Zarif in deep freeze, along with their argument that Iran must pay for the lifting of sanctions to rescue its struggling economy in the coin of a let-up on its nuclear aspirations.
The fact is that he longer needs the two pro-diplomacy figures, whose emergence caused so much optimism and gulled the West into trusting that Tehran was finally amenable to a reasonable deal on its nuclear program.

Iran beats the US at the sanctions game

In an insightful analysis of US-Iran relations and the sanctions regime, Patrick Clawson, director of research at the Washington Institute think tank, deemed the Obama administration’s nuclear negotiations and easing of sanctions a failure.
In a piece entitled “Iran Can Afford to Say No to a Nuclear Deal,” the director of the Iran Security Initiative writes that Tehran has manipulated the Obama administration into lifting some economic restrictions in order to maneuver itself into economic stability and cover its budget deficit.
Iran has learned to live with the new sanctions, Clawson writes: "Having taken the tough measures to adjust to the sanctions shock, Iran is relatively well positioned to resume growth - even if the current sanctions remain in place… The prospects are that if the sanctions remain in place, Iran's economy will grow at about the same pace as the US economy… Iran's solid if unspectacular economic growth looks pretty good, especially in comparison to the mess next door in Iraq and Afghanistan."
The latest deadline is around the corner, and years of back and forth and hush-hush interaction with the Iranians have brought Obama next to no dividends for giving Iran a measure of economic stability and political empowerment.

Top Iranian General and Advisers Join Front Lines of Iraqi Military Fight Against Militants Qassim
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsThe National Post
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

AP Photo/FileFILE - In this Saturday, July 12, 2014 file photo,  Iraqi Shiite fighters with the "Peace Brigades" patrol during a sand storm in Samarra, Iraq. Gen. Ghasem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian general, has emerged as the chief tactician in Iraq’s fight against Sunni militants, working on the front lines alongside 120 advisers from his country’s Revolutionary Guard to direct Shiite militiamen and government forces in the smallest details of battle, militia commanders and government officials say.

BAGHDAD — A powerful Iranian general has emerged as the chief tactician in Iraq’s fight against Sunni militants, working on the front lines alongside 120 advisers from his country’s Revolutionary Guard to direct Shiite militiamen and government forces in the smallest details of battle, militia commanders and government officials say.

The startlingly hands-on role of Iranian Gen. Ghasem Soleimani points to the extent of the Shiite-led Iraqi government’s reliance on its ally Tehran. It also strikes a strong contrast with the more methodical, cautious approach of the United States, Iran’s rival for influence in Iraq. Shiite fighters have come to idolize the Iranians who have moved into the heat of battle alongside them — with two Iranian advisers killed in fighting — while government officials grumble the United States has failed to come to their aid.

The Iranian role, however, risks further sharpening the sectarian rifts in the conflict. At a time when the U.S. and others are pressing Iraq’s government to reach out to Sunnis to reduce support for the insurgency, the effective Iranian command of Iraq’s defence is likely to further alienate Sunnis, who have long accused Shiite-led Iran of trying to dominate Iraq through its allies here.

Soleimani, commander of the elite Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force, is a frequent visitor to multiple battlezones in Iraq, most particularly in Samarra, a city north of Baghdad under siege by Sunni extremists in their march toward the capital. The city is vital to Baghdad’s Shiite-led government because it is the location of a revered Shiite shrine that Sunni insurgents have destroyed in the past and are targeting again now.

In his frequent stays in Samarra, Soleimani bases himself in the al-Askari shrine, even sleeping in its basement as he co-ordinates the city’s defence, said two Shiite militia commanders who saw him there. On one recent visit, he joined militiamen in group prayers in the shrine, said one of the commanders, who like the other spoke on condition of anonymity because the government has sought to keep the Iranian role behind the scenes.

The Revolutionary Guard military advisers with Soleimani have provided guidance for Shiite militiamen in shelling positions of the Sunni insurgents and have directed them in a strategy of carving out a large enough margin of territory around the city that Sunni mortars can’t reach the shrine, the commanders said. “Without them (the Iranians) and the militias, we would have lost Samarra,” one militia commander said.

A handful of advisers from Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah guerrilla group are also offering front-line guidance to Iraqi militias fighting north of Baghdad,

“We sorely need these advisers,” said Wahab al-Taei, a senior commander of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of several Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq. “They have the expertise we lack in urban guerrilla warfare.”

The United States has a team of around 210 troops in Iraq. Their main mission has been to assess the readiness of the Iraqi military to fight the Sunni insurgency, led by a radical al-Qaida breakaway group called the Islamic State, which over the past month has overrun most Sunni-majority parts of the country. The Pentagon this week confirmed it had received the team’s assessment, but that it will take some time to review it and come up with recommendations on how the U.S. should help Iraq in the fight.

Reliance on Air Power and Hasty Ceasefire Fails to Shorten Gaza Conflict
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

When three Israeli teenagers were abducted and killed in the West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu personally assumed control of Brother’s Keeper, the June 14 military operation to locate Gil-Ad Shaer, Naftali Fraenkel, and Eyal Yifrach.
On July 7, the prime minister also took the helm of Operation Protective Edge, aimed at halting the round-the-clock rocket salvos, more than 100 per day that Hamas has sent into Israel since June 27.
Netanyahu largely keeps his own counsel on military matters, but there is one man who has the prime minister’s ear at all times: Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon. For more than a month now, the two men have been have effectively been running Israel’s military action against Hamas on their own.
Shin Bet Chief Yoram Cohen also has some sway on Netanyahu’s thinking, but his influence has lessened since Brother’s Keeper proved a washout.
This disappointment led Netanyahu to turn less to the Shin Bet chief in the first week of the Gaza operation and increasingly to Israeli Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel – partly because of the innate dissimilarities between the two operations. Brothers’ Keeper was supposed to uproot Hamas’s political and financial clout on the West Bank, whereas Protective Edge aims to smash the Palestinian Islamists’ military machine in the Gaza Strip.
But it took far too long to find the missing boys’ bodies and, as of this writing, their killers are still at large, although their identities are known.

Netanyahu relied on air power to keep the Gaza campaign brief

By adopting Eshel and Ya’alon as his top advisers, Netanyahu in effect went over the heads of the experienced and talented IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Gadi Eizenkot.
He also adopted Eshel’s doctrine that air power can accomplish the mission of defeating Hamas in short order. This offered a perfect fit for the prime minister’s demand for a swift and compelling victory over Hamas to make up for the unfinished West Bank operation.
Making the Air Force chief his point man and his choice of advisers accounted, in the view of DEBKA Weekly’s military and intelligence experts, for Netanyahu’s fundamental tactical blunders in both operations. They were further compounded by his insistence that diplomatic and political considerations were just as important as the military objectives – if not more so.
1. Netanyahu ordered nine IDF brigades, one Border Police Brigade and one Israel Police Brigade mustered for the mission of finding the kidnapped Israeli teenagers and their abductors – a total of 16,000 troops. This was the largest force ever raised in Israel - or anywhere else, for that matter - for a single counter-terror operation.
Yet it fell to civilian volunteers to eventually discover the three bodies partially concealed under rocks in the field of a Palestinian village north of Hebron.

Nuclear Iran and Al Qaeda as issues shunted out of view

Most of the troops have since been pulled out - without however apprehending the killers.
And also without Netanyahu ever telling the Israeli public why it took nearly three weeks to find the teenagers, or why their murderers are still free, a sorry end to an agonizing episode.
Nor has he explained how the military operation meant to crush Hamas in the West Bank morphed into the launch of a Hamas rocket blitz from Gaza against Israel’s population centers.
2. Netanyahu’s tendency to shunt key problems out of view, unattended and unsolved, without an accounting to the Israeli public or media, has grown into a political liability. It is taking its toll in the current crisis in flagging popular trust in his leadership as prime minister.
He has allowed the Iranian nuclear issue, for instance, to drop out of the public discourse without a word of explanation about its outcome.
The Al Qaeda threat closing in on Israel’s borders from the north, south and east is added to the list of undetermined and unspecified issues.
3. For two weeks now, Israelis have been clamoring for an authoritative definition of the Gaza operation’s goals. The prime minister has left this question hanging vaguely in the air, an invitation to members of his own government to publicly air their clashing views on the subject.
As they struggle under the strain of day-and-night rocket attacks, people are additionally burdened by the sense of being left at sea.

The hastily-cobbled ceasefire lasted three hours

Among the politicians making hay from the atmosphere of uncertainty in the prime minister’s office are his coalition partners, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Industry and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett, and three members of Netanyahu’s own Likud party, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Communications Minister Gilad Erdan, and Interior Minister Gideon Sa’ar.
The latter three pushed this week to transfer responsibility for conducting the Gaza operation from the inner security and policy committee to the full cabinet. This was tantamount to an internal vote of no-confidence in Netanyahu’s handling of the crisis and a bid to dilute his power to control it – an unheard-of step against a prime minister in mid-battle along Israel’s long history of military conflict.
4. The IDF hit a bad scene on June 13, the fifth day of Operation Defensive Edge, due to an intelligence failure (which is dealt with in a separate article in this issue).
All these setbacks encouraged Netanyahu to clutch at straws – anything for a quick fix.
It was found in Cairo Tuesday, July 14. Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El Sisi offered his good offices to mediate the conflict between Israel and Hamas, starting with a ceasefire going into effect the next morning.
So hastily was this plan cobbled together, that President El-Sisi and Prime Minister Netanyahu neglected to clear it with the key players.
They put it before US Secretary of State John Kerry, but omitted to seek the concurrence of President Barack Obama, Iranian leaders, the heads of the Hamas’ military wing, the Izz e- Din al-Qassam Brigades, or its partner, Islamic Jihad.
Not surprisingly, the 9:00 A.M. ceasefire survived less than three hours.

Obama stays out of Gaza diplomacy – and plays into Iran’s hands

Obama’s reluctance to get involved in yet another Middle East imbroglio is understandable. He carefully whisked Kerry out of the way before he got caught up in another unfortunate venture. The US president was also loath to providing Tehran with another lever for use in the nuclear talks limping along between the six powers and Iran in Vienna. Iran’s patronage of the Palestinian radical groups Hamas and Jihad Islami is no secret.
In fact, Washington was tipped off by intelligence that Iran had ordered Islamic Jihad to keep up the rocket fire and ignore any ceasefire deals, knowing that Hamas would follow suit.
Washington had also been advised that the trickle of rocket fire from Syria and Lebanon into the Golan, Upper Galilee and Western Galilee from Friday, July 11, was orchestrated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-GC, a splinter Palestinian group commanded by Ahmad Jibril, which is essentially an arm of the Iranian Al Qods Brigades and their commander Gen. Qassem Soleimani.
Given the high nuclear stakes, Obama, who has shunned the mix in Syria, Iraq and Yemen, certainly does propose to be sucked into taking Iran on in the Gaza Strip.
And so, with no real backing from his allies, the publicity-shy Netanyahu’s bid for closure of the Gaza war by diplomacy proved an all-too-public failure.

PA Joins International Effort for Israel - Hamas Ceasefire
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas

Reuters

Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was to head to Turkey to push a ceasefire in Gaza on Friday, after Hamas rejected Egyptian-mediated negotiations and Israel launched a ground operation.

Egypt, under recently-elected President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has moved to isolate Hamas, accusing it of backing the Muslim Brotherhood on its own territory. 

It has worked instead to bolster the role of Abbas - its ally based in Ramallah and "frenemy" to Hamas - in reaching a deal to end Israel's self-defense campaign, which the international community has seized upon after Hamas officials encouraged, and dramatized, civilian deaths. 

A senior official with Abbas said the talks, which extended into Thursday night, had stalled over Hamas's insistence on an unprecedented number of conditions which would likely give it time to restock its weapons arsenal - including an international airport and the lifting of a naval blockade. 

Amid the diplomatic flurry in Cairo, Abbas was due to meet French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius before heading to Turkey, which has ties with both Hamas and Israel, said the official, Azzam al-Ahmed.

Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, who recently visited Israel on an official mission, was also expected in Cairo.

Abbas held talks with Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzuq in Cairo on Thursday along with Egyptian mediators, Ahmed said.

"Egypt proposed that Israel open the crossings after the ceasefire," Ahmed said. "Hamas wants it now, they don't think the Israelis will respect this later."

Hamas's multiple rejection of ceasefire attempts, both from Egypt and the UN, has turned the tide somewhat in the international community, even after Israel launched a ground offensive to defend itself from the constant barrage of rockets on its civilians. 

Egypt's foreign ministry has condemned the ground incursion but it also lashed out at Hamas, saying the Islamist movement could have saved dozens of lives had it accepted Cairo's proposal.

According to Kol Yisrael radio, the Egyptian government said it was placing the responsibility on Hamas for “the possible deaths of Palestinian civilians”, citing Hamas’s refusal to accept Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire.

The report quoted Egypt’s Foreign Minister, Sameh Shoukry, as having said that had Hamas accepted the ceasefire proposal, it would have saved the lives of at least 40 Gazans who were killed in Israeli airstrikes.

Shoukry further said that Hamas was cooperating with Qatar and Turkey to harm Egypt’s status in the region.

Shoukry’s comments on Hamas echo those made earlier by Egypt’s former Foreign Minister, Mohammed Al-Arabi, who said that Hamas was not serious about a ceasefire – and that the terror group was deliberately trying to embarrass Egypt.

Speaking in an interview in an Egyptian newspaper, Al-Arabi blamed Hamas for not only failing to come to a ceasefire, but for “shedding the blood of innocent Palestinians” by continuing to attack Israel.

MH17 Disaster: Ukraine Accuses Russian Officers Over Malaysian Airliner Tragedy
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsSydney Morning Herald
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Locals gather near part of the MH17 wreckage near the settlement of Grabovo. Photo: Reuters

KIEV: Ukraine's state security chief accused two Russian military intelligence officers of involvement with pro-Russian rebels in the downing of a Malaysian airliner on Thursday, releasing chilling testimony of what he called an "inhuman crime".

SBU chief Valentyn Nalivaychenko based his allegation on intercepted telephone conversations between the two officers and pro-Russian fighters, one of whom referred to seeing "a sea of women and children" in the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777.

"We will do everything for the Russian military who carried out this crime to be punished," Nalivaychenko told journalists, who were shown video and audio transcripts of the recordings. "The terrorists will not go on dancing on corpses."

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In a recording played to journalists of a conversation said to have taken place at 4.33 p.m. Kiev time (11.33pm AEST), a rebel fighter going by the nom de guerre of 'Major' is heard telling another comrade called 'Grek' that a group of fighters had brought the airliner down.

"The plane broke up in the air, near the Petropavlovskaya mines. The first (casualty) has been found. It was a woman. A civilian," he says.

At 5.42 pm, 'Major' acknowledges the plane was civilian: "Hell. It's almost 100 percent certain that it's a civilian plane."

Asked if there were many people on board, he replies in the affirmative with a swear-word, adding: "The bits [of the plane] were falling down in the streets ... There were the bits of couches, chairs, bodies."

Asked if any weapons were found on board, 'Major' says: "No - Civilian things, medical things, towels, toilet paper."

He says ID documents of an Indonesian student had been found.

In another recording of an intercept, played to journalists, a Russian [military intelligence officer] called Igor Bezler is heard reporting on the downing to his superior in Russian military intelligence, Colonel Vasily Geranin.

"A plane has just been shot down. It was the 'Mine-laying' group ... They've gone to search and photograph the plane. It is smoking," Bezler tells Gernanin at 4.40 pm.

Asked 'How long ago?' he replies: 'About 30 minutes ago.'

In a third conversation, a rebel fighter says: "It turned out to be a passenger plane. It fell in Hrabove area. There's a sea of women and children ..."

He adds: "But what was it [the Malaysian airlines flight] doing over Ukraine?"

The man he is talking to replies: "That means they've called up spies. No way to flights. This is war."

"Okay, understood," he replies.

"They discuss Russian saboteurs bringing down a passenger plane. They discuss the number of victims. We have fixed this conversation as taking place at 4.20. Now you know who carried out this inhuman crime against humanity," Nalivaychenko said.

"We will open up to all possible channels, the means of this crime being objectively investigated, and the officers of the Russian Federation who carried out this crime being punished."

Like in Syria and Iraq, Obama Shuns Clash With Iran Over Gaza Crisis
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

It doesn’t take an expert to decipher the not-terribly-mysterious question of where Hamas has procured its stock of roughly 10,000 rockets of different types. As Israel and Hamas fight it out, hefty Israeli units – out of sight of TV cameras - are encircling Gaza on all its borders, from the air and the sea, with Egyptian troops to the south forming a barrier between Gaza and the Sinai Peninsula.
They are there to cut off the Hamas and Jihad Islami arms routes from the outside. Yet somehow, truckloads full of rockets are still making their way in and out of the beleaguered Palestinian enclave.
DEBKA Weekly’s intelligence sources report that the Gaza-Sinai border is far from sealed and nearly all of the convoys destined for Gaza are making their way through.
Most of the rockets originate in Benghazi, eastern Libya, which has been awash with plundered weapons since NATO backed an uprising for toppling Muammar Qaddafi three years ago.
Iranian and Hizballah agents posing as international weapons dealers snapped up a supply of rockets for Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The rockets were - and still are - smuggled by Iranian- Al Qaeda-Bedouin tribal networks through Egypt and Sinai to their destination in the Gaza Strip.
Since the Egyptian and Libyan autocrats, Hosni Mubarak and Muammar Qaddafi, were removed from power in 2011, not a single military or intelligence force in the region, including Israel and Egypt working in harness, have managed to staunch the inflow of contraband weapons, which continues even as the Gaza Strip blazes with combat.

US avoids pulling its weight for staunching Sinai arms smuggling

US, Israeli and Egyptian military and intelligence personnel have spent the last two years hashing out a detailed plan for a joint anti-terror command to supervise security and intelligence operations in Sinai, with a view to sanitizing the peninsula as a primary arms smuggling crossroads for Iran, Hizballah, Al Qaeda, Hamas and dozens of other terrorist groups.
The Obama administration pledged funding and advanced monitoring and surveillance equipment to this enterprise. The paperwork still awaits the president’s signature in a National Security Council desk drawer at the White House.
On July 9, US Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, asked about Hamas’ rocket supplier, said that she “didn’t have any information to share.”
She then said she was “not aware” off any Western plans to raise the issue during the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 in Vienna: “The focus is on the nuclear issue. There’s plenty to discuss on that particular issue.”
Psaki added: “I think it's clear that our concern and our condemnation of the rocket attacks have been consistent. And of course we'd be concerned about the suppliers, but I don't have any more information to share on that."
Dropping the Sinai Counterterrorism Plan into a bottom drawer does not mean that Obama was acting deliberately to help arm Hamas. It’s just that foot-dragging is part of his administration’s modus operandi. Other equally pressing issues related to the Middle East war on terror get the same treatment.

Iran plus allies, Al Qaeda and IS are the winners

To tackle the situation in Iraq, where Islamist groups are surging through the country with unprecedented speed and ferocity, the administration formed a committee with instructions to draw up a US plan of action by September.
It is hard to see the Islamic Caliphate (IS, formerly ISIS) and its Iraqi Sunni tribal partners hanging around and putting their rampage on hold until Obama gets around to formulating and setting his plans in motion.
In Syria, too, Washington has put on hold US plans to provide Syrian rebels with half a billion dollars in assistance. No one in Washington or Syria seems to know if the aid will ever come through.
A joint US-Israeli-Jordanian military effort to establish a rebel enclave in southern Syria, to reach as far as the southern outskirts of Damascus, has also run out of steam. In Washington, Jerusalem and Amman, it’s anyone’s guess as to when or if the scheme will be rebooted.
In every one of these arenas, the winners from Obama’s dilly-dallying are Iran and its allies, Syria and Hizballah. Their Sunni rivals, including Al Qaeda and IS, are also major beneficiaries.
History is repeating itself in Gaza.
US Secretary of State John Kerry originally planned to arrive in the Mid East Tuesday, July 15. But Obama put his foot down and cancelled the trip – even though intelligence had reached Washington of a directive from Tehran to Hamas and Islamic Jihad to keep on shooting rockets into Israel regardless of any truce.
The US president nonetheless decided not to let Kerry make a contribution to the ceasefire effort that Egyptian President Fattah El Sisi and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu were attempting to push through.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsFrom the internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Congressman: Bypass Obama On Border Crisis
Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., says Republicans in Congress are ready to start acting in response to what they consider to be President Obama’s refusal to honor the rule of law and defend the nation’s borders.

Judge Napolitano to Obama: Be Like Reagan on Downed Plane
President Barack Obama should go on national television and call Russian President Vladimir Putin a killer, much like President Ronald Reagan did in 1983 when Russians shot down a Korean airliner, says Judge Andrew Napolitano. "President Putin is a killer. This is more evidence of the fact that he's a killer," Napolitano said Thursday on Fox News Channel's "Special Report."  

Bodies located at site of plane crash in Ukraine
Ukrainian official says 181 bodies have been located so far at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine Foreign Ministry representative Andriy Sybiga cited local emergency workers at the site for the numbers. He said the bodies will be taken to Kharkiv, a government-controlled city 270 kilometres north of the crash site, for identification.  

Peres to Pope Francis: Extremists are the cause of suffering in Gaza
Peres thanked Pope Francis for his involvement and concern, saying, "We are currently under fire from rocket attacks by a terrorist group in Gaza.  

M 6.0 struck southeastern Alaska
Strong M 6.0 earthquake was registered (USGS/EMSC/NTWC) at 11:49 UTC on July 17, 2014 in border region of Alaska and Southern Yukon Territory, Canada.  

Active volcanoes in the world: July 9 - 15, 2014
New activity/unrest was observed at 3 volcanoes from July 9 - 15, 2014. Ongoing activity was reported for 23 volcanoes.  

ROSETTA COMET IS A CONTACT BINARY
The European Space Agency's Rosetta probe is approaching Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for a historic mission to orbit and land on the comet's nucleus.  

Muslim extremists, ISIS claim they have destroyed Jonah’s tomb in Ninevah
The famous Old Testament prophet Jonah’s resting place has been under attack by Muslim extremists who say they’ve destroyed his tomb in the Iraqi province of Ninevah. ISIS terrorists continue to demolish churches, tombs, ancient shrines and anything else that offends them in Iraq and Syria. These extremists claim they are headed to Mecca and destroy Islam’s most sacred shrine – visited by millions of Muslim pilgrims each year.  

Earthquake Risks Higher Than Once Believed For Many Cities: USGS
Live in Las Vegas, Seattle or Charleston, South Carolina? New science shows those areas are among many geologic hot spots with greater threats for heavier earthquakes than once believed. An updated seismic hazard map released Thursday by the U.S. Geological Survey lists 16 states with a “relatively high likelihood of experiencing damaging ground shaking.”  

Earthquake potential in eastern U.S. greater than previously thought, report says
the U.S. Geodetic Survey's latest quake prediction indicates "the eastern U.S. has the potential for larger and more damaging earthquakes than considered in previous maps and assessments."  

300 vials labeled influenza, dengue found at lab
The same federal scientist who recently found forgotten samples of smallpox at a federal lab also uncovered over 300 additional vials, many bearing the names of highly contagious viruses and bacteria.  

China braces for Super Typhoon Rammasun
China on Friday braced for a powerful super typhoon heading for its southern coast after the storm left a trail of destruction and at least 40 dead in the neighbouring Philippines. China's National Meteorological Centre (NMC) said Super Typhoon Rammasun was on course to hit Hainan island and Guangdong province late in the afternoon.  

Tunisian soldiers killed in attack near Algerian border
At least 14 Tunisian soldiers have been killed in a militant attack near the Algerian border with at least 20 others wounded, the defence ministry says. They say gunmen, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and rifles, raided two checkpoints near Mount Chaambi.  

Malaysian plane downing: Will it change course of Ukraine conflict?
The downing by missile fire of a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane over disputed eastern Ukraine Thursday, resulting in the deaths of all 295 people aboard, might seem at first blush to be a clear game-changer in the Ukrainian conflict that has raised Western-Russian tensions in recent months.  

Baghdad blast claimed by Islamic State, suicide car bomb kill nine
A suicide bombing claimed by the Islamic State militant group killed three people on Thursday in the centre of Baghdad and a second bomb outside the Iraqi capital killed six people, police and medics said.  

Denver Rental Cars Turning Into Pot Dumping Grounds
Denver International Airport rental cars appear to be increasingly used as a marijuana dumping ground for travelers. People who want to avoid illegally bringing pot into the airport simply leave it in the car or offer it to the car rental agencies, one Avis Rent A Car airport agent said today.  

Israel Starts Ground Operation in Gaza to Stop Hamas Rockets
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Age
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Jerusalem: Israel has announced the start of a Gaza ground campaign after 10 days of aerial and naval bombardments failed to stop persistent Palestinian rocket attacks, but it signalled the invasion would be limited in scope.

A statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office on Thursday said he had given orders to destroy tunnels that militants had dug to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks.

An Israeli military spokesman said Israel was not out to try to topple the dominant Hamas Islamist group. Such a goal would likely entail a move into densely populated Gaza City, where urban warfare could prove costly to both sides.

Israel launches ground offensive

IsIsrael last mounted a large-scale invasion of the Gaza Strip during a three-week war in late 2008 and early 2009 that claimed 1400 Palestinian and 13 Israeli lives.

No time frame was announced for the new operation, and the length and intensity of Israel's assaults could depend on the scale of civilian deaths - casualties likely to boost international pressure for a ceasefire.

Late on Thursday, Gaza residents and medical officials reported heavy shelling along the eastern border from the southern town of Rafah to the north of the strip. But there was no immediate sign that tanks, deployed for days near the border, were moving in.

Smoke rises after an Israeli missile strike hit the northern Gaza Strip on Thursday. Ground forces are now on the way.

Explosions echoed and flashes of orange lit the sky in the eastern Gaza Strip as Israeli gunboats fired shells and tracer bullets. Israeli artillery pounded the area and helicopters fired across the border, witnesses said.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri responded with defiance to Israel's invasion announcement: "We warn Netanyahu of the dreadful consequences of such a foolish act." .

Gaza health officials said 235 Palestinians, mostly civilians, had been killed since Israel began the air and sea offensive on July 8 in what it called a response to mounting rocket salvoes into its cities.

The warfare has been the worst between Israel and Palestinians in two years.

One Israeli has been killed in the current conflict. Many of the rockets, launched at Israel's south and the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, have been shot down by the Iron Dome anti-missile system, but the frequent fire has made a dash to shelter a daily routine for hundreds of thousands of Israelis.

A statement from the Israeli military said the operation will include "infantry, armoured corps, engineer corps, artillery and intelligence combined with aerial and naval support".

It said another 18,000 reserve soldiers would be mobilised to join more than 30,000 already called up.

The ground operation began after Egyptian ceasefire mediation efforts hit a wall and warnings by Israel over the past few days to thousands of residents in Gaza's north and east to flee their homes for their own safety.

Israel briefly held its fire on Tuesday after Egypt, which is also Gaza's neighbour, announced a truce plan, but Hamas and other militant groups rejected the proposal, saying it had not addressed their demands.

Hamas wants Israel and Egypt, whose military-backed government is at odds with the Islamist movement, to lift border restrictions that have deepened economic hardship among Gaza's 1.8 million populace. Hamas is also suffering from a cash crunch, unable to pay its employees in Gaza for months.

Fighting resumed immediately after the end of a five-hour humanitarian truce on Thursday requested by the United Nations to allow Palestinians to stock up on food.

Before dawn, about a dozen Palestinian fighters tunnelled under the border, emerging near an Israeli community. At least one was killed when Israeli aircraft bombed the group, the military said.

While tunnel-hunting incursions would be far short of a full-scale invasion and re-occupation, there is still the danger for Israel that risky and time-consuming missions could fall to Palestinian ambushes.

Hamas leaders have talked up their "tunnel campaign" against the Israeli enemy. One publicity video showed Palestinian fighters hauling rockets through a narrow passage to load onto a launcher that appears buried in an orchard. It is then fired remotely after its mechanised cover slides open.

On the diplomatic front, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius will visit Egypt, Jordan and Israel from Friday to Sunday to try to defuse the situation, and will discuss putting a European mission on the Gaza-Israel border, a diplomatic source said on Thursday. The French diplomat said the mission could be similar to an EU mission launched in 2005 providing border help at the crossing in Rafah between Gaza and Egypt. That mission was suspended when Hamas was elected in 2007.

The conflict was largely triggered by the killing of three Israeli teens in the occupied West Bank last month and the death on July 2 of a Palestinian youth in a suspected revenge murder.

Israel indicted on Thursday three Israelis suspected of having killed the 16-year-old Palestinian in Jerusalem. A lawyer for a legal aid group representing the adult and two minors said they would enter a plea at a later date.

Israel Pulls Diplomatic Staff from Turkey Over Violent Rioting
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Demonstrator throws rocks at Israeli embassy in Ankara

Reuters

Violent protests erupted at the Israeli embassies in Istanbul and Ankara on Thursday night, with throngs of shrieking Turkish demonstrators hurling rocks at the embassy and at staff, screaming hate slurs, and waving pro-Palestinian flags and banners. 

Hundreds of protesters attacked the Israeli consulate in Istanbul while similar numbers sought to break into the residence of the ambassador in Ankara.

