Israel

November 29, 1947, the U.N. Partition Plan for Palestine is Adopted

The United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was a proposal by the United Nations, which would end the British mandate in the area and proposed a partition of Palestine. The UN General Assembly adopted the plan as Resolution 181.

This convoluted plan recommended the creation of independent Arab and Jewish States and a Special International Regime for the city of Jerusalem. With bizarre boundaries and the withdrawal of the British Mandate no later than August 1, 1948, the progressive removal of British armed forces, the plan never had a chance of succeeding.

The two new states, one Jewish and one Arab would come into existence two months after the withdrawal but no later than October 1, 1948. The UN had hoped to address the conflicting claims of Palestinian and Jewish nationalism and called for an Economic Union between the two states, as well as the protection of religious and minority rights.

The Jewish Agency for Palestine immediately accepted the UN’s plan despite many misgivings. However Arab leaders rejected it. Their argument was that the UN was violating its own principles of the right of self-determination in the UN Charter.

The UN plan, which never had any hope of succeeding was never implemented because as soon as the resolution was adopted, civil war broke out between the Jews and Arabs with the British squarely in the middle.

The Palestinian Mandate: The British had broken up the Ottoman Turk Empire at the end of World War I, and in 1923 drafted the Balfour Declaration which called for a small Jewish homeland

In 1937, after a six-month-long Arab general strike and armed insurrection, the British established the Peel Commission. The Commission recommended breaking up the land into an Arab state linked to Transjordan; a small Jewish state; and a mandatory zone. The Jewish faction under David Ben Gurion accepted the plan, the Arabs once again roundly rejected it stating that the divided land share was unfair to the Jews getting the best agricultural land.

The British followed with the Woodhead Commission which rejected and provided two possible alternatives for the Arabs and Jews to consider. Nothing was working and the two sides were drifting farther apart. In 1938 the British government issued a policy statement declaring that “the political, administrative and financial difficulties involved in the proposal to create independent Arab and Jewish States inside Palestine are so great that this solution of the problem is impracticable”.

World War II: With the war with Germany and the Axis looming, the British looked to appease the Arabs as they would need their support in the war’s southern reaches in the oil-rich Middle East and for control of the Mediterranean. The MacDonald White Paper of 1939 stated that it is “not part of [the British government’s] policy that Palestine should become a Jewish State”, sought to limit Jewish immigration to Palestine and restricted Arab land sales to Jews. This ran against the Mandate according to the League of Nations. With the pogroms against the Jews in Europe rising, many were seeking to move to Palestine but the British were trying to stem immigration and much of it ended up being illegal.

The Jews didn’t trust the Arab leaders who were against any kind of Jewish homeland at all. And then there was the Grand Mufti.

The Grand Mufti of Palestine visited Hitler in 1941 and was seeking German support for a general Arab uprising. However, he didn’t stop there, he asked Hitler and Mussolini to declare the illegality of the Jewish home in Palestine. He also asked, “they accord to Palestine and to other Arab countries the right to solve the problem of the Jewish elements in Palestine and other Arab countries, in accordance with the interest of the Arabs and, by the same method, that the question is now being settled in the Axis countries.”

That sounded ominously to the Jews as the Mufti wanting to eradicate the Jews from the land forever. After the war and the awful details of the Holocaust surfaced, President Truman asked the British to allow 100,000 Jewish emigres to travel to Palestine.

In May 1947, the UN formed a special body, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP). The committee proposed breaking Palestine into three parts: an Arab State, a Jewish State and the City of Jerusalem, linked by extraterritorial crossroads. From Wikipedia UNSCOP:

The proposed Arab State would include the central and part of western Galilee, with the town of Acre, the hill country of Samaria and Judea, an enclave at Jaffa, and the southern coast stretching from north of Isdud (now Ashdod) and encompassing what is now the Gaza Strip, with a section of desert along the Egyptian border. The proposed Jewish State would include the fertile Eastern Galilee, the Coastal Plain, stretching from Haifa to Rehovot and most of the Negev desert,[49] including the southern outpost of Umm Rashrash (now Eilat). The Jerusalem Corpus Separatum included Bethlehem and the surrounding areas.

Post War Partition and War: The Partition Plan after being voted on by the UN caused massive outbreaks of violence between Palestinian Jews and Arabs known as the 1947-1948 Civil War. The British, tired of the issues there, washed their hands of the area and left in May of 1948. With the British army gone, it created a massive power vacuum and chaos ensued.

On that night, May 14, 1948, the Jewish People’s Council met and declared “the establishment of a Jewish state in Eretz Israel, to be known as the State of Israel”

The next day on May 15, the tiny nation, less than 24 hours old, was attacked by a coalition of the combined forces of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, together with expeditionary forces from Iraq.

The Israelis persevered against great odds and now controlled a much larger swath of territory than was previously allowed by the partition. The remainder of Palestine was annexed by Transjordan and the Palestinians were never given their homeland by the other Arab neighbors.

And peace remains a tricky issue in the area ever since.

Photos courtesy: Wikipedia

Israel Willing to Stand Alone, Attack Iran to Stop Nuclear Program

Israel knows that a nuclear-capable Iran is having a neighbor with a gun to its head and the Iranians have made it clear, they intend to destroy the state of Israel. So the Israeli government is willing to resort to military action, alone if necessary to ensure Iran never acquires nuclear weapons.

Israel’s intelligence minister Israel Katz made these comments on Thursday in Japan where he is hoping that U.S. President Donald Trump’s will back their tough stance on Tehran’s nuclear capabilities.

“If international efforts led these days by U.S. President Trump don’t help stop Iran attaining nuclear capabilities, Israel will act militarily by itself,” Intelligence Minister Israel Katz said in an interview in Tokyo. “There are changes that can be made (to the agreement) to ensure that they will never have the ability to have a nuclear weapon.”
Israel has taken unilateral action in the past without the consent of its major ally, the United States, including air strikes on a suspected nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007 and in Iraq in 1981. A strike against Iran, however, would be a risky venture with the potential to provoke a counter strike and roil financial markets.
“We will not allow Iran to transform Syria into forward base sea harbors, air bases and Shia militias,” he said. “We will act together with the United States and other countries in the world until they stop the ballistic missiles that threaten Israel.”

The Japanese have been one of the US’ staunchest allies in the east, and Katz was hoping to stoke the fires there ahead of President Trump’s visit on November 5. But the Japanese get nearly all of their oil from the Middle East and have tried for a very long time to get along with all of the players there, including Iran.

The other NATO powers have not agreed that this is an option and if the US and Israel decide to take action, they’ll no doubt be alone in this. Which may actually encourage Tehran to act even more boldly in the near future.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

October 26, 2001, President George W. Bush Signs the Patriot Act

On this day in 2001, President George W. Bush signs the Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law drawn up in response to the attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Just 45 days after the attacks of September 11, the Congress passed the Patriot Act nearly unanimously in the Senate (98-1) and easily in the House of Representatives (357-66).

The USA PATRIOT Act, as it is officially known, is an acronym for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” The stated goals of the Patriot Act were to strengthen domestic security and broaden the powers of law-enforcement agencies in order to identify and stop future terrorists from hitting America again.

There have been many people critical of the controversial act and there, of course, two sides of the coin. Supporters claim that it gave the government the tools it needed to identify, investigate and arrest terrorists. Some argued that the US didn’t have the same rules for terrorists that it did in investigating the Mafia. Critics claim that this act gave the government too much power, threatened our civil liberties, and undermined the very democracy that it claims to protect. But before going further, some quick background information on it.

Background and beginnings: On September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked four aircraft taking off on the East Coast. Two of those aircraft were flown into both of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Another flew into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. The fourth was en route to Washington when the plane’s passengers attempted to take over the flight back from the terrorists after learning what happened to the other aircraft and in the ensuing melee, the plane crashed into the rural countryside of Pennsylvania. Over 3000 Americans died.

Just a couple of days later, the White House announced that the terrorists were from Al Qaeda. The terrorists were headquartered in Afghanistan but had cells all over the world. The hijackers had support cells working here in the United States. The Global War on Terrorism had begun.

Not long after that US Attorney General John Ashcroft submitted to Congress the changes the government was requesting in regards to investigating terrorist activity. Many of these changes were resisted by the Congress in the past and had been pushed back, but 9/11 changed all of that.

The Patriot Act sailed thru the Senate 98-1, with the only nay vote coming from Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wis). It then sailed easily thru the House with a 357-66 vote. The final bill encompassed 342 pages of legalese and changed many of the existing laws. Most of the items that Ashcroft and the Justice Department requested were adopted.

