Doc's Talk: Some of today's news

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Some of today's news

Taking advantage of the breach opened in Rafah, about 2000 Egyptians allegedly entered Gaza, to be candidates for terrorist operations. According to Hamas, which has provided this report, the movement has refused "this assistance" on the pretext that there was currently no need for ''foreign labor''. (Guysen.International.News) The Jewish community in Iran has asked the Habad Hassidic movement for an emissary. The latter must first obtain permission from the Iranian government. (Guysen.International.News)
22:45
According to a number of Western diplomats, Iran has already conducted tests in its Boushehr nuclear power station with the help of sophisticated centrifuges. These tests demonstrated the Iranian ability to acquire a nuclear bomb in the relatively near future. (Guysen.International.News)
22:25
France: interviewed on Europe 1, the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Koushner, said that Israel must "make sacrifices" and make an effort to accelerate the peace negotiations. Koushner said: ''The Israelis must understand that it is up to them to make significant sacrifices so that the Palestinians will believe in peace, after seeing a change in their daily lives.'' (Guysen.International.News)
22:14
Palestinian sources claimed that the IDF launched an attack on the village of Beit Hanoun. According to them, this attack killed one person and wounded three. (Guysen.International.News)
21:58
Afghanistan: the local branch of Al Qaeda vowed to avenge the death of one of its leaders, Abu Milk al-Libi, who was killed last week in northern Pakistan. (Guysen.International.News)
21:50
Details on the IDF air raid: the army simultaneously bombed two sites in central and southern Gaza. (Guysen.International.News)
21:44
An IDF air raid in the center of the Gaza Strip: according to Palestinian sources, two people were injured. The Air Force bombed a factory in the center of the Gaza Strip few minutes ago. (Guysen.International.News)
20:58
Iraq: the American command has accused al-Qaeda terrorists of causing children to carry out terrorist operations. The Americans based their accusations on the broadcast of "propaganda videos" by the movement. Five video cassettes were seized and excerpts were presented to the press. (Guysen.International.News)
20:19
Palestinian support for Hamas recorded a 6% increase since the "opening" of the border between Gaza and Egypt. This was revealed in a survey conducted by the PA. According to the results of this survey, 39% of Palestinians support Hamas, compared to 33% last December. Support for Fatah has dropped from 52% (in December) to 46%. (Guysen.International.News)
19:50
The various leaks from the discussions of the Winograd Commission in recent months, were allegedly made by Prof. Yehezkel Dror. This was reported by Ayala Hasson-Nesher, a political analyst on Israel's Channel 1. (Guysen.International.News)
19:09
The pop group Subliminal will shortly visit the United States. The Foreign Ministry is sponsoring the tour whose purpose is to strengthen links between Israel and American youth. (Guysen.International.News)
18:22
The American Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice said that the fighting in Afghanistan represented a challenge to NATO. ''The members of NATO are standing in front of a major challenge, during which their strength will be tested,'' Rice said. According to the latter, the mission of the security forces deployed in Afghanistan is not to keep the peace, but to carry out a battle in the long-term. (Guysen.International.News)
17:57
Israeli Foreign Minister, Tsipi Livni, met with the director of Unesco, on a visit to Israel. In particular, they signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the UN and Israel in the field of education. (Guysen.International.News)
17:15
Chad: President Idriss Deby says that the Chadian army has taken control of the whole country, and that the attempted coup d'état led by the rebels had failed. (Guysen.International.News)
17:05
Two children aged two and four were slightly injured by the latest firing of kassams. Their mother is in shock. The rocket struck near a nursery school to Beeri, in the western Negev. (Guysen.International.News)
16:21
French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has sent a letter to Israeli President, Shimon Peres, to condemn the suicide bombing in Dimona. ''These terrorist actions are unacceptable and must be strongly condemned. We will give you every possible assistance in your fight against terror,'' he said. (Guysen.International.News)
15:41
The Supreme Court is demanding that the Israeli government confirm within six months the implementation of its decision to evacuate the town of Migron. It is a response to the appeal filed by the left-wing movement Peace Now, a few weeks ago. (Guysen.International.News)
14:11
USA: there are at least 27 dead, dozens of injured and extensive damage in several tornadoes that hit Tennessee, Arkansas and Kentucky. (Guysen.International.News)
13:58
A barrier will be built at the Israeli-Egyptian border. At the end of consultations held this morning, the security cabinet has decided to start work soon in the areas of Eilat and Nitzana. The lateral cuts in the budgets of all ministries could be used to find a billion shekels for this work. (Guysen.International.News)
13:55
Russia considers that the Iranian rocket test ''raises questions about the very nature of its nuclear program''. As a reminder, Iran opened its first space research center on Monday, in order to send a satellite of its manufacture into space. (Guysen.International.News)
13:38
Professor Yehezkel Dror has been summoned to an urgent debate at the Knesset House Committee public service next week. This member of the Winograd Commission created a scandal this morning by saying that the report on the Lebanon War was biased to assist the survival of the Olmert government. (Guysen.International.News)