Riot police fired tear gas and water cannon to halt the protests in Istanbul in the early hours of the morning but in Ankara they stood on the sidelines.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman announced Friday that he would be retracting much of the Israeli embassy staff in Turkey following the senseless riots, citing safety concerns and growing anti-Israel incitement from the Turkish leadership. 

"Foreign Minister (Avigdor) Lieberman issued a statement... following the demonstrations and instructed the Israeli consulate and embassy to reduce their diplomatic staff in Turkey," an Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman told AFP, without stating the numbers concerned.

Liberman instructed the Foreign Ministry to clarify to the Turkish government that such incitement is unacceptable.

"Israel protests strongly this violation of diplomatic relations, including the Vienna Convention and others, which have been encouraged by the Turkish authorities during these protests," he said. "We attribute the responsibility for the safety of Israeli citizens and embassy staff on the Turkish government."

The move follows a number of inflammatory and anti-Semitic hate slurs from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has become increasingly vocal against Israel after the IDF moved to protect millions of Israelis from Hamas rocket fire. 

Erdogan has threatened to end the normalization process with Israel over "state terrorism" before, and also accused Israel of "lies" because "not enough" Israeli Jews have died in the conflict. 

"They say (Hamas) is firing rockets. But is there anybody who died?" he asked. "The number of Palestinians that you (Israel) killed is now 100. Their (Israel's) life is based on lies." 

"You will first stop this oppression. If not, it is not possible to realize normalization between Turkey and Israel," Erdogan said, on a separate occasion. 

On Thursday night, he claimed Israel had a long history of "genocide" against Muslims, in a series of confused and violent slurs relating to the Ramadan fast. 

 "This is not the first time we have been confronted by such situations," Erdogan told a meeting of Islamic scholars gathered in Istanbul for Ramadan, a holy month of fasting for Muslims. "Since (the creation of the state of Israel) in 1948 we have been witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every day and every month. But above all we are witnessing this attempt at systematic genocide every Ramadan."

Erdogan himself has also had a long public record of anti-Semitic statements, including several recently despite efforts to normalize relations.

Several months ago, Erdogan kicked and beat a protestor who approached the premier over the May 2014 Soma mine disaster. 

"Why are you running away from me - Israeli sperm!" he shrieked, slapping the protester, in video footage uploaded to Sozcu TV. The word "sperm" is seen as a particularly offensive insult in Turkish. The footage later shows security forces beating the man.

In 1998, prior to his stint as PM, Erdogan - then mayor of Istanbul - infamously declared that "the Jews have begun to crush the Muslims in Palestine, in the name of Zionism. Today, the image of the Jews is no different than that of the Nazis."

More recently, Erdogan accused Israel of being behind the ouster of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi.

Is Lebanon Next on Isis Hit List?
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsBBC News Carine Torbey & Suzanne Kianpour
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Many believe jihadists from the Islamic State are behind the attacks in Lebanon.

News that jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) had declared the creation of a "caliphate" last month initially sent Lebanon's social media networks into a frenzy of puns and jokes depicting them as backward, bloodthirsty bearded men.

But soon, worry replaced laughter. After months of relative calm, Lebanon was hit again by a series of attacks accompanied by a slew of arrests of suspected suicide bombers.

A general belief is starting to grow that the IS, the precursor to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (Isis), stands behind the renewed instability in the country.

"When the [caliphate] was established across the border between Syria and Iraq, IS made the threat that Lebanon would be in the eye of the storm," says Maj-Gen Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon's General Security intelligence agency.

"The last wave of attacks is an interpretation of that threat."

Much of what is known about IS plans and operations in Lebanon has been circulating in the media through co-ordinated and anonymous leaks from the investigations into the arrested suspects.

There was talk of IS appointing an emir for Lebanon and plotting massive attacks on Shia areas, as well as targeting public figures.

But all of this remains unconfirmed, contrary to what the IS had itself declared, which is its grand project to destroy borders between Arab states and rule them all under one Islamic entity.

'Ending Sykes-Picot'

In a widely shared video, an IS fighter is seen walking across what used to be the border between Iraq and Syria and vowing to "break all borders in Jordan, Lebanon, and all the borders, inshallah [God willing]".

The video is called The End of Sykes-Picot, a reference to the 1916 secret agreement between the British and the French which shaped the modern Middle Eastern.

Such calls do not echo favourably in Lebanon, even within the circles of the Salafists, ultraconservative Islamists who call for a return to the political and moral practice of the first Muslims.

"The announcement of the Islamic State will backfire on all Muslims and eventually lead to the division of Iraq," says Sheikh Nabil Rahim, a Salafist sheikh who has a religious show on an Islamic radio channel broadcasting from the northern city of Tripoli.

Sheikh Rahim and other Sunni clerics point out what they consider flaws in the declaration of the caliphate and strongly reject the brutality that accompanied it.

But such positions do not go unchecked by some IS supporters in Lebanon.

Opponents, including Sheikh Rahim, have received death threats and disturbing messages via text and social media networks promising to make them pay for speaking out.

"In one message, the sender threatened to chop our heads off and to sever our heads from our bodies," says Sheikh Rahim.

Stability threat

For the clerics, the overzealous sympathisers of the IS are to be feared more than the radical organisation itself, at least for the moment.

This belief resonates with the assessment of Gen Ibrahim.

"There is definitely a feeling for IS in the country, the ideas they promote are present in Lebanon. Call it IS or whatever you want, that ideology exists here," the intelligence chief says.

Few fear an incursion or establishment of a foothold for IS in the country.

"What they can do is an attack here, a bomb there. They can disrupt stability in Lebanon. That's what they can do and that's what we will strive to stop them from doing."

Western sources have told the BBC the string of arrests related to IS in Lebanon is an indication of a legitimate concern of infiltration, but not necessarily of a prominent existence.

The recent bombings blamed on the group have also unified a usually divided Lebanese government that, faced with a common enemy, is working in unison to counter the threat early on.

Tourism hit

So far, the significant damage they have caused for Lebanon is one of perception.

The tourism industry - which accounts for a major part of Lebanon's GDP - has already taken a hit as travellers from the Gulf and other regions have cancelled trips amid security concerns.

The role of IS in the latest events in Lebanon and its true plans for the Levant all remain unanswered questions for the moment.

What is sure is that the spectre of the group has infiltrated people's minds, be it by work of media or work of terror.

Today there is much talk about IS in Lebanon.

Iranian Leader Encourages Hamas in 'Struggle Against Occupation'
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal

Reuters

Hamas continues to receive military and political support from Iran, it was revealed Friday.

Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal spoke to Iranian Parliament chairman Ali Larijani Thursday night, shortly after the Israeli government announced it would launch a ground offensive into Gaza.

Mashaal reportedly said that Hamas could deal with every possible scenario, boasting that their main goal is to "break the Occupation and remove the siege on Gaza."

Mashaal also called on Iran and other Arab nations to rally around the "Palestinian cause," and praised Iran's support for the terror organization over the past several years.

Larijani responded that the ground offensive is the result of "miscalculation" on Israel's part and that Iran was "proud" of Hamas's "struggle against the Occupation" and was sure it would bring results.

Mashaal has been in close contact with Iran for years, and called on Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to join Hamas's fight against Israel during last month's Operation Brother's Keeper. 

Iran was the primary sponsor of Hamas until being replaced in that position by Turkey in 2012.

