Doc's Talk: News stories of interest

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

News stories of interest

In Israel, it is considered that ''Hamas has understood the equation'' in Gaza. A government official noted the marked decrease in the firing of kassams in the past few days and found that ''Israel's message had been received''.
A serious altercation took place on Monday between Arab MKs and the deputy Defense Minister in the Knesset. The Arab parties had submitted a censure motion to condemn the "war and the deaths of civilians in Gaza in particular, and in the occupied territories, more generally". They accused Israel of causing the deaths of Palestinian children. Vilnai ustified the Israeli operations, saying that none of them were in a position to preach morality". (Guysen.International.News)
23:27
Israel must demand the immediate closure of UNRWA, according to the National-Religious MK Benny Eilon. According to him, all that the the UN agency for Palestinian refugees does is to "encourage terrorism against Israelis". He was reacting to an announcement by UNRWA that it would stop its humanitarian aid to Gaza "if Israel does not lift the blockade". (Guysen.International.News)
23:09
The CEO of Renault-Nissan is in Israel to launch the electric car. Carlos Ghosn confirmed during a ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office, the first part of the project, in conjunction with the Israeli company, the Better Place, which will involve the setting up of the appropriate infrastructure for the operation of this environmental vehicle. Jean-Michel Casa, the French ambassador in Tel Aviv, was also present. (Guysen.International.News)
22:57
Ehud Barak will meet with Nicolas Sarkozy on Wednesday, January 23 at the Elysée. This meeting between the Israeli Defense Minister and the French president appears on the agenda published by the site of the Elysée. They will focus on the Iran nuclear issue and the fate of the kidnapped soldiers. (Guysen.International.News)
22:27
Barak has called for a continuation of pressure on the Gaza Strip, to maintain calm in Sderot and the western Negev. At the Herzliya conference, the Defence Minister said: ''If in order to have calm in Sderot, it is necessary to make noise in Gaza, we will to that''. (Guysen.International.News)
21:54
Basketball: Maccabi Tel Aviv beat Nahariya 104 to 70, an easy victory that paves the way to an easy game in Milan on Thursday, as part of the Euroleague. (Guysen.International.News)
21:36
The Quai d'Orsay has condemned the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip. Paris called on the Jewish state to reopen the crossings and to renew deliveries of fuel to enable the Gaza power plant to operate. The spokesman for the Foreign Ministry described the blockade as ''collective punishment'' against civilians in Gaza. (Guysen.International.News)
21:27
''Israel risks being transformed into a state exposed on three fronts'' Binyamin Netanyahu said at the Herzliya conference. The leader of the Likud party spared no criticism of successive governments that, by withdrawing from southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, have given way to two Iranian bastions, and risks creating a third on Israel's flanks by leaving Judea and Samaria. (Guysen.International.News)
20:45
''Israel risks being transformed into a state exposed on three fronts'' Binyamin Netanyahu said at the Herzliya conference. The leader of the Likud party spared no criticism of successive governments that, by withdrawing from southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, have given way to two Iranian bastions, and risks creating a third on Israel's flanks by leaving Judea and Samaria. (Guysen.International.News)
20:07
Sunday evening, at the opening of the conference in Herzlya, the chief of staff, Gabi Ashkenazi said: ''Israel will be facing several military fronts in the years to come''. He added that the IDF was prepared to ensure the security of the country. Regarding the security situation in the Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip, Ashkenazi said that the current operations of the army were not effective enough. According to him: ''Even if it takes time, the inhabitants of Sderot will soon be living in peace.'' (Guysen.International.News)
19:46
According to a recent report of the Interior Ministry, the population of Judea and Samaria increased in 2007 by 5.2% compared to the previous year. A total of 282,000 people were living in 2007 in this region. The largest town located beyond the Green Line is Modiin Illit with 37,895 inhabitants. Maale Adumim, Beitar Illit and follow with 34,495 and 32,046 inhabitants respectively. (Guysen.International.News)
18:46
The foreign ministers of the six have agreed to impose a third wave of sanctions on Iran. They will meet soon in Berlin to finalize that decision. The information has yet to be confirmed by official sources. (Guysen.International.News)
18:10
A terrorist was killed in Judea and Samaria: in the wake of massive stone-throwing on Monday at Israeli vehicles, a unit of the Israel Defense Forces was sent on patrol in the area. As they entered an Arab village, the soldiers were targeted and several stones were thrown at them. The soldiers then opened fire and killed one of their attackers. (Guysen.International.News)
17:28
Khaled Meshaal, the head of the political bureau of Hamas spoke on Monday on the phone with the Foreign Minister of Egypt Ahmed Aboul Gheit. He updated him on the recent contacts he had had with several world leaders, asking them to use their influence on Israel to end ''the suffering of the Palestinian population of Gaza.'' (Guysen.International.News)
17:06
In his speech to the Knesset at the time of the vote on the motion of censure tabled by his party, MK Gideon Saar (Likud) said that ''cynicism is the guiding principle of the Olmert government''. According to him, the Winograd report will be ''the moment of truth of Israeli policy.'' (Guysen.International.News)
16:17
''It is inconceivable that Israel will make its capital an illegal outpost,'' Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupoliansky said in reaction to reports that the government had frozen construction in Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem located beyond the Green Line. For his part, MK Ruby Rivlin (Likud) expressed regret that the Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has taken a decision without consultation with the cabinet and without being submitted for the approval of the Knesset. (Guysen.International.News)
15:58
In an interview on Israeli radio, the former United States Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, who was the guest of the Herzliya Conference, said that Hezbollah had returned to its pre-war positions and had violated all the commitments made after this war, in the framework of the UN Security Council resolution 1701. (Guysen.International.News)
15:19
Voices have been raised in the Arab world to condemn what they called ''collective punishment'' inflicted on the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. According to the Syrian Foreign Minister, Wallid Moallem, ''Israel is violating the most fundamental human rights.'' Meanwhile, the Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has called the situation in Gaza ''racist segregation.'' The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad also joined the protest together with a call to Arab leaders to mobilize in order to put an end to the ''humanitarian catastrophe''. (Guysen.International.News)
14:57
Due to the strike by the university lecturers, which lasted more than three months, psychometric tests planned for February will be pushed back to April 16 and 17. (Guysen.International.News)
14:47
Hassan Nassrallah is continuing his psychological warfare. The Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar published on Monday the identity card photo of Sergeant Ron Mashiah, killed a helicopter crash during the Second Lebanon War. Interviewed by the website Ynet, Ron's brother, Motti, said that the family was well aware that the ID had remained in Lebanon, but he confirmed that the body of his brother had arrived in Israel whole. (Guysen.International.News)
14:18
Hamas has accused Fatah of being responsible for the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza ''because it has not publicly condemned the IDF operations in the Gaza Strip''. (Guysen.International.News)
13:54
Sales of dried fruit are booming in Israel on the occasion of Tu Bichvat. A third of annual sales of dried fruit, totaling 620 million shekels, was made the week before the New Year for trees that falls on Tuesday this year. (Guysen.International.News)
13:46
Israel should further intensify the blockade of the Gaza Strip, stopping the transfer of mail. This measure should take effect within the next two weeks, at the initiative of Defense Minister Ehud Barak. The security apparatus is concerned that the smuggling of electronic devices of which terrorist organizations are fond, does not continue. Terrorist organizations frequently use GPS and cell phones. (Guysen.International.News)

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk