Date: Monday, March 24, 2014
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By: YAAKOV LAPPIN
Israeli security forces announced on Monday that they had broke up two terrorist cells in the West Bank.
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said Monday that it arrested a Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorism cell in recent weeks. The cell is suspected of being behind a gun and grenade attack on an IDF post in the West Bank.
The attack occurred on February 25 near the Palestinian village of Bir Zeit, north of Ramallah.
The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) said a prominent security suspect, Fadi Musa Washaha, 27, confessed to carrying out the attack together with an accomplice, Muataz Washaha, 24 who acted as a lookout.
Muataz Washaha was killed on February 27 during an attempt by security forces to arrest him in Bir Zeit, following a lengthy standoff.
Security forces arrested Fadi Musa Washaha in counter-terrorism raids, who later surrendered a homemade rifle to the Shin Bet.
Fadi Musa Washaha has served multiple prison sentences in the past for terrorism offenses.
Prior to the attack on the IDF post, Fadi Musa Washaha said, he and his accomplice held training exercises with the rifle.
After firing on the post, both suspects fled to the village of Bir Zeit, where security forces caught up with them a few days later.
In the days after Muataz Washaha's death, the PFLP's regional commander held a "military funeral" for him, the Shin Bet said, adding that the Governor of Ramallah, Leila Ghnaem, took part, and that the Palestinian Authority condemned Israel for the counter-terrorism raid.
"In this context, we would like to stress the high motivation terror organizations have to promote attacks on the ground on military targets, as well the threat level from the PFLP organization, whose members are working on attacks against Israeli targets," the Shin Bet said.
Shin Bet arrests Nablus shooting attack cell
The security forces also announced on Monday that the Shin Bet and IDF arrested a terrorism cell from Nablus that launched a gun and bomb attack on Israeli civilian vehicles in Samaria.
The arrests occurred in January, and targeted security suspects who fired on an Israeli car at Jit Junction, near the settlement of Kedumim, on January 15, and who threw an explosive device at a second Israeli vehicle.
The vehicle fired upon was damaged, but the driver escaped the attack without injuries.
"Our investigation found that in the months prior to the attack, the cell was involved in two failed shooting attacks in the area. The attacks failed despite the fact that the cell's members gathered intelligence prior to the shooting, and trained in firearms," the Shin Bet said.
During security raids, the IDF and Shin Bet seized a firearm used in the attack, security forces added.
Additional members of the terror cell have been arrested by the Palestinian Authority's security forces, and remain in custody.
The domestic intelligence agency said five members of the terrorism cell are in Israeli custody, including two central suspects, Abd Naif Shahshir, 23, and Jihad Adel Shahshir, 25.
Three additional suspects involved in previous attempted terror attacks are among those arrested.
"Their arrest, days after the attack at Jit Junction, prevented the continued consolidation of a military cell that carried out a number of attempts in recent months to harm Israeli civilians in the Samaria region," the Shin Bet added.
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Date: Thursday, March 20, 2014
JERUSALEM – Israel's defense minister has apologized to his U.S. counterpart for criticizing Washington and for calling it weak when it comes to its stance on Iran's nuclear program.
A statement from Moshe Yaalon's office late Wednesday says he phoned U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and told him he hadn't intended to harm relations between the two close allies.
This week, Yaalon questioned Washington's commitment to Israel's security. He said Israel cannot depend on the United States to lead any action against Iran's nuclear program and can only rely on itself.
Earlier, he also criticized U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, saying the top American diplomat was unrealistic and naive in trying to forge an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.
Kerry on Wednesday called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to protest Yaalon's remarks.
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Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2014
ISNA, Hamid Foroutan, File/Associated Press In this Jan. 15, 2011
A senior Iranian official said Monday, March 17, 2014, that an alleged attempt to sabotage one of Tehran’s nuclear facilities, the nuclear reactor at Arak in the center of the country, involved foreign intelligence agencies who tampered with imported pumps. Tehran has accused the Israel, the U.S. and their allies of undermining Iran’s nuclear program through covert operations.
The West fears the program could be used to make a nuclear weapon and seeks to scale it back. Tehran denies the program has a military dimension and insists it is for peaceful purposes only, such as power generation. If a deal with world powers is reached, sanctions imposed on Iran over the nuclear program could be lifted.
Israel has criticized the ongoing talks with Tehran, saying an interim nuclear deal, struck last November, has left Iran’s military nuclear capabilities largely intact while giving it relief from some economic sanctions.
At the same time, Israel’s strongest piece of leverage, the threat of a military strike on Iran, has taken a back stage to the talks despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s insistence it remains on the table.
Yaalon’s remarks seemed to underscore that insistence.
“We thought that the one who needs to lead the campaign against Iran is the U.S.,” Yaalon was quoted by the daily Haaretz as saying during a lecture at Tel Aviv University on Monday.
Instead, Yaalon said, the U.S. began negotiations with Iran and Iran gained the upper hand in the talks.
“If we wished others would do the work for us, it wouldn’t be done soon, and therefore in this matter, we have to behave as if we can only rely on ourselves,” Yaalon said.
Yaalon’s office confirmed his remarks but refused to comment whether he was advocating an Israeli strike on Iran. Netanyahu’s office also declined to comment.
Yaalon criticized the West, saying its leaders prefer to avoid confrontation with Iran. As for the U.S., the defense minister alleged American influence is waning in other parts of the world, such as Ukraine over the crisis there.
“Weakness certainly does not pay in the world,” he said. “No one can replace the U.S. as the world’s policeman. I hope the U.S. will come to its senses.”
Yaalon has made controversial comments about Washington in the past. In January, he was quoted as saying that U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was “obsessive” and “messianic” over his Mideast peace efforts. The comments triggered an angry response from the U.S., Israel’s most important ally.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Date: Friday, March 14, 2014
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| WASHINGTON POST-- Secretary of State John Kerry told members of Congress on Thursday that international law already declares Israel a Jewish state, and called Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's insistence on a public declaration of Israel's Jewish character from the Palestinians "a mistake" in the diplomatic process.
"I think its a mistake for some people to be raising it again and again as the critical decider of their attitude toward the possibility of a state, and peace, and we've obviously made that clear," Kerry told the House Foreign Relations Committee, in a hearing on budget matters.
Yesterday, Kerry told a Senate panel that Israel and the Palestinians had less trust in one another than at any point in over nine months of negotiations.
"'Jewish state' was resolved in 1947 in Resolution 181 where there are more than 40-- 30 mentions of 'Jewish state,'" Kerry continued. "In addition, chairman Arafat in 1988 and again in 2004 confirmed that he agreed it would be a Jewish state. And there are any other number of mentions."
Netanyahu has said that the PLO's public recognition of Israel as a Jewish state is a "minimal requirement for peace," and considers the issue fundamental to the conflict: Arab refusal to accept a permanent Jewish presence in the region.
Palestinian negotiators say that no other Arab nation that has made peace with Israel has had to declare it the Jewish homeland.
Kerry dampened expectations surrounding a visit by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to Washington next week, warning that trust between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators had hit a low point.
Abbas is to meet with President Barack Obama in the White House on Monday, along with Kerry, who has moderated negotiations between Israel and the PLO for nine months. A key juncture for those talks is fast approaching: an April deadline that will mark either the end of talks over a two-state solution, or the continuation of those talks under a formal framework agreement.
But at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Kerry expressed skepticism that Israel and the Palestinians would even be able to agree on a framework to continue negotiations.
“The level of mistrust is as large as any level of mistrust I’ve ever seen, on both sides,” Kerry said. “Neither believes the other is really serious. Neither believes that the other is prepared to make some of the big choices that have to be made here.”
Kerry said he was hopeful, nevertheless, that the two sides would manage to settle on “some kind of understanding of the road forward,” even if “big-ticket items” – such as the status of Israel as the Jewish homeland, or the future capital of a Palestinian state – were not directly addressed.