Iran has provided Hamas and Islamic Jihad with long-range missiles such as the Fajr-5 and M302 - the latter of which is believed to have been used in the Hadera attack. Earlier this year Israeli naval commandos seized the Klos C ship, and discovered weapons including long-range rockets destined for terrorist groups in Gaza.

Despite its active role in providing the rockets raining down on Israeli population centers, Iran condemned the IDF operation aiming to stop the rockets as "savage aggression" earlier this month.

IDF Prepares to Put Many Boots on the Ground As Ceasefire Bids Falter
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

With a long-term ceasefire between Israel and Hamas increasingly unlikely, the IDF is gearing up for a ground incursion into Gaza. According to DEBKA Weekly’s military and intelligence sources, this iteration of Operation Protective Edge will, barring last-minute changes in the field, commence by the middle of next week. It will be broad in scale. The Gaza conflict is therefore about to move forward on two tracks – the military and the diplomatic.

Israel air power failed to reach Hamas’ underground war rooms

• Although the Israeli Air Force hit and destroyed more than 1,500 Hamas military targets in Gaza, the groups’ underground military command center remains intact. (See a separate item in this issue on the IDF’s hesitance to strike the bunker).
• They wiped out 3,000 rockets, but the terrorist group that rules Gaza still has 6,000 more at its disposal and its arsenal is topped up daily by local production and smuggled supplies through the Sinai Peninsula.
• In the 10 days of the ongoing conflict, Hamas has launched nearly 2,000 rockets at the Israeli civilian population. The vast majority landed in open areas, except for the 200 or so which exploded near their targets, and at least 150 that were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system.
• These rocket salvos are directed from a command and control center buried deep inside Hamas’ underground bunker war room, which is segmented into three compartments: terrorist operations; a command center; and logistics, including the storage of ammunition and other military gear. None of these compartments were damaged by Israel’s air strikes and they continue to function at capacity.

Up to 100,000 reservists may be called up

• The IDF has so far mobilized 50,000 reservists to fight Hamas in Gaza. Another 20-25,000 soldiers are likely to be called up as the fighting continues – rising to a potential maximum of 100,000 troops if the clashes spread to new fronts on Israel’s northern borders with Syria and Lebanon.
  The scattered rocket fire into Israel’s north in the past week suggests that Iranian and Syrian-dominated Palestinian organizations may be poised to pounce on Israel from their host-countries of Syria or Lebanon.

Two diplomatic channels run into the sand

• Egyptian President Fattah El Sisi’s mediation efforts are unlikely to result in a comprehensive or long-term truce, if the opinions of officials in Jerusalem, Gaza and Cairo are any measure. No party involved in mediation, be it regional or international, is truly interested in reaching a deal – they’re all just keen to be seen trying to avert an all-out war. International peace brokers are also wary of any step that might give Hamas a boost.
• The effort to hammer out a ceasefire is running on two separate tracks, led by Cairo and an Ankara-Doha team. El Sisi’s government has come down hard on the Muslim Brotherhood on its own soil, and it would be pleased to see the brotherhood’s paramilitary variants, Hamas and its Izz-e- din Al Qassam Brigades, dismantled or at least seriously debilitated.
• The Palestinian Authority and its Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (better known as Abu Mazen) share Cairo’s goals. But Hamas understands that no truce will hold water without the participation of the Egyptian military, which is blockading Gaza’s southern border. The Palestinian Islamists are therefore pretending to cooperate with the track led by Egypt, while lending its real support to the Turkish-Qatari channel.
  When the battle is over, Hamas hopes to gain the patronage of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Qatari ruler Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and so it behooves the group to get these countries in on the negotiating game now.
  Neither avenue is expected to bear fruit though, given El Sisi’s close alliance with the Saudi-Gulf bloc and its own fierce rivalry with Turkey and Qatar.

Major powers stay clear of the fray

Notably absent from the web of diplomacy being spun to pin down a suspension of hostilities are major regional and international powers. The US and Saudi Arabia are taking care to stay aloof from the Gaza dispute for their own reasons, and even Egypt’s participation is rather halfhearted. Cairo abstained from referring the conflict to the Arab League, so as to escape any fallout from a diplomatic failure.
Anyway, this veteran group looks more and more like a spent force in the Arab world, scarcely up to the formidable, not to say, impossible, task of brokering peace between Israel and Palestinian extremists.
Iran is the sole exception: As the Vienna nuclear talks with the P5+1 foundered, Tehran issued instructions to Hamas and Jihad Islami to keep the rockets flying against Israel. (See a separate item in this issue on the Vienna talks).

How Russian Hackers Stole the Nasdaq
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsBloomberg Business Week
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

In October 2010, a Federal Bureau of Investigation system monitoring U.S. Internet traffic picked up an alert. The signal was coming from Nasdaq (NDAQ). It looked like malware had snuck into the company’s central servers. There were indications that the intruder was not a kid somewhere, but the intelligence agency of another country. More troubling still: When the U.S. experts got a better look at the malware, they realized it was attack code, designed to cause damage.

As much as hacking has become a daily irritant, much more of it crosses watch-center monitors out of sight from the public. The Chinese, the French, the Israelis—and many less well known or understood players—all hack in one way or another. They steal missile plans, chemical formulas, power-plant pipeline schematics, and economic data. That’s espionage; attack code is a military strike. There are only a few recorded deployments, the most famous being the Stuxnet worm. Widely believed to be a joint project of the U.S. and Israel, Stuxnet temporarily disabled Iran’s uranium-processing facility at Natanz in 2010. It switched off safety mechanisms, causing the centrifuges at the heart of a refinery to spin out of control. Two years later, Iran destroyed two-thirds of Saudi Aramco’s computer network with a relatively unsophisticated but fast-spreading “wiper” virus. One veteran U.S. official says that when it came to a digital weapon planted in a critical system inside the U.S., he’s seen it only once—in Nasdaq.

The October alert prompted the involvement of the National Security Agency, and just into 2011, the NSA concluded there was a significant danger. A crisis action team convened via secure videoconference in a briefing room in an 11-story office building in the Washington suburbs. Besides a fondue restaurant and a CrossFit gym, the building is home to the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), whose mission is to spot and coordinate the government’s response to digital attacks on the U.S. They reviewed the FBI data and additional information from the NSA, and quickly concluded they needed to escalate.

Thus began a frenzied five-month investigation that would test the cyber-response capabilities of the U.S. and directly involve the president. Intelligence and law enforcement agencies, under pressure to decipher a complex hack, struggled to provide an even moderately clear picture to policymakers. After months of work, there were still basic disagreements in different parts of government over who was behind the incident and why. “We’ve seen a nation-state gain access to at least one of our stock exchanges, I’ll put it that way, and it’s not crystal clear what their final objective is,” says House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Michigan, who agreed to talk about the incident only in general terms because the details remain classified. “The bad news of that equation is, I’m not sure you will really know until that final trigger is pulled. And you never want to get to that.”

Bloomberg Businessweek spent several months interviewing more than two dozen people about the Nasdaq attack and its aftermath, which has never been fully reported. Nine of those people were directly involved in the investigation and national security deliberations; none were authorized to speak on the record. “The investigation into the Nasdaq intrusion is an ongoing matter,” says FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos. “Like all cyber cases, it’s complex and involves evidence and facts that evolve over time.”

While the hack was successfully disrupted, it revealed how vulnerable financial exchanges—as well as banks, chemical refineries, water plants, and electric utilities—are to digital assault. One official who experienced the event firsthand says he thought the attack would change everything, that it would force the U.S. to get serious about preparing for a new era of conflict by computer. He was wrong.
 
On the call at the NCCIC were experts from the Defense, Treasury, and Homeland Security departments and from the NSA and FBI. The initial assessment provided the incident team with a few sketchy details about the hackers’ identity, yet it only took them minutes to agree that the incursion was so serious that the White House should be informed.

The conference call participants reconvened at the White House the next day, joined by officials from the Justice and State departments and the Central Intelligence Agency. The group drew up a set of options to be presented to senior national security officials from the White House, the Justice Department, the Pentagon, and others. Those officials determined the questions that investigators would have to answer: Were the hackers able to access and manipulate or destabilize the trading platform? Was the incursion part of a broader attack on the U.S. financial infrastructure?

The U.S. Secret Service pushed to be the lead investigative agency. Its representatives noted that they had already gone to Nasdaq months earlier with evidence that a group of alleged Russian cybercriminals, led by a St. Petersburg man named Aleksandr Kalinin, had hacked the company and that the two events might be related. The Secret Service lost the argument and sat the investigation out.

Ground Op, First Day: 19 Gazans Killed so Far, 13 Arrested
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Battle makeup

IDF Spokesman

Since their entry into Gaza Thursday night, IDF forces have attacked 150 targets, including tunnels, rocket launch sites and the homes of senior officers.

Sirens sounded in Be'er Sheva and nearby communities Friday morning, as terrorists continued to fire at Israel. The Iron Dome system intercepted three rockets in the sky.

A soldier who was lightly wounded in the course of the night was evacuated to Soroka Hospital. Another soldier was wounded late Thursday was hospitalized in moderate and stable condition with wounds in the neck and the arm.

Paratroop forces located eight tunnels that contained weapons. A paratroop force ran into a terrorist and fired at him. He, too, was taken to an Israeli hospital.

Fired for Being Gay: Church Pantry Worker Sues Kansas City Diocese
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsThe Guardian
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

Colleen Simon smiles as wife Donna Simon looks on at their home in Kansas City. Photograph: Dave Kaup /Reuters

For Colleen Simon, of Kansas City, Missouri, there's something about the month of May that brings dramatic change.

In May 2012, she wed the love of her life, Donna, in Iowa. It was also at that time she learned her cancer was in remission. The following May, she applied for – and later accepted – her dream job, a position that entailed running a food pantry at St Francis Xavier, a Roman Catholic church.

And this year, on 9 May, Simon was asked to resign from that job after her marriage to a local Lutheran reverend, Donna Simon, was noted in a magazine article.

"The reason for your involuntary separation of employment was based upon on irreconcilable conflict between the laws, discipline, and teaching of the Catholic Church and your relationship – formalized by an act of marriage in Iowa – to a person of the same sex," the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph said in its letter of dismissal.

Simon is only the latest addition to a growing list of gay employees fired in recent years by Catholic institutions for marrying, announcing plans to wed, or in some way making public their sexual orientation. This slate of terminations comes at a time when the Vatican led by Pope Francis is urging a softer tone toward gays and lesbians.

"I trusted the diocese on the promise they made to me, and the assurance that they made to me was broken: that my marriage would not affect my employment," Simon told the Guardian. "I'm deeply saddened that they did not follow through with that and chose to let me go."

Neither Missouri law nor federal law prohibit employers from hiring or firing people on the basis of their sexual orientation.

On Thursday, Simon and her lawyer filed a lawsuit against the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph and its Bishop, Robert Finn, alleging that she was wrongfully fired from her job at St Francis Xavier on the grounds that she had made clear to her employers before accepting the job that she was openly gay, and was assured that would not put her job in jeopardy.

The Church said in a statement on Thursday: "The Diocese has not seen the filing, so we cannot comment specifically at this time. In general, as a church we have the right to live and operate according to our faith and Church teachings. We regret this situation has resulted in litigation, however it is our sincere hope that the matter can be resolved amicably. As needed, we will defend our constitutional freedom to practice our faith and uphold the integrity of our mission and public witness."

'You could say the church brought us together'

Several years ago, Simon, who describes herself as deeply religious and very passionate about social justice, met her now-wife Donna while attending community organizing training.

"You could say the church brought us together," said Simon, a mother of two. After training, they stayed in touch, and eventually Simon moved to Kansas City "for love", she said. On 19 May, 2012, Simon and Donna married in Council Bluffs, Iowa, where same-sex marriage is legal.

“We wanted to be married legally in the eyes of the state and in God's church, to be married in the love of God as well,” Simon explained. Missouri's constitution prohibits same-sex marriage.

About a year later, Simon saw an opening at St Francis Xavier for what she still calls her "dream job". Well-aware of the tricky relationship some churches have with gay employees, Simon said she asked before applying if they would consider her for the position. She said she was encouraged to apply, and that she was honest and open about her sexual orientation throughout the hiring process.

During an interview, she said the pastor told her that there was no need to worry – and reassured her that what happened to a gay teacher at a Jesuit school in another state could not happen to her.

Simon, comforted by the pastor's words, accepted the job offer, she said.

'We wanted to be married legally in the eyes of the state and in God's church,' said Simon. Photograph: David Moir /Reuters

In April, Simon and her wife Donna were both featured in a story published in the Kansas City Star’s 816 magazine about increasing diversity along Troost Avenue, a corridor “long-considered the city's racial dividing line”, the article said.

Simon and Donna, a reverend at St Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran church, which welcomes LGBT people and even flies a rainbow flag, said they had no idea the magazine story would cause a problem as they were both very open about their relationship. Donna quipped that kids at her church call Simon the “First Lady”.

But apparently the story had landed on the Bishop's desk and was indeed causing problems, Simon said.

After the article came out, Father Rafael Garcia, a new pastor at St Francis Xavier, called Kimberly Stern, a Kansas City-based freelance writer who wrote the story.

Stern, who is not involved in the case, confirmed that she received a call from Garcia after her article was published.

Stern said Garcia wanted to know what Simon told the reporter about her marriage to Donna and her sexuality. Then the pastor asked Stern if she was Catholic. When she responded that she was not, Stern said Garcia told her: "You have no idea what you've done."

'You're allowed to get married ... but not to keep your job'

On 9 May, Simon said she was called into Garcia's office, having no idea what she was about to walk into. She brought notes with her to the meeting, thinking they were going to discuss the church's upcoming events.

When she sat down in Garcia's office, she said she noticed that he was holding a piece of paper with the Diocese's letterhead, and her heart dropped.

Simon said Garcia told her that because her same-sex marriage was made public, he was forced to ask her to submit a letter of resignation.

Simon said she refused to resign as she believes she did nothing wrong, and was fired the following week.

She doesn't qualify for unemployment benefits because the diocese, as a religious employer, does not pay into the system.

Simon said she asked for her job back, but her request was not met. Supporters started an online petition calling on the diocese to reinstate Simon that collected more than 20,000 signatures, but nothing came of it. And in June, the parish announced they'd found a replacement for her job , according to the lawsuit.

After this, Simon said it was time to "ask with a different voice" and decided to file a lawsuit charging "fraudulent inducement" against the diocese and Bishop Finn, who she alleges compelled the church to fire her. She is seeking reinstatement, lost wages and damages.

Finn has been at the center of controversy previously, in 2012, when he became the first bishop in the US to be convicted for failing to report a suspected paedophile priest.

Simon, who was a practicing Catholic for many years before becoming Lutheran, said the experience has not shaken her faith, and believes the church simply needs time to evolve. She pointed out that in past decades, it wasn't unheard of for the church to fire employees who divorced or remarried.