The intention of the law, in President Bush’s words, was to “enhance the penalties that will fall on terrorists or anyone who helps them.” The act increased intelligence agencies’ ability to share information and lifted restrictions on communications surveillance, which includes everyday communication between citizens.

Law enforcement officials were given much more leeway in what they were allowed to do to fight financial counterfeiting, smuggling and money laundering schemes that funded terrorist organizations. The Patriot Act allows the FBI increased powers to access personal information such as medical and financial records and superseded all state laws.

In the uncertainty following 9/11, some advocates for the Patriot Act felt like the bill didn’t go far enough. Others such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argued that this gave the government far too much power to curtail civil liberties and would give the government carte blanche to investigate ordinary Americans with no checks and balances reminiscent of the 1960s and early 1970s. Some aspects of the Patriot Act were set to expire in 2005, but in 2006, President Bush renewed the so-called “sunset clauses” that were expiring.

The Patriot Act: President Bush signed the bill into law on October 26. He spoke about fighting a new danger “a threat like no other our Nation has ever faced.” He also sought to allay some fears by stating that the Patriot Act “upholds and respects the civil liberties guaranteed by our Constitution.”

The term “domestic terrorism in the new law is defined actions that are taking place within the United States that are dangerous to human life and are designed to:

to intimidate or coerce a civilian population
to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion
to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping

While Congress has debated several features of the Patriot Act, including the controversial “National Security Letters”, how long the FBI can hold records, and forcing the government to provide more information and explanation for their reasons for requesting search warrants, surveillance or subpoenas, it has remained intact.

Has it Worked? The biggest question is just that, has the Patriot Act worked? Are we safer as a nation now than before? The entire basis of the Patriot Act from the government was that in the face of terrorist threats, Americans must balance their freedom with the need for security. Is that fair?

Certain countries such as Israel live in a very dangerous place where terrorist attacks happen far too frequently and the people live in a perpetual fishbowl it seems. They’ve balanced the very real need for security with the civil liberties they enjoy, where they are freer than any other country in the Middle East.

Since 9/11, several terrorist attacks from organizations such as Al Qaeda or the Islamic State have been thwarted before they could begin. Is it because of the Patriot Act itself or just a heightened awareness after 9/11 and the resultant better communication between agencies, which failed us in 2001? The Justice Department claims that the roving wiretaps and surveillance authorized under the Patriot Act has been instrumental in defeating terrorist operations before they begin.

Critics of the law point to one of our founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin said, “those who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety.”

Critics even worked in a quote by none other than Julius Caesar about being wary of being whipped into a patriotic frenzy by the war and the law. Later it was proven to be false, Caesar never did say that, but dead men and politicians always make for great quote machines. So while JC never did utter these words….we’ll give whoever did write this, their due (they were brilliant):

“Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and
blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar.”

The scope of the government’s surveillance collection was revealed when Edward Snowden released the extent of the NSA’s collection of American citizens’ communications. Those programs remain intact.

While some in Congress want to repeal or amend it others such as Senator John McCain, (R-AZ) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) have continued to argue that had those laws been in place in 2001, 9/11 may have never happened.

The debate will go on and as events change our perceptions, this too shall change. One way or another.

Photo: Wikipedia

On This Date: Fighting in the Yom Kippur War Ends in 1973

The fighting from the Six-Day War in 1967 had left the Arab states around Israel smarting. They were anxious to save face and wipe the young state of Israel off the map.The Israelis, for their part, were edgy, since their victory, terrorism had increased, the threat of war grew with each passing day and peace was no closer to the region despite their successes. All of those fears would come true on the holy day of Yom Kippur

The Soviet Union, anxious to expand their influence and counter the Americans support for Israel, threw their weight behind all of the regimes that surrounded the tiny Jewish state. This was as on the surface, the Soviets were doing their best fake impression of observing the détente with the United States.

Anwar Sadat and the Egyptians were itching for payback with Israel, having been humiliated against the Israeli’s twice, he wanted to revenge for the insult of being bested by their biggest enemy.

Prelude to War: Early in 1973, the threats of war were everywhere in the Middle East and yet nearly every observer and even the intelligence agencies all failed in predicting it was about to happen. The CIA told President Nixon right up until the day before hostilities began that the chances for war was “unlikely.”

