Headlines
Israel has complained to the United Nations after an escalation in Gaza terrorist attacks, including the first firing of an advanced Kornet anti-tank missile from Gaza that penetrated a Merkava tank. The soldiers inside the tank were not injured.
The advanced missile, apparently made in Iran, was fired last week from a longer range than more primitive anti-tank rockets, and its use two weeks ago was revealed on Tuesday by IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi. Hizbullah used the Kornet in the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Hamas and allied terrorists have attacked the western Negev with at least 18 missiles and mortar shells since Monday in a sharp escalation in violence. Lt. Gen. Ashkenazi said that the IDF retaliation included buildings housing Hamas terrorists, the first time they have been targeted, with the exception of "ticking bombs," since the end of Operation Cast Lead two years ago next month.
The complaint to the United Nations pointed out that a Kassam rocket exploded near a kindergarten on a kibbutz Monday morning, wounding a 14-year-old girl and sending several others into traumatic shock.
"The incidents of the past several days are part of an escalation of terrorist attacks emanating from Gaza that target Israeli civilians, towns, and military personnel," wrote Israel's United Nations Ambassador Meron Reuben.
"Israel holds the de facto Hamas authority in the Gaza Strip completely responsible for all of these incidents, which are carried out in clear violation of international law," he added. "In response to such attacks, Israel has exercised and will continue to exercise its right to self-defense.
"In a previous letter on 9 December 2010, I mentioned that the escalation of such attacks should be viewed with the utmost seriousness. With the intention of preventing the continued escalation of conflict, the Security Council, the Secretary-General, and the international community must send a clear and resolute message that these attacks are unacceptable.
"In addition, the Security Council must give appropriate attention to the smuggling of arms into Gaza, which continues to fuel violence and instability in our region - in violation of numerous Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1860.
"I wish to inform you that an identical letter has been sent to H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations."
The term "1967 borders," the Arab world's mantra for the borders of a PA state, never existed, says former Ambassador to Canada Alan Baker in a research paper for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
Ever since neighboring Arab countries attacked Israel in 1948 as it became an independent country for the first time in 2,000 years, there were no borders, only temporary military lines defined by the 1949 "Armistice Lines" that ended, at least formally, the War for Independence.
However, the Arab world has repeated the term "1967 borders" so much that it has been adopted as fact by mainstream media and most international leaders. The term refers to the 1949 ceasefire line from which Israel military forces advanced at the beginning of the Six-Day War on June 4, 1967 and should be called "pre-1967 War Armistice Lines" or "1949 Armistice Lines". INN, it should be noted, has used those accurate terms consistently..
Even Brazil, which recently decided to "recognize" the Palestinian Authority based on the supposed 1967 borders, stated during a United Nation debate on Resolution 242 in 1967 calling for negotiations for boundaries, "Its acceptance does not imply that borderlines cannot be rectified as a result of an agreement freely concluded among the interested States. We keep constantly in mind that a just and lasting peace in the Middle East has necessarily to be based on secure permanent boundaries freely agreed upon and negotiated by the neighboring States."
Baker (pictured) noted that Jordan, which also has adopted the fallacy of "1967 borders," said in the same debate, "There is an Armistice Agreement. The Agreement did not fix boundaries; it fixed a demarcation line. The Agreement did not pass judgment on rights political, military or otherwise. Thus I know of no territory; I know of no boundary; I know of a situation frozen by an Armistice Agreement."
Although the "1967 borders" denote lines of separation, they have no basis in history, law, or fact," Baker explained. "The 1949 armistice agreements specifically stated that such lines have no political or legal significance and do not prejudice future negotiations on boundaries," he continued.
"There are no provisions in any of the agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians that require withdrawal to the '1967 borders.' There were never any geographic imperatives that sanctify the 1967 lines."
The "Armistice Lines" of 1949 were determined in agreements signed by Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. They were not borders, Baker pointed out. "The armistice demarcation line represented nothing more than the forward lines of deployment of the forces on the day a ceasefire was declared…. The line was demarcated on the map attached to the armistice agreement with a green marker pen and hence received the name 'Green Line.'