Tony Rothert, the ACLU of Missouri's legal director, said cases like Simon's highlight the need for workplace protections for gay and lesbian people, especially as same-sex marriage makes gains in states across the US.

"There's going to be this dichotomy in the law that you're allowed to get married without discrimination but you're not allowed to keep your job,” he said.

A bill stalled in Congress would broadly extend workplace protections to all US employees, prohibiting employers from discriminating against people on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. But American civil rights and liberties groups, including the ACLU, recently dropped their support for the bill because of a provision that carves out exemptions for religious organizations.

In the meantime, Simon said she is praying she will be allowed to return to her job.

"I loved the job I was doing,” Simon said. “I loved the people I worked with and the people I worked for. I can forgive. I can forgive and move on. This is the work God called me to do.”

Chancellor Merkel: Hamas Has New Weaponry
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsDebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday, when asked by reporters about Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip, that it had become clear that the Islamist militant group Hamas was targeting the Jewish state with a "new quality" of weaponry, and that any country that is attacked in such a manner must have the right to defend itself.

Cabinet Meets to Discuss Gaza Campaign
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The cabinet convened, Friday morning in Tel Aviv, to discuss the latest developments in the Protective Edge counter-terror campaign in Gaza. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at the outset of the meeting that Israel was ready to expand the scope of the campaign beyond Thursday evening's introduction of ground troops to the operation.

Ahead of the meeting, Housing Minister Uri Ariel called on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to finish the job and crush terror, adding that all terrorists should be eliminated, including the heads of Hamas. He said Israel should not wait another year and allow a next round, adding that the IDF should work quickly so that Israel does not find itself subject to the kind of international pressure that could prevent it from finishing the job. Saying the IDF would administer a serious blow to Hamas, Public Safety Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said the ground effort is not expected to finish quickly.

AIPAC Praises Senate Resolution on Gaza Campaign
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily NewsArutz Sheva
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee praised, Thursday, a resolution by the United States Senate for its resolution to support Israel's right to self defense against the attacks on its citizens by the Hamas terror group.

The resolution called on the Palestinian Authority to break up its unity government with Hamas and to condemn the attacks on Israel.

A Commando Raid Disrupted By Intelligence Shortfall - Lesson for Israeli Ground Operation
Jul 18th, 2014
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel

In the early hours of July 13, almost unnoticed, a minor clash on a Gaza beach between an Israeli commando force and Hamas represented a turning-point in their contest.
It was on the fifth day of Operation Protective Edge, when the elite Shayetet 13 unit (comparable to the US Navy SEALs) landed under cover of dark on a mission to seize control of a long-range rocket-launching site near Al Sudaniya, west of Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
The unit ran almost immediately into a series of ambushes and was forced to retreat with four lightly injured men, without reaching the Hamas launchers. Israeli navy ships and air force planes covered their exit with massive fire.
This was the first Israeli ground operation in the current offensive and, by definition, the first by commando fighters. It took place five days after Hamas tried to launch a commando landing on an Israeli shore. They too were gunned down as they came ashore by an IDF shore position which spotted their approach.
It took Israel another five days to mount its commando raid on Gaza – a delay which seemed to betray a problem. Either IDF generals’ reflexes are slower than they are reputed to be, or they were held back by the cumbersome chain of authority directing the military operation – led by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon – and their insistence on signing off on every action, however small.

Superior intelligence is key to successful ground operation

The Shayetet 13 operation, which gave Hamas tactical points, offered Israel’s war planners three important insights:
1. IDF commanders complained after the fact that the team was sent into harm’s way without being prepared by advance intelligence about what to expect from the enemy when they landed.
2. Hamas proved to be amply prepared to defend its strategic military installations, including the all-important rocket launchers.
3. The Al Sudaniya episode provided Israel’s military leaders with a timely reminder that the key battle for winning the war was still ahead. It would be fought by locating and razing Hamas’ underground command and control bunkers, housing the upper echelons of its political and military structure, the Izz-e-Din Al Qassam Brigades, and applying the same treatment to Gaza’s other armed factions, including Islamic Jihad.
It was brought home to them that none of these objectives is feasible without a very high class of intelligence, far better than the information that left Israeli sea commandos exposed to a Hamas ambush.

Hamas chiefs and command facilities buried safe under Gaza City

The Israeli air force’s precise bombardments of rocket launching sites, arsenals, and production facilities are important both strategically and psychologically. In the process, IDF chiefs have learned not to belittle Hamas’ ability to conduct a war or its acumen in burying its high-ups and command and control systems deep underground, safe from the most determined Israel attempt to shut them down.
Israel’s intelligence agencies have not so far pinpointed the precise location of Hamas’ deeply interred nerve centers, where the directing hands of its military, policy and propaganda efforts are hidden. Those centers are known to be sunk deep under the streets of central Gaza and the Shifa hospital, in the heart of the territory’s densely packed civilian population.
Hamas’ war rooms are described as a large and complex labyrinth of meeting-rooms and command centers, equipped with air conditioning, an independent electricity supply, security and communications links. They are well-stocked with food, drink and sleeping accommodation for the hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of people hunkered down in this warren.
This underground complex was not slapped together overnight. It needed years and hundreds of workmen to construct.

Iran invested heavily in Hamas’ subterranean stronghold

Many Iranian and Lebanese engineers were employed in the project by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, our sources reveal. Tehran clearly invested a sizeable chunk of money and effort into installing Hamas deep under Gaza, bringing to bear its best intelligence, communications and cyber-warfare skills.
But even as the columns of smoke hang over the Gaza Strip from ten days of Israeli bombardment, its commanders are concerned that Hamas remains almost unscathed, its leaders safe in their bunkers, their military and political arms functioning out of IDF reach and continuing to spew out a stream of propaganda – backing more than a thousand rockets.
DEBKA Weekly’s military and intelligence sources stress that for any attempt to penetrate Hamas’s underground fortress, the IDF must not only be armed with first-rate intelligence, but also dominate the electronic battlefield.
Israeli intelligence agencies’ failure to bring home concrete reconnaissance on the Hamas buried stronghold is noteworthy, particularly given the central location, size and importance of the war room Iranian and Hizballah engineers constructed for the offensive against Israel.
Unfortunately, the various clandestine agencies failed to appreciate that this buried command and control center should have been their top priority target. They are now playing a rushed game of catch up.

Intelligence agencies missed making the Hamas war room their top priority

This lapse partly accounts for Netanyahu and Ya’alon keeping on postponing a decision to put Israeli troops on the ground in the Gaza Strip. They are holding out first for full digital intelligence, known in the business as HUMINT, SIGINT and visual maps of the control bunkers. With this in hand, Israel would be armed with the three essential information folders for going ahead:

• The Golden File: The locations of rocket launchers and their armament; the names and functions of key combat and support personnel and their communications resources.
• A window into the counterintelligence systems of Hamas and Jihad Islami.
• Access to Hamas' communications, encoding and battle management systems.

For now, even with improved intelligence, physically damaging Hamas’s heavily fortified underground war room by bombardment is not a realistic option, especially given is proximity to such sites as the Shifa hospital, which the IDF is under orders to avoid wherever possible.
Israel is also looking ahead to the day after the military phase of the contest with Hamas is over.
Taking out its military infrastructure is vital, but only insofar as the group itself lives on to serve as a negotiating partner to the future of relations with the troublesome enclave. Hamas is the only viable candidate in sight.