Obama has been largely hands-off on the peace talks up until recently, when he personally pressed Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, during his own visit to the White House last week, to close the framework with Abbas.
During that Oval Office meeting, Netanyahu aired his own critiques of the talks in front of the president and his press corps.
“Israel has been doing its part, and I regret to say that the Palestinians haven’t,” Netanyahu said. “What we want is peace, not a piece of paper.”
US State Department officials told The Jerusalem Post that Israel’s decision on whether to follow through with its final release of prisoners next week, a condition of the original agreement t |
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Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2014
By JPOST.COM STAFF, REUTERS
03/12/2014 13:57
Deal includes two desalination plants and is reportedly in exchange for oil; Russia built first and only reactor at Bushehr.
Putin and Rouhani at Bushehr Photo: REUTERS
Iran and Russia have signed an agreement to build two more nuclear power plants in the southern Iranian city of Bushehr, Iranian Press TV reported on Wednesday.
Atomic Energy Organization of Iran officials and Russia's Rosatom State Atomic Energy Corporation negotiated and came to an agreement about the plants, said the spokesman for the AEOI.
Russia built the first reactor at Bushehr, Iran's sole nuclear power plant. The new facilities will be built next to the existing plant.
The agreement also includes the construction of two desalination plants.
In February, the Iranian ambassador to Moscow Mehdi Sanaei said that Russia could build a second reactor at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in exchange for Iranian oil.
Reuters reported Iran and Russia were negotiating to swap up to 500,000 barrels of oil per day for goods in the deal that would undermine Western efforts to maintain economic pressure on Tehran while global powers seek to curb its nuclear program.
In addition to the Russia building a second reactor at Bushehr, Sanaei said Tehran was possibly interested in supplies of heavy trucks or their assembly in Iran, and other items.
"Iran is interested in buying a huge amount of railroad tracks from Russia, as well as Russian involvement in the electrification of its railways. We are also interested in Russian grain."
Western nations fear an oil-swap deal would badly hurt efforts to forge a permanent agreement ensuring Iran's nuclear program could not be used to make weapons in exchange for sanctions relief. An interim deal was reached in January.
A top US official said this month she believed the oil-for-goods swap would not go ahead in the near future after the United States warned both sides it would make reaching a nuclear agreement "more difficult if not impossible".
Sanaei dismissed the US concerns and said Russia should do the same, warning that European nations have sent business delegations to Iran and that Moscow risked losing lucrative opportunities if it failed to act fast.
"Our Russian friends, who have stood by us at difficult moments, should have advantages on the Iranian market ... But Russian companies must hurry to get into their niche in our market and not hesitate out of fear of Western sanctions," he said.
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Date: Monday, March 10, 2014
03/10/2014 13:31
Air defense chief Shohat says Israel likely to face tens of thousands of rockets of all types, and drones, from both Gaza and Lebanon.
US unmanned aerial vehicle Photo: reuters
The Israel Air Force is preparing to face dozens of enemy drones and cruise missiles in the next conflict, Brig.-Gen. Shahr Shohat, head of the Air Defense Command, said during a security conference in Tel Aviv on Monday.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Institute for National Security Studies, called Air Defenses in the Modern Era, Shohat laid out the new threats to Israeli security, and spoke of an "intensive arms race" unfolding in the region, as demonstrated by Israel's interception of an Iranian weaponsshipment last week that was intended to reach the Gaza Strip.
New weapons systems are arriving in the northern and southern sectors, Shohat said, referring to Lebanon and Gaza. This will allow terrorist organizations to fire more rockets, as well as GPS-guided projectiles, making the task of defending Israel's air space more complex, he added.
Terrorist organizations in Gaza fired 1500 rockets in one week during Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012, he noted, which represents a 33 percent rise in the amount of projectiles fired in the same period of time during the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
"In the next war, we will face tens of thousands of rockets of all types, and dozens of drones, from both sectors," he added.