"The Security Council in its resolution stressed the temporary nature of the armistice lines that were to be maintained 'during the transition to permanent peace in Palestine.'"
The Armistice Agreement stated, "The basic purpose of the Armistice Demarcation Lines is to delineate the lines beyond which the armed forces of the respective Parties shall not move. The provisions of this article shall not be interpreted as prejudicing, in any sense, an ultimate political settlement between the Parties to this Agreement.
"The Armistice Demarcation Lines defined in...this Agreement are agreed upon by the Parties without prejudice to future territorial settlements or boundary lines or to claims of either Party relating thereto."
Baker quoted Judge Steven Schwebel, former President of the International Court of Justice, who stated in 1994, "The armistice agreements of 1949 expressly preserved the territorial claims of all parties and did not purport to establish definitive boundaries between them."
The current Arab campaign for recognizing the Palestinian Authority according to the supposed "1967 borders" ironically is often based on the oft-quoted UN Resolution 242. This is the resolution which Baker noted emphasizes in its very first paragraph the "...respect for and acknowledgement of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."
The Palestinian Authority has accepted in previous agreements the concept that borders will be negotiated, but the Arab world's "diplomatic war of attrition" has virtually erased this perception in the media and in the international community. A 1993 agreement signed by Arafat states that there are, "...remaining issues, including: Jerusalem, refugees, settlements, security arrangements, borders, relations and cooperation with other neighbors, and other issues of common interest."
The PA in the past several months has called for "negotiations" but in reality has demanded that Israel accept the so-called "1967 borders" without negotiation, lines which Baker's research paper shows havs no legal or historical foundation as borders.
Israel will formally and publicly ask U.S. President Barack Obama to free Jonathan Pollard, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced Tuesday. He said that government officials have paved the way for an appeal through contacts with senior members of the Obama administration.
The appeal will represent a major step to rescue Pollard from a life term in prison for passing to Israel classified documents when he worked for the Pentagon. The usual punishment for the offense is up to four years in jail, and he already has spent the last 25 years in American prisons.
Prime Minister Netanyahu acted after pleas by Pollard's wife Esther and a string of events and reports the past few weeks that have weakened the American case for imposing a life sentence on Pollard. The Prime Minister's office stated that the decision to appeal to President Obama "was made following a series of talks and contacts…in recent months with senior U.S. administration officials."
One of those leading the free-Pollard movement is former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, who revealed that he has spoken with President Obama and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at least six times. He recently has said that Pollard was not dealt with fairly.
Israeli governments have said they have made quiet efforts to free Pollard, and Prime Minister Netanyahu warned them that his appeal to President Obama may not succeed, if not backfire. Esther Pollard, citing her husband's deteriorating health, said that "this might be my last chance to beg you to change your tactics. There is a greater risk in doing nothing."
American sentiment never has been strongly behind Pollard, who is widely regarded as a spy although he was convicted of passing on classified information and not for spying on the United States. CNN, reporting Tuesday on the Prime Minister's and Korb's statements. labeled Pollard a "spy."
In contrast, in Israel and in many Zionist communities in the Diaspora, Pollard's name is cited as a captive and his name is mentioned in prayers for the return of missing Israel soldiers.
During Prime Minister Netanyahu's previous term in office, he recognized Pollard as an Israeli agent and granted him Israeli citizenship.
"I intend to continue acting with determination for Pollard's release, both because of the State of Israel's moral obligation to him and also so that he might live with his family and be restoredf to health after his prolonged incarceration," Prime Minister Netanyahu said Tuesday.
On Monday, members of the movement to free Pollard held a ceremony at which they named a park opposite the Prime Minister's home "Pollard Park.
Egypt plans to restore Alexandria's lone remaining active synagogue, the Eliahou Hanabi Synagogue – the city's "only Jewish monument," according to a report published in the Al Masry Al Youm newspaper.
Located on Nebi Daniel Street, the synagogue was hailed in the report as "one of Egypt's most important Jewish historical sites."