Even more importantly, it was a failure and uncharacteristic one for the Israeli intelligence service Mossad. They had a source inside of Egypt, the son-in-law of ex-President Nasser and he reported that an attack was imminent. Zvi Zamir, the Director of Mossad subsequently learned from Military Intelligence that Soviet scientists were preparing to leave Syria and Egypt, which added weight to the report of pending war. But rather than inform the Prime Minister, he did nothing, expecting the military to sound the alarm. By the time Zamir briefed the government, it was just hours before the attack. Reports were surfacing that the Russians had equipped the Egyptians with SCUD missiles

On October 6, Chief of Staff David Elazar requested that PM Golda Meir authorize a full call-up of the reserves and order a pre-emptive strike. Meir was reluctant to order an airstrike first for fear of losing the support of President Nixon. She advised Henry Kissinger, the US Secretary of State and he approached both Sadat and Syrian President Hafez Assad not to ignite the powder keg.They ignored his advice and would pay the price.

War Begins on October 6: Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated assault on Israel on October 6, 1973, during Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish days and during the Muslim month of Ramadan. But the two countries were hardly alone. Iraq furnished a division of 18,000 men and several hundred tanks which attacked later on the Golan Heights and their MiGs were operating over the battlefield as early as October 8.

Saudi Arabia sent 3000 men who fought in Syria. Other non-Middle Eastern states furnished men, tanks, and aircraft including Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Morocco.

The Israelis were ridiculously outnumbered. On the Golan Heights, the Israelis fielded 180 tanks, 3000 troops and 60 pieces of artillery. They were faced with over 28,000 troops, 1400 Syrian tanks and 600 artillery pieces who attacked using the Soviet-style tactics. Along the Suez Canal, Israel had 500 troops spread out over several forts and just three tanks on the line. There were an additional 290 tanks in reserve. The Egyptians had 100,000 troops, 1350 tanks, and 2000 artillery pieces.

Operations in the Suez: At the opening of hostilities, the Egyptians established large bridgeheads across the Suez and easily defeated the uncoordinated and piecemeal Israeli counterattacks. They were heavily armed with RPGs and Sagger anti-tank missiles which took a toll on Israeli armor in the early going. But the Egyptians rightfully feared the Israel air force and were reluctant to venture far from their protective SAM (Surface to Air Missiles) belt around their troops.

The attack began with a coordinated air strike with more than 200 aircraft attacking strategic locations, radar sites, and airfields. After the initial shock, Israel responded and shot down 18 aircraft which prompted Egyptian leaders to cancel the follow-on air strike. Two Israeli F-4 Phantom jets took on 28 MiGs and shot down eight with no losses.

Despite this, 32,000 assault troops attacked and set up about a dozen bridgeheads. Initial air attacks by Israel were met with accurate and deadly SAM fire.

The plan was to launch several commando units by helicopter in the Israeli rear areas to disrupt reserves coming to the front. This met with disaster. Fourteen of the helicopters were shot down, most with a total loss of life. Of the 1700 commandos launched, 740 were killed and 330 taken prisoner. The Egyptians had pushed their bridgehead 10 miles into the Sinai, but the fighting was beginning to get bloody. By the end of October 10th, the Egyptians had lost nearly 250 tanks.

On the 14th two Egyptian armies were to attack the vital Israeli city of Refidim with 1000 tanks but beyond their protective SAM cover, the Egyptian air force would have to provide cover for the troops. The Israelis had 700 tanks opposing them. Egyptian command and control were hampered when Israeli commandos hit a signal center at Jebel Ataqah destroying it. The attack was decimated, Egypt lost 250 tanks and 200 armored vehicles. The Israelis lost just six tanks destroyed with 34 others damaged.

After the failed attack, the Israelis detected a gap between the two armies. General Ariel Sharon led a combined armored, commando attack that drove a wedge between the two. The paratroopers rowed across the Suez in rubber assault boats and got behind the lines and attacked SAM sites creating holes in the Egyptian coverage. The Israeli air force pounced and began to effectively provide deadly close air support.

A counterattack by Egyptian armor on October 16 wasn’t properly coordinated nor given proper reconnaissance. The two main pincers were decimated. The Egyptians lost 146 tanks and all of their APCs against the loss of just three Israeli tanks.

The Israelis began pouring troops into the gap.