13:25
Palestinian attacks in Judea and Samaria: Palestinians threw stones and Molotov cocktails on border guards near Azun. An Israeli car traveling near Beit Omar had its windscreen shattered, by stone-throwing Palestinians. (Guysen.International.News)
12:55
The credit crisis in the United States has caused 40 billion shekels of harm to Israeli banks. The controller of Israeli banks said that such damages are not significant and that the crisis has probably already been overcome in Israel. According to him, the Israeli banks suffered relatively limited losses because their investments in the American market are conservative. (Guysen.International.News)
12:38
Anger in Washington: the American ambassador to the UN participated in a discussion forum in Davos with the Iranian Foreign Minister. The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice summoned Zalman Khlalilzad for an explanatory meeting. (Guysen.International.News)
11:54
Another kassam, the 9th of the morning, fell in a vacant lot in Ashkelon. No injuries were reported. Several explosions were heard in the area, and checks are being made to see if more missiles were fired from Gaza. (Guysen.International.News)
11:27
Italy: the Parliament must be dissolved by the end of the morning. President Giorgio Napolitano and resigned Prime Minister Romano Prodi will sign the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate as a precursor to new elections. (Guysen.International.News)
11:09
Super Tuesday in the USA: John McCain is leading the Republicans, neck, and the Democrats are neck and neck. Even if Barack Obama won more states than Hillary Clinton, the former first lady of the United States has one hundred votes of delegates, more than the black senator. To win the Democratic nomination, a candidate must be selected by more than half of the 2025 "delegates" of the party. The ballot in Ohio and Texas scheduled for March 4 might prove crucial for the two rivals. (Guysen.International.News)
10:58
The members of the Winograd commission have said that they are 'shocked'' by the words of their colleague, Professor Dror. The latter suggested that the survival of the Olmert-Barak government, had oriented the conclusions drawn by the commission on the Second Lebanon War. The Commission maintains that Dror had expressed his personal opinion, and called for him to ''shut his mouth''. (Guysen.International.News)
10:44
The 6 February: several attacks have afflicted Israel since the founding of the state on this date. To mention just two: in 2002, a terrorist entered a town in the Jordan Valley killing 3 Israelis, and in 1995, a security guard escorting a supply of fuel was gunned down at the crossroads of Sadjayeh, in the Gaza Strip. (Guysen.International.News)
09:18
Professor Yehezkel Dror, a member of the Winograd Commission, created a scandal, in an interview with the newspaper, Maariv. The newspaper quoted Professor Wednesday saying: ''If we believe that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will take the peace process forward, it is a very respectable consideration'', adding that ''the Olmert-Barak government was preferable to new elections which will bring Netanyahu to power''. (Guysen.International.News)
08:54
The Palestinians opened fire at IDF forces near the Soufa checkpoint, in the center of the Gaza Strip. No soldier was injured. (Guysen.International.News)
08:36
The security cabinet is currently meeting to discuss the situation at the porous Israeli-Egyptian border. Various options will be discussed in an attempt to secure the border, and in particular the Egyptian request, to increase its military presence along the Philadelphia axis. (Guysen.International.News)
08:18
The height of disinformation after the Dimona attack: the Palestinian media claimed that the second terrorist was killed when he was injured and ''lifted his hand to ask for help''. (Guysen.International.News)
07:36
Egypt has called on Hamas to cede control over the border crossing from the Gaza Strip. The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said that Fatah should be overseeing these check-points. He called on European observers to return to Gaza. (Guysen.International.News)
07:27
A kassam rocket landed in a vacant lot north of the Gaza Strip, without causing injuries or damage. (Guysen.International.News)
06:51
IDF carried out an air strike against a cell of rocket launchers in northern Gaza, after they fired a volley of kassams on the western Negev. IDF said that the terrorists were injured during the raid. (Guysen.International.News)
06:09
An explosive device was activated by Palestinian terrorists overnight, in the passage of an IDF patrol in a village south of Hebron. No soldier was injured. (Guysen.International.News)
05:12
An inter-ministerial committee, headed by Colonel Assaf Orion and composed of representatives of the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs as well as members of the National Security Council, is studying the possibility of authorizing the deployment of an international force in Gaza. (Guysen.International.News)
04:25
South Africa is opposed to, via its ambassador to the United Nations, Dumisani Kumalo, the adoption of new sanctions against Iran, before the publication of the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's nuclear program. This report will be made public on February 20. (Guysen.International.News)
03:41
Iraq: 3,945 American soldiers have died in the country since the beginning of the intervention forces of the international coalition in March 2003, according to the US Department of Defense. (Guysen.International.News)
02:43
On Tuesday, the Israeli Defense Forces eliminated nine Hamas terrorists. Two terrorists were killed in southern Gaza during a fight against an IDF unit near Rafah and seven were killed in a strike by the air force on a position of the terrorist organization, east of Khan Yunis, also in the south of the territory controlled by Hamas. (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