The renovations are to be carried out by Cairo University's Center for Antiquities and Environment Studies, according to the report, which noted that "all Egyptian Jewish monuments" are to be renovated.
Ali Hilal, project manager at the Supreme Council for Antiquities, said the sites were considered a part of Egypt's heritage.
There once were 13 synagogues that once existed in the city of Alexandria, according to the website of the Association Internationale Nebi Daniel.
The largest of these, the Eliahou Hanabi Synagogue was built in 1850. It was destroyed by Napoleon during his military campaign, and later rebuilt. According to the Associate website, the 150-year-old house of worship is actually built on the site of a much older synagogue, the Voltera.
Guarded around the clock, the building is surrounded on three sides by landscaped gardens. The synagogue, which itself is fairly well maintained, is the only synagogue where services are maintained, according to the Association.
Over the past year, Egypt has restored several of its synagogues, including the Maimonides Synagogue in Cairo was rededicated -- although Jews are not allowed to pray there.
Thousands of hareidi religious Jews are expected to turn out at a Jerusalem rally Thursday in support of Judea and Samaria. The 7:00 p.m. rally at Zion Square in the center of the capital will be staged against a defacto building freeze and as a "salute to Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem residents." Popular singers Ariel Zilber, Yishai Lapidot, Mendy Jerufi and Gadi Elbaz will perform.
Support for nationalists by the hareidi religious community, which was less common several years ago, provides an additional and strong ally for Land of Israel activists.
One sticker that will be distributed to people will be written in Yiddish, the first language of tens of thousands of people in religious communities, and states, "The Land of Israel is ours."
The Halamish organization, which is organizing the rally, stated, "We must stop the government from expelling more Jews, and Jewish law, as determined by a council of sages, forbids giving land to non-Jews.
Halamish pointed out that although there is no official building freeze in Judea and Samaria, there is a de facto freeze that it said is a contributing factor to a severe housing shortage. Communities that have been affected also include the hareidi religious cities of Beitar Illit, located in western Gush Etzion, Modi'in Illit, located in Samaria and near the city of Modi'in, and Emanuel, east of Kfar Saba and near the Jewish communities of Ginot Shomron and Kedumim in central Samaria.
Organizers, relying on a statement from hareidi religious sages, said that "the Holy Land is the foundation for building the truth, and it is forbidden to separate the Land from the Torah because they are one. They noted that the blessings recited after food thank the Creator for "the land…the exodus from Egypt…and the Torah."
Organizers recalled that before the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif in 2005, they distributed pamphlets to hareidi religious synagogues in Ashdod warning them that the expulsion would be followed by missile attacks.
"They laughed at such 'extremist' views, but then asked, 'Who would have thought missiles would explode in Ashkelon, Ashdod, Be'er Sheva and Kiryat Gat?'
"All saw after the expulsion of Jews from Gush Katif that the meaning of a 'peace agreement' for terrorists is missiles and rockets. The missile attacks proved it is impossible to make peace with terrorists."
MK Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz (National Union) is warning northern Tel Aviv residents to unite with the rest of the city in fighting an influx of illegal immigrants, or face a flood.
Katz argued Wednesday that wealthy residents of northern Tel Aviv cannot abandon the city's impoverished southern neighborhoods in the fight against the influx of illegal immigrants without the flood eventually reaching the north as well.
"Soon thousands will be protesting in central Tel Aviv and in a year or two thousands will be protesting in the north, as many of them carry AIDS and tuberculosis," he said. Katz was referring to Tuesday's rally against illegal immigrants living in southern Tel Aviv.
"The silence of the residents in northern Tel Aviv is like the orchestra playing on the deck of the Titanic while its stern is sinking," Katz commented.
High Percentage of Migrants are HIV Carriers
According to a new report released this week by the Health Ministry, 17 percent of HIV carriers in Israel are illegal immigrants.
In addition, 13 percent of those with tuberculosis, are migrants, according to the report.
The ministry said it is reportedly examining ways to develop a network in which to offer medical services to the illegal immigrants.