After a series of bloody engagements, the UN had arranged a ceasefire on October 22. But fighting broke back out, whether it was Arab or Israeli who fired the first shot, no one knows but during this time, the Israeli armored forces broke thru and captured the road south of the Suez and encircled the Egyptian Third Army. By the time the ceasefire truly took effect, Israel had advanced within 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Cairo and had encircled the Third Army, which was in danger of being annihilated.

Bloody Fighting in the Golan: When the Syrians attacked on October 6, the Israelis gave the Golan first priority due to the proximity of major population centers of Haifa, Safed, Tiberias, and Netanya.

Heavy fighting raged between the vastly outnumbered Israelis and the Syrians who, despite horrendous losses kept pressing their attack forward. The Syrians would take a strong point and the Israelis would counterattack and take it back.

By the afternoon of the 9th, the Israelis were down to just six tanks, the road to northern Israel appeared ripe for the taking. Just then, 15 tanks arrived, having been patched up with crews who were already wounded. The Syrians, exhausted after four days of bloody fighting, began to withdraw. A few years ago on a visit to the Golan, I met one of the Israeli tank commanders who survived the battle. He said the Armored Brigade assigned there had tremendous prepared positions and had trained hard for years. The Israeli armor was able to inflict terrible casualties on the advancing Syrians by shooting, moving and communicating where it seemed their numbers were vastly higher than they actually were.

As more units began to arrive, the tide turned for Israel. By the end of the day on October 10, the Syrians were pushed back beyond the line where the war began just five days before. On the 11th, they advanced towards Damascus where they breached two lines of defense in heavy fighting. They were shelling the outskirts of Damascus just 25 miles away.

On October 23, the Syrians were planning a large offensive to drive the Israelis back. But that was when the UN ceasefire took effect. Assad considered still attacking but thought better of it. Artillery barrages still, however, rained back and forth

Casualties: The bloody fighting during the short war took a toll on both sides. Israel lost between 2500-2800 dead, 8000 wounded and 293 captured, many of whom were tortured and killed in captivity. They lost 400 tanks destroyed with 600 more damaged and 102 aircraft. Estimates for Arab casualties were horrific. Combined the Syrians and Egyptians lost between 8,000 -18,000 dead, 35,000 wounded with 2300 tanks destroyed with another 300 captured and put to use. Aircraft losses numbered between 350-514. Air to air combat was a rout. The Israeli pilots shot down 334 aircraft against just 5 in air combat.

Aftermath: Even after having been decimated with an army encircled and the enemy marching on Cairo, the Egyptians acted as if they won. This shift in thinking made it possible for Sadat to come to the table and sign a peace treaty with Israel. Sadat was assassinated on the reviewing stand of a parade honoring Egypt’s “victory” in the Yom Kippur War in 1981.

Photos Wikipedia

War in Syria Has Transformed Hezbollah Into a Regional Power

Hezbollah was borne out of a struggle against Israel and now the large organization has transformed into a much larger force since its experience in the civil war in Syria. Their success in fighting against the Islamic State, or Daesh, as they call it, have them flush with new recruits.

But while they have fought for the Syrian government that has always supported them with arms and sanctuaries, their ultimate goal is still the same. And now they consider themselves a regional power.

Hezbollah, considered a terrorist organization by Washington, has gained extensive battlefield experience in Syria, and it claims it is prepared for another war with Israel if necessary.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah recently warned Israel of “heavy losses” if it underestimates his organization’s capabilities.
The official said the Iran-backed group’s “decisive and essential” role in Syria has turned it into a major military force in the Middle East.
“That was not our aim when we intervened in Syria,” he said. “All we wanted is to defend the resistance and defend a state that has stood by and supported the resistance since its inception in 1982 until now.

And the organization that has lost anywhere between 1300-1500 fighters during the war in Syria has had no problems in attracting new Shia recruits to their flag. In fact, their numbers have grown as Hezbollah leaders are using a sort of theology to attract the young to their cause.

Naim Qassem, the Deputy Chief of Hezbollah has attended funerals for young killed fighters where he linked the deaths to the concept of fate, which is predestined by God and therefore unchangeable.

And now the next question is, what happens next? Many thought that Hezbollah would just return to Lebanon after the war was over. But their leaders aren’t so quick to acknowledge that, stating that they’ll “go where they are needed.”