To meet the challenge, the IDF is creating a multi-layered air defense system that will cover Israeli air space, and be able to block a variety of aerial threat. But, he added, overt and covert efforts must also be made to prevent terror groups from arming themselves and attacking.
Shohat said cooperation with the United States military, which he described as deep and intensive, represents a crucial layer of defense.
This cooperation is based on joint training, information sharing, and discussing joint operational concepts, he added.
"In the coming months, the annual drill with the US will be held, and this also finds expression in the field of intelligence and technology," Shohat stated.
Israel's air defenses have earned an international reputation for their effectiveness, he continued, citing a track record that includes the interception of hundreds of rockets and the downing of more than 90 hostile aircraft.
"We are seeing great interest from other militaries interested in learning from us. I struggle to imagine the city of Ashkelon without the successful interception of five rockets a number of months ago.
The same is true for Eilat. These interceptions occurred without prior warning. There is no hermetic defense, and in the moment of truth, we will have to deal with [rocket] fire. We will minimize damage to the home front in order to maintain our daily life," he concluded.
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Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2014
AFP
Washington — The United States said Wednesday its intelligence services and military worked with Israel to track a ship carrying an intercepted shipment of advanced Iranian rockets for Palestinian militants.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Washington started to work with Israel through intelligence and military channels and at the national security advisor level as soon as it knew the shipment was on the move.
President Barack Obama also directed the US military to work out contingencies in case it became necessary to intercept the vessel, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"Throughout this time our intelligence and military activities were closely coordinated with our Israeli counterparts who ultimately chose to take the lead in interdicting this shipment of illicit arms," Carney said.
"We will continue to stand up to Iran's support for destabilizing activities in the region in coordination with our partners and allies," he said.
"These illicit acts are unacceptable to the international community and in gross violation of Iran's Security Council obligations."
Israel said earlier that its forces intercepted the Syrian-made weapons, which were shipped overland to Iran and then onward towards Gaza by sea before being intercepted in the Red Sea between Sudan and Eritrea.
The announcement came hours after Israel said it struck two Hezbollah fighters as they tried to plant a bomb near the Syrian-Israeli frontier and just over a week after Israel reportedly bombed the Iran-backed group inside Lebanon for the first time since 2006.
Israel has long accused Iran and Syria of providing military aid to Hezbollah and to Palestinian militant groups.
Israel latched onto the weapons shipment to chide Western powers for negotiating with Tehran over its nuclear program.
Iran said reports that it was involved in the shipment were without foundation.
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Date: Thursday, February 27, 2014
Special Dispatch from MEMRI.org
In a February 24, 2014 article in the Jerusalem daily Al-Quds, titled "The Palestinian Refugees In Kerry's Proposals," Fatah Central Committee member Dr. Jamal Muheisen called on Israel to recognize its responsibility for the refugee problem. He stated that its doing so would allow the Palestinians to show flexibility and political realism on the path to implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 194, which is aimed at solving this problem. Claiming that a realistic and rational solution to the refugee problem does not require Palestinian concessions, Muheisen said that the refugees should not be asked to forgo their right of return as part of the solution, because this right is the collective and personal right of every individual Palestinian. He added that he personally would choose to return to his village of 'Iraq Al-Manshia, which was located within the 1948 borders.
The following are excerpts from the article:
Dr. Jamal Muheisen
"During the intensifying political debate, in the circles of the negotiations and of the international and regional meetings and discussions, regarding the initiative of [U.S. Secretary of State John] Kerry, this proposal vis-à-vis the Palestinian refugees headed the public discourse in the Palestinian, Arab, and international arenas.
"From a deeply [rooted] starting point, and in recognition of the political facts and of the need for dealing with them based on adherence to the [Palestinian] national principles, we must courageously deal with these proposals. Therefore [it is important] for the official Palestinian position to be known to every Palestinian citizen in the homeland and abroad. This [knowledge] will strengthen and establish our Palestinian strategy, which relies on the Palestinian people and its right to self-determination, on [its right] to determine its own national and political options; on the adherence to the principles, and on the development of Palestinian action. [All this] is aimed at opening the path to a possible political achievement, in light of [current] regional and international circumstances and the [global] balances of power...
"Fatah is now the one that has a feasible plan. It was not borne away to imaginary regions in its strategic perceptions – [unlike] some [others] who seek to perpetuate the struggle, the refugees, and the diaspora under slogans that can never come true.
"It is the role and duty of every leadership to develop the requisite tools and conditions for national and political [self-]determination... Fatah did this when it launched the revolution and led the armed struggle, and it does it today when it leads the negotiations.
"The Fatah leadership, headed by the brother president [Mahmoud ‘Abbas] is running a real campaign for political achievement, and is responding to the American proposals in accordance with how close they are to our own goals and principles. We handled Kerry's proposal on the refugees based on our own national principles, and demanded that Israel bear its legal and international responsibility, according to the international legitimacy, for its expulsion of our people, and that it recognize Resolution 194, which guarantees the right of return and reparations.
"If Israel recognizes its responsibility for the refugee problem, we can courageously and responsibly deal with the proposals for implementing Resolution 194 and for ways of implementing it in accordance with any initiative that meshes with our steadfast rights. And, if Kerry's proposals on this issue give a Palestinian four [options]... – to return to the Palestinian state, to remain where he is and receive restitution, to [move] to some specific other country and receive restitution, or for a limited return of some of our people to Israel, [the last of] which the Israeli government still opposes – then we call on Kerry, for the sake of his initiative's success, to focus his efforts and pressure on the side that is holding up the initiative. All the proposals submitted by Mr. Kerry on this issue are still being rejected by the Israeli government...
"The issue of return in accordance with the international legitimacy remains a national, collective, and personal right. No one can force the Palestinians [to accept] no [chance of] return, because [returning] is up to the free choice of every Palestinian in the diaspora and every refugee in the homeland. I personally, for example, choose my right to return to my village, 'Iraq Al-Manshia, the land of my father and my father's fathers. This is the free choice of every Palestinian, and the American proposal must be in accordance with this [and must offer] every individual the option of either returning or remaining where he is and receiving restitution. Palestinians in Lebanon, for example, cannot become [Lebanese] citizens – because doing so is unacceptable both to them and to the Lebanese state.
"The success of the American initiative depends on the [extent] to which it meets the rights of the Palestinian and his freedom to choose how to realize Resolution 194. In any case, Israel's position still renounces the international legitimacy and the right of the Palestinians, and throws spanners in the works of Kerry's initiative – which requires the U.S. administration to pressure the Israeli government. We are convinced that the American administration has the tools, if it chooses to use them, to pressure Israel – as with the understandings on the Iranian issue [i.e. Geneva] which happened over Israel's objections...
"Solving the Palestinian refugee problem is considered one of the foundations of international stability, and serves global peace and security. It is not distinct from the U.S. administration's international and regional interests, because the refugee issue is considered the heart of the Palestinian problem and one of the most explosive aspects of the conflict in the region. The U.S. administration must decide whether it lays out its policy based on its own interests, or whether it bends it to Israel's interests – even if the latter are contrary to or even endanger U.S. interests.
"The realistic and rational way to deal with the issue of the refugees is not with Palestinian concessions but with boldly dealing with it through [displays of] international and regional responsibility, and with the international community and the Occupation State [i.e. Israel] taking responsibility for it. Then, the Palestinians will undoubtedly show the flexibility and political realism discussed in the Arab Initiative, on which the Palestinians and 57 Arab and Islamic states agreed."
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Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2014
02/25/2014
Right-wing lawmakers demand Pollard's release in meeting with US ambassador; MK Rotem asks: Why should we trust you?; Shapiro says Washington participating in negotiating process because "Israel is our ally".
MKs in the Land of Israel Caucus competed Tuesday over who could more harshly criticize the US on its position onnegotiations with the Palestinians and Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard's continued incarceration.
The lawmakers accused the US of being biased toward the Palestinians in negotiations.