A report released yesterday by four US senators Robert Menendez, Frank Lautenberg, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrandall, Democrats representing New York and New Jersey concluded that BP (the oil company), the British Government and the Scottish Government, that under devolution is in control of justice, colluded in the "humanitarian release" of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. Megrahi was a Libyan intelligence agent convicted of the Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am flight 103 plane over Scotland 22 years ago that resulted in the death of 270 passengers and crew.
The bottom line of the report was: "The threat of commercial warfare was a motivating factor. The U.K. knew that in order to maintain trade relations with Libya, it had to give into political demands. Faced with the threat of losing the lucrative BP oil deal and other commercial ties, the U.K. agreed to include al-Megrahi's release in a Prisoner Transfer Agreement (PTA) with Libya".
Qatar was also heavily involved in the Scottish decision, holding out the possibility of business deals and massive development loans that would have boosted the status of Scotland's First Minister Alec Salmond. The senators want an apology from Britain and al-Megrahi's return to prison.
When al-Megrahi was released in 2009 back to Libya on compassionate grounds, Scottish doctors wrote that he had at most 3 months to live due to prostate cancer. We are now approaching 2011 and al-Megrahi is alive and with us. Either Libyan oncology is more advanced than Britain's or there was something suspect in the doctor's assessment.
A judicial panel in Scotland reviewed the release and produced an 800 page report with voluminous appendices, but the report is not being made public. Relatives of the victims have demanded a public inquiry that has been rejected by Foreign Minister William Hague on the grounds that "it would not be in the public interest", reports the British Telegraph.
The Foreign Office claimed after the publication of the senators' report "Senator Menendez's report contains no evidence to demonstrate a link between the pursuit of Britain's legitimate commercial interests in Libya and the Scottish Executive's decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds."
The Scottish Government downplayed the report: "This is not an official report of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee - it is an incorrect and inaccurate rehash by four senators of material that has been in the public domain for many months, and we entirely reject their false interpretation."
Meanwhile, back in Libya, al-Megrahi's relatives are letting it be known that he is at death's door (this time for real) and that upon his death they will appeal his false imprisonment and maltreatment in Britain as he was innocent of the charges. The release, they claim, was not part of a deal to advance British commercial interests but to prevent the prisoner from filing a successful appeal.
The United States announced on Tuesday that it will be expanding the sanctions already imposed on Iran over its nuclear and missile programs.
As part of the sanctions, the Treasury Department added five Iranian companies to its financial blacklist, including two banks, an insurance company, a freight forwarder and the state-owned shipper. The sanctions bar the firms, which are linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, from the U.S. financial system. Any assets the firms may have in U.S. jurisdictions will be frozen.
Among the firms targeted by the sanctions is the Moallem Insurance Company for providing marine insurance to Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) vessels and the Ansar Bank and Mehr Bank for providing financial services to the Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Also affected is Bonyad Taavon Sepah and its executive director, Parviz Fattah. Bonyad Taavon Sepah is a quasi-governmental financial services firm that handles investments for the Revolutionary Guard.
The Pars Oil and Gas Company, which is responsible for tapping some of the world's largest gas fields, was also hit with sanctions after the Treasury Department indentified the company as being owned or controlled by the Iranian government.
Under Secretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey was quoted as saying about the new sanctions: "Both the IRGC and IRISL are major institutional participants in Iran's illicit conduct and in its attempts to evade sanctions. We will therefore continue to target and expose their networks."
Tuesday's sanctions follow an earlier round of sanctions approved by the U.S. last June and which penalize companies that sell gasoline to Iran or that do business with the Revolutionary Guard Corp.
The UN also imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic last summer, banning Iran's purchasing of heavy weapons such as attack helicopters and missiles as well as toughening rules on financial transactions with Iran's banks.
Other world powers which have imposed sanctions on Iran include the European Union, Canada, and Australia, who in July imposed travel and financial bans against more than 110 businesses and individuals in Iran's financial and transportation sectors, and also imposed a ban on business dealings involving nuclear or missile technology, uranium mining and trade in all arms and related material, including anything that might be used for nuclear, missile, chemical and biological weapons development.
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