To read the entire article from Middle East Eye click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Israel Shoots Down Iranian Drone Over Their Border with Syria

An Israeli Patriot Missile battery shot down an Iranian-built drone over the Golan Heights on Tuesday, just hours before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the UN General Assembly about concerns of Iranian and Hezbollah forces on the Syrian border with Israel.

The Israeli military stated that the Iranian-built drone was launched from Damascus on a reconnaissance mission for Hezbollah and downed it with a Patriot missile as it crossed the Israeli border over the Golan Heights

“As we understand, it was on a reconnaissance mission along the border and the Golan Heights on behalf of Hezbollah,” a military spokesman, Lieutenant-Colonel Jonathan Conricus, told reporters. “Our intelligence suggests it was … Iranian-made.”
Asked whether the drone might have been armed, Conricus said that information was not yet available. He said Israeli warplanes had also been scrambled.
Officials from Syria, Hezbollah and Iran had no immediate comment on the incident. The Golan, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 conflict, has seen spillover violence from the Syrian civil war. Israel has at times fired to foil what it deemed deliberate cross-border attacks.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has stated repeatedly that they will not allow any violation of Israeli sovereignty nor allow Iranian forces, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad or Shi‘ite militias of any kind to approach the Israeli borders.

Hezbollah has sent drones on intelligence gathering missions in the past in southern Syria, but coming this close to Israeli territory was a new development so it was decided to shoot it down. Entering the demilitarized zone on the Golan is a violation of the Israel-Syria Separation of Forces Agreement from 1974. Israel has controlled the Golan Heights since the 1973 war.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Israelis Hit Syrian Target, Reportedly Chemical Weapons Hub

The Syrian military has claimed that Israel has hit two military sites in Hama province early on Thursday morning. The air strikes targeted a reported chemical weapons production facility and also hit a military camp that was used to store ground-to-ground rockets and where personnel of Iran and its ally, the Lebanese Hezbollah group, had been seen.

The Syrian army statement said that the air strike killed two soldiers and caused damage near the town of Masyaf. The Syrians warned of the “dangerous repercussions of this aggressive action to the security and stability of the region”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said the strike hit a Scientific Studies and Research Centre facility, an agency which the United States describes as Syria’s chemical weapons manufacturer.
The Syrian army statement said the Israeli strike, which it said took place at 2.42am (23.42 GMT) from inside Lebanese airspace, had been made in support of Islamic State.
Jets flying over Lebanon overnight broke the sound barrier and Lebanese media reported that Israeli warplanes had breached Lebanese airspace
Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, said the reported attack was not routine and targeted a Syrian military scientific center.
“The factory that was targeted in Masyaf produces the chemical weapons and barrel bombs that have killed thousands of Syrian civilians,” Yadlin said in a tweet.

The Israelis have frequently said that they won’t wait for Hezbollah rockets to fall on them before responding. They claim that the Scientific Studies and Research Center has shipped rockets and chemical weapons to Hezbollah. Israel fought a short but bloody war against Hezbollah in 2006.

And the attacks on Thursday fell on the 10^th anniversary of the Israelis bombing a Syrian nuclear reactor.

To read the entire article from Reuters, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Hamas Says Relationship With Iran Repaired, Now Their “Largest Backer”

The new Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip, Yehiyeh Sinwar, told the media on Monday that the group has repaired its five-year old rift with Iran and now the Iranians are Hamas’ largest backer both militarily and financially. Hamas is now preparing for new hostilities toward Israel.

This announcement is hardly news to the Israelis. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu complained about what he called rising anti-Israel activity by Iran and its allies in the region to members of the UN.

Iran was once the top backer of Hamas, an Islamic militant group that seeks Israel’s destruction. But Hamas broke with Iran in 2012 after the group refused to support Iran’s close ally, Syrian President Bashar Assad, in the Syrian civil war.
“Today, the relationship with Iran is excellent, or very excellent,” Sinwar said. He added that the Islamic Republic is “the largest backer financially and militarily” to Hamas’ military wing.
It was the first time that Sinwar has met reporters since he was elected in February. The 55-year-old Sinwar, who spent two decades in Israeli prison after being convicted of masterminding the abduction and killing of two Israeli soldiers, has close ties with Hamas’ militant wing and takes a hard line toward Israel.

The Israelis are complaining to the U.N. that Iran is stockpiling weapons in Syria and is building up other bases in Lebanon for offensive action against Israel. As usual, it fell on deaf ears as UN officials said that they’ve encountered no evidence.