"The American statement of principles cannot be seen as a neutral document that Israel can freely object to," MKReuven Rivlin (Likud Beytenu) said. "The document creates a reality and puts pressure on Israel in the future and objections won't have any significance in the long term."
"We can win six wars, but we can only lose one," Rivlin warned.
Deputy Transportation Minister Tzipi Hotovely (Likud Beytenu) explained that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is "acting in a political arena. Any framework agreement that talks about 1967 lines or that includes evacuating towns or giving up sovereignty in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem can bring down the current government."
According to Hotovely, there is no real possibility of bridging the differences between the Israeli and Palestinian positions and there is not a majority in the Likud to divide the land.
"Our stances reflect the will of the people of Israel and any attempt to force a diplomatic plan against the voters' will harms Israeli democracy," she emphasized.
According to a source in the meeting, which was closed to press, Shapiro rejected claims that the US is taking the Palestinians' side and is hurting Israel.
"The US is taking part in the negotiations because Israel is our ally," he stated. "A good peace treaty will protect Israel's security and won't hurt Israel."
Shapiro said the US is involved in talks with the Palestinians because Netanyahu asked it to be, and that the US will put out a document based on Israeli and Palestinian recommendations in May.
"Why should Israel trust [the US]?" MK David Rotem (Likud Beytenu) asked. "The US didn't stand behind us in past crises."
The Ambassador also said that, while he does not think this is the last opportunity for peace, the longer the sides wait, the more difficult it will be.
Knesset Finance Committee chairman Nissan Slomiansky(Bayit Yehudi) said that talk about boycotts against Israel by senior US officials legitimizes them, an accusation Shapiro deflected.
MKs saved their harshest language for discussion of the US refusal to release Pollard, who has been in prison for 29 years for spying for Israel.
"It's considered irresponsible to criticize the US publicly, but since this meeting was closed to press, people opened up and used words like 'hostile' and 'alienating,'" a source in the discussion recounted. "The atmosphere was very loaded.
MK Moshe Feiglin (Likud Beytenu) said he doesn't criticize the US when it comes to talks with the Palestinians, because the Israeli government says there is a Palestinian nation that has a right to a country, but when it comes to Pollard, the US should be censured.
"Pollard is a consensus issue on the Right and Left. We all agree his treatment is an injustice," Feiglin stated. "Israel and the US are allies, but this stinks. People who did much worse were already released."
According to Rivlin, "not one American served 30 years in prison because of something like this. If the Americans think 30 years is reasonable, well, in two months 30 years will have passed since his incarceration and then he should be released and returned to his people and his land."
Shapiro, however, said there is no consensus in the US about Pollard and even if some former senior officials said he should be released, others disagree.
"The US has rule of law and the law says he should be in prison. Not even the president is above the law," Shapiro stated.
MK Shuli Muallem (Bayit Yehudi) pointed out that US presidents can grant pardons, but Shapiro replied that US President Barack Obama avoids doing so and has pardoned far fewer people than other presidents.
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Date: Monday, February 24, 2014
February 19, 2014
Annual Gallup survey finds perception of Israel up from 66 percent in 2013; Iran ranks lowest at 9 percent.
A new poll by Gallup shows that 72 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Israel, up from 66 percent last year.
The annual Gallup World Affairs poll, conducted from February 6-9, also shows a relatively stable perception among Americans of Israel and seven other "important" Middle East countries - Iran, Iraq, Syria, Egypt, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia and Libya.
The positive view of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority also increased by small margins. Forty-five percent of Americans said they had
a favorable perception of Egypt, up from 40 percent in 2013, and 19 percent expressed a favorable view of the PA, up from 15 percent the year before.
Israel is by far the most positively viewed Mideast nation among Americans. The country scoring the next highest is Egypt, followed by Saudi Arabia, with 36 percent of the US population having a favorable perception of the country, a minute dip from the 35 percent of 2013.
Just 13 percent of Americans have a positive view of Syria, the poll found, slightly higher than the 12 percent who have a favorable view of Iran.
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