Sinwar, on the other hand, claims that Hamas is not considering a new war with Israel. Instead, he said, the government is focusing on improving the living conditions of those living in Gaza. But on the other, he said the assistance from Iran consisted of “rebuilding and accumulating” Hamas’ military powers for a larger fight against Israel that is meant to “liberate Palestine.”

“Thousands of people work every day to make rockets, [dig] tunnels and train frogmen,” he said. “The relationship with Iran is in this context.”

To read the entire article from Voice of America, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

China Pushes Four-Point Peace Plan for Israel – Palestine to UN

China’s UN ambassador Liu Jieyi has urged the international community to support President Xi Jinping’s new four-point proposal to establish a fully independent Palestinian state and to end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jieyi said that Xi’s proposal is based on four proposals and that China’s diplomatic efforts will focus on a negotiated solution at a news conference on Monday. China’s attempt to increase their influence in the Middle East with the proposal and the meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Beijing last month goes against some of their earlier overtures where they were trying to avoid being dragged into the quagmire of war there.

Xi outlined the plan and not surprisingly the Chinese are courting the Palestinians who are the foe of the US’ biggest ally in the region Israel. As the Chinese are seeking to counter the US at every turn.

The four points are:
— Advancing the two-state solution based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a new Palestinian state;
— Upholding “the concept of common, comprehensive, co-operative and sustainable security,” immediately ending Israeli settlement building, taking immediate measures to prevent violence against civilians, and calling for an early resumption of peace talks;
— Coordinating international efforts to put forward “peace-promoting measures that entail joint participation at an early date”;
— Promoting peace through development and cooperation between the Palestinians and Israel.

Curiously absent from Xi’s proposal is the very sticking point that exists in every peace proposal between the two countries… Israel’s right to exist. Until the Palestinians and the rest of the neighbors who support them are willing to call for Israel’s right to exist as a nation, the hope for any lasting peace accord is slim.

While Abbas will say all of the right things for Xi, what will Tehran say to Israel’s right to exist? Don’t expect that to be forthcoming.

To read the entire article from The South China Post, click here:

Photo courtesy UN

Israel Removes Metal Detectors from Al-Aqsa Mosque

The Israeli government, attempting to calm days of violence which has claimed seven lives, has removed metal detectors from entrances to the Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem’s Old City. The Israelis have said they’ll instead use more CCTV cameras for the security of the site which is revered in Christian, Jewish as well as Muslim religions. Not surprisingly Palestinians say the modified security measures are still unacceptable.

Israel installed metal detectors at entry points to Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem after two police officers were fatally shot on July 14, triggering the bloodiest clashes between Israelis and Palestinians in years.
The spike in tensions and the deaths of three Israelis and four Palestinians in violence on Friday and Saturday raised international alarm and prompted a session of the United Nations Security Council to consider ways of defusing the crisis.
“All parties should work to reduce these tensions and we offer whatever assistance we can in helping to do this,” Nikki Haley, US ambassador to the United Nations, told the Security Council in New York.
However, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the senior Muslim cleric who oversees Al Aqsa compound both dismissed the new Israeli measures and demanded all of them be removed.
“All new Israeli measures put in place since [July 14] must be removed so things can go back to normal in Jerusalem and we can resume our work regarding bilateral relations,” Mr Abbas said at the beginning of a meeting with the Palestinian leadership.
The Waqf, the religious body that runs the Islamic sites in the Al Aqsa compound, said worshippers would continue to stay away from the elevated, marble-and-stone plaza — Islam’s third holiest site — and pray in the streets outside.
A Waqf spokesman said it was awaiting a decision of a technical committee but was demanding the situation revert to the way it was before the metal detectors were installed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet of senior ministers voted to remove the metal detector gates early on Tuesday (local time) after a meeting lasting several hours.
A statement issued after the security cabinet meeting said it had decided to heed a recommendation of Israeli security bodies and replace the detectors with “smart checking” devices.

The high-resolution cameras can detect hidden objects are the alternative to the metal detectors. Muslim religious officials – who allege Israel is trying to expand its control at the site – said they would accept only a return to the arrangements for access to the compound that had been in place before an incident on July 14, when two Israeli policemen were shot by three Israeli Arab gunmen who had smuggled weapons on to the site.

To read the entire article from ABC News click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia