The Truth About Israel

SWI NEWS: Tue, Oct 2, 2012 16 Tishri, 5773

Uri — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:18:30 +0000

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

10/02/2012 18:45

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Photo: REUTERS/Fars News

Hojjat al-Eslam Ali Shirazi, the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the Islamic Republic’s Qods Force, said this week that Iran needed just “24 hours and an excuse” to destroy Israel. In his first public interview in a year, reported in the Persian-language Jahan News, which is close to the regime, Shirazi said if Israel attacked Iran, the Islamic Republic would be able to turn the conflict into a war of attrition that would lead to Israel’s destruction.

“If such a war does happen, it would not be a long war, and it would benefit the entire Islamic umma . We have expertise in fighting wars of attrition and Israel cannot fight a war of attrition,” Shirazi said, referring to Iran’s eight-year war of attrition against Iraq. Khamenei appointed Shirazi a year ago as his representative to the Qods Force, the highly secretive extraterritorial wing of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which reports directly to Khamenei. The Qods Force, whose exact size is unknown, is responsible for IRGC operations outside Iran, including in Syria. In August, the US Department of the Treasury identified the Qods Force as “a conduit for Iran’s material support to the Syrian General Intelligence Directorate,” and in 2011 designated Qods Force commander Maj.-Gen. Ghassem Suleimani as a terrorist for his personal support of the Syrian regime. In his interview, Shirazi said that Israel was “close to annihilation” and wanted to attack Iran as an act of desperation. “Are our enemies intelligent, wise or foolish? They are foolish. It’s also possible that they will do this foolish thing . Why do we sometimes say this is the strongest probability? Because today the Israelis are telling us that ‘we are not the Israel of yesterday, we are getting weaker day by day and the Islamic Republic is getting stronger day by day,’” he added. “Well, when Israel finds itself in danger of extinction, it flails around, and so it’s easy for it to do foolish things and will start a war just to sting Iran.” Shirazi’s remarks echo those of other senior Iranian military leaders, who have repeatedly threatened to respond to any attack by the US and its allies on its nuclear facilities by engaging in a war of attrition. Iran has also repeatedly paraded what it claims are advances in military technologies, including in ballistic missile technologies, which could be used in such a war. Significantly, in his interview, Shirazi also denied reports that Suleimani had been killed in the July 18 bombing in Damascus, which killed several of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s top aides. “There was too much talk in the media, which even said that Suleimani was involved in the conflict and in the bombing in Syria, and some even said that he was killed,” Shirazi said. “But Suleimani wasn’t in Syria; on that day, he was in Iran.” Although Suleimani has not appeared in public since the bombing, the Iranian state media later published what it claimed to be a photograph of the Qods Force leader attending a July 24 address by Khamenei. And while a spokesman for the IRGC also dismissed reports of Suleimani’s death, around 10 day ago the Iranian Students’ News Agency published what it alleged was a 1989 interview with the Qods Force commander that included extremely detailed biographical information – an unusual move, especially given that little is known about Suleimani. Ali Alfoneh, an expert on the IRGC from the American Enterprise Institute, questioned why the Islamic Republic would allow its media to release such private information now. “Is Suleimani really dead and is this article an attempt to beatify a martyr? It may take some time before we will know the answer, but one thing is for sure: If Suleimani indeed was killed in Damascus, the regime would not admit it. “The regime is therefore likely to stage Suleimani’s assassination by an obscure terrorist organization inside of Iran. Helping the Assad regime to kill women and children in Syria is hardly a legacy the state propaganda machine wishes for its martyr,” Alfoneh wrote.

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 1, 2012, 8:40 AM (GMT+02:00)

The epic battle for Kismayo

The Kenyan army has captured Somalia’s Indian Ocean port of Kismayo, driving Al Qaeda’s Somali franchise Al Shabaab out of its last strategic stronghold, the key to controlling southern Somalia. The small Kenyan army, navy and air force fought to victory Saturday, Sept. 29, after a year-long ground, sea and air offensive. Fearing the Shabaab was feigning defeat and lurking in the town’s alleys to strike back, Kenyan warships backed by the French Navy shelled suspected terrorist hideouts in Kismayo Sunday. Kismayo was Nairobi’s prime goal when exactly a year ago, the Kenyan army launched its drive into Somalia following the failure of UN-backed intervention for ridding Somalia of the Islamist terrorists long plaguing the country. With a population of 200,000, Kismayo, which lies 328 miles southwest of Mogadishu near the mouth of the Jubba River, is the commercial capital of the autonomous Jubalanand region of Somalia which abuts on Kenya. Very few Western military experts rated the Kenyan army of only 60,000 soldiers capable of routing the hard-bitten 25,000 Shabaab militants and capturing a sizeable region of Somalia – a feat which famously defeated US elite forces in 1993 in Mogadishu and forced the Ethiopian army to retreat with heavy losses in 2006. But, although Washington and Paris denied any role in the East African conflict, US did contribute to the Kenyan effort with drones gathering intelligence for the Kenyan army and guiding the aim of its artillery, while French battle and supply ships operating out of Kenya’s Indian Ocean port of Mombasa dropped supplies, ammo and fresh Kenyan reinforcements on the Somali coast. Even more tight-lipped were Jerusalem and Nairobi about Israel’s substantial contribution to the Kenyan war effort to push al Qaeda’s affiliate far from its borders. According to debkafile’s exclusive counterterrorism sources, Israeli military assistance to Kenya came in three forms: 1. Israeli military officers advised in the planning of Kenyan field operations. They recommended systematic special ops raids behind Shabaab lines to generate disarray in enemy ranks instead of rapid advances to seize large tracts of territory. 2. Israel supplied Nairobi with the weapons appropriate for these tactics, including drones and field intelligence equipment. 3. Israeli intelligence, police and special ops specialists in counter-terrorism counseled Kenyan internal security authorities on security in the big towns. From Day 1 of Kenya’s operation in Somalia, the Al Qaeda Somali militia threatened to stage mega attacks on Nairobi and Mombasa, the Kenyan army’s chief port for delivering war supplies. This threat was staved off with the help of Israeli counter terror experts who assisted the authorities in the two towns. The jihadists were reduced to comparatively small-scale attacks with minimal casualties, such as lobbing grenades and shooting up road traffic. In the latest such attack, one Kenyan child was killed and three seriously hurt by a grenade lobbed into the St Polycarp church’s Sunday school in Nairobi Sunday, Sept. 30. Israeli-Kenyan friendship goes back a long way, but this was the first time Israel’s military, intelligence, counterterrorism and police officers were to fill a direct role in any concerted offensive against al Qaeda outside its borders. Kenya’s military feat has put the al Qaeda franchise on the run, forcing its terrorists to choose between putting distance between themselves and southern Somalia or being picked off by Kenyan forces hunting them down. East Africa can start looking forward to a better future. Nairobi has pledged substantial investment in the development of Kismayo and its port facilities, while also forging ahead with plans to build a big modern port at its own Indian Ocean town of Lamu. With the removal of the al Qaeda menace from its borders, Kenya sees the rise of three important East African sea outlets at Mombasa, Lamu and Kismayo. All three will also provide the US, France and Israel with strategic military, naval and air bases, in position to block Iran’s scramble for expansion into the Indian Ocean and along the shores of East Africa.

Hizbullah Threatens to 'Conquer the Galilee'

A new Hizbullah video highlights the terrorist organization's latest campaign - “liberating the Galilee.”

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By David Lev

First Publish: 10/1/2012, 10:35 PM

Hizbullah supporters

IDF Spokesperson

A new Hizbullah video highlights the terrorist organization's latest campaign - “liberating the Galilee.” On the agenda is Hizbullah's conquering of key sites and cities like tourist centers, refineries, and the Haifa port.

The video was posted on a Hizbullah site Monday, the same day that Israeli Arab politicians led a protest commemorating the deaths of 12 Arabs in 2000, as they rioted and attempted to spread the intifada to northern Israel. The video shows the chief “Zionist settlements” - meaning Jewish towns and cities - in northern Israel, such as Afikim, Ma'alot, and Nahariya. The video also mentions “the principal Palestinian cities in northern Palestine,” including Tzefat, Akko, Tiberias, Haifa, and Nazareth.

Last year, Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah threatened that his organization would try to conquer the Galilee. Nasrallah emerged from hiding for several hours to attend a ceremony in Beirut, where he warned “[Defense Minister Ehud[ Barak, Ashkenazi, and Benny Gantz, that now you must get used to the idea. If you impose a war on Lebanon, our fighters will conquer the Galilee.”

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Uri — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:18:51 +0000

Chief of Staff: War will Knock Lebanon Back by Decades

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hopes Iranian leaders will scrap nuclear program of their own accord. As for Gaza, he predicts IDF "will visit it."

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By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 9:19 PM

Lt. Gen. Gantz in action.

Israel news photo: Flash 90

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz voiced hope in an interview published Thursday that Iranian leaders will decide to scrap their nuclear arms program of their own accord. He also said that the next war with Lebanon will knock the country back "by decades." "We are more prepared than in the past, we are better than we were in the past, and we will do whatever the political echelon decides after this dialog is over," he said. "A nuclear Iran is not a question of ability, but rather one of decision. This is a global problem. Ultimately, the one who will decide to relinquish the nuclear program is Iran," the Chief of the Staff said in an interview to Halochem magazine, which is published by the IDF Disabled Veterans Organization. "Iran is a great nation with tens of millions of residents, universities, economic and scientific capabilities; we can't take that away from them. I think that is a very rich culture that must decide, ultimately, that this is not the way," he added. "I think that ultimately, it will make the decision. The Iranian leadership will decide that the price of sticking with its program is more than it is willing to pay." Lt. Gen. Gantz also discussed the northern border and called the situation in Syria "acute," stating that "the central government is fading, losing power… It is difficult to paint a picture of how the Syria of the future will look. We are closely tracking developments and are prepared for any possible aggression from that direction." Additionally, Gantz addressed the possibility of chemical weapons falling into the hands of the Hizbullah terror organization. "The danger of a loss of control is great, but I would stay level-headed regarding this matter," he said, also warning of the risk of getting pulled into a complex conflict. The Chief of Staff warned Hizbullah against trying to attack Israeli targets. "Today, the IDF is massively more prepared than in the past to carry out a large-scale, multi-dimensional offensive against Hizbullah," he said. "I would not recommend that it try our power. That would hurt it to the point that it would understand with whom it is playing with and with what it is gambling." He added, "If I needed to choose to be an Israeli citizen or a resident of Lebanon, I would quickly choose to be an Israeli citizen, who will receive not only justice in war but also good protection. Lebanon would be knocked back by decades after the next war; I really would not try us." Regarding recent developments in Egypt, the Chief of Staff explained, "That is a state with which we have a peace agreement, and most of the activity that the Egyptians carry out in Sinai, they do with consent. I would not rush to eulogize our peace agreement or to give up on it. It is a strategic asset to both countries." With regard to the Hamas terror organization's control of Gaza, Lt. Gen. Gantz did not rule out the possibility of an offensive to stop the persistent rocket attacks on southern Israel. "I think there will be another offensive campaign in Gaza," he said. "The State of Israel decided to disengage from Gaza and not to stay there, but that does not mean that we don't need to go back to visit – if and when there is a need."

Number 2 US Military Chief in ‘Secret’ Talks with Barak

The vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff met Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak amid rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

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By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 6:39 PM

Defense Minister Ehud Barak

Israel News photo: Flash 90

The vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral James Winnefeld, met Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak Thursday, one week after U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey was quoted alas saying that if Israel wants to attack Iran, "I don't want to be complicit” in it. The U.S. Defense Department and the Israeli Defense Ministry admitted that Barak and Winnefeld met on Thursday and even provided pictures – but no details, AFP reported. "The Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is in Israel as part of a previously scheduled counterpart visit with Israeli Deputy Chief of the General Staff Major-General Yair Naveh," Winnefeld's office said in a statement out of Washington. "While there, Admiral Winnefeld will participate in a series of discussions on mil-to-mil (military-to-military) cooperation and mutual defense issues impacting both Israel and the United States," it said. The meeting had been secret until Army Radio exposed it earlier on Thursday, reporting that Winnefeld was in the country at the invitation of his counterpart, Naveh. It was not immediately clear when Winnefeld arrived, but he was expected to leave later on Thursday. Army Radio said the visit had been kept under wraps because of political sensitivities between Israel and Washington over how to handle Tehran's nuclear program, which both governments suspect is designed to build atomic weapons. Next week, Lieutenant General Craig Franklin, currently the commander of the U.S. Third Air Force, reportedly will visit Israel in advance of a scaled-down joint military drill between the two armies next month. The United States has cut approximately two-thirds the number of American troops who were supposed to participate, but officials maintain that the reduction has nothing to do with disagreements over how to respond to Iran's disputed nuclear program. Israeli leaders have been flooding the media the past months with proclamations that the “window of opportunity” to strike Iran is rapidly closing, while a large number of military, political and public figures have adopted the Obama administration view against a strike before next year, at the earliest.

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 6, 2012, 10:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian rebels under Turkish command

Turkish army officers have assumed direct command of the first two Syrian rebel brigades fighting Bashar Assad’s government forces, according to debkafile’s exclusive sources. This step has sent military tensions rocketing on Israel’s northern borders with Syria and Lebanon in case of a backlash. The rebel North Liberators Brigade in the Idlib region of northern Syria and the Tawhid Brigade fighting in the Al-Bab area northeast of Aleppo are now taking their operational orders from Turkish officers, who exercise their authority from headquarters outside Syria in the southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep. Nonetheless, Turkey is considered to have stepped directly into the Syrian conflict marking the onset of foreign intervention. Western and Arab military circles in the Middle East expect Turkey to extend its command to additional rebel units – not all of them part of the Free Syrian Army. This first step has already caused waves. 1. The consequences of Turkish military action in Syria were urgently aired with CIA Director David Petraeus when he arrived in Ankara Monday, Sept. 3, debkafile’s intelligence sources reveal. After hearing how and when Ankara proposed to expand its role in the Syrian conflict, Petraeus discussed with Turkish military and intelligence chiefs the likely Syrian, Iranian and Hizballah responses. He then flew to Israel to continue the discussion there. 2. By then, US, Turkish and Israeli intelligence watchers were reporting unusual military movements in Syria and on Hizballah turf in southern Lebanon – suspected of being preparations for a blowback from the Turkish intervention in Syria. 3. The IDF countered by placing its units guarding the Syrian and Lebanese borders on a state of alert. Wednesday, Sept. 5, an Iron Dome battery was installed in Gush Dan to head off a potential Hizballah missile barrage on central Israel and its hub, Tel Aviv. 4. Later that day, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan commented: "The regime in Syria has now become a terrorist state." Only a few of Erdogan's listeners understood he was laying international legal grounding for expanding Turkish military intervention in Syria. debkafile's military sources report that Thursday, Sept. 6, military temperatures remained high-to-feverish along Syria's borders with Turkey and Israel, and along Lebanon's borders with Syria and Israel.

US congressman confirms sharp exchange between PM, US envoy

By HERB KEINON

09/06/2012 23:40

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Photo: REUTERS

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US Ambassador Dan Shapiro did engage in a sharp, undiplomatic exchange last Friday over the Israeli leader's frustration with the Obama Administration's Iran policy, the US congressman in that meeting said Thursday. Republican Congressman Mike Rogers from Michigan, who chairs the House Intelligence Committee, told a Michigan radio station that the "sharp exchange" was "unusual to say the least."

According to transcribed segments of the interview that appeared on Jeffrey Goldberg's blog, Rogers – when asked whether it was inaccurate to say the exchange was a shouting match – replied that "there were elevated concerns on behalf of the Israelis." Pressed whether he had ever experienced anything like that before, he said, "We've had sharp exchanges with other heads of state and in intelligence services and other things, but nothing at that level that I've seen in all my time where people were clearly that agitated, clearly that worked up about a particular issue where there was a very sharp exchange." Yedioth Ahronoth published on its front page last Friday a report of the exchange, saying that "sparks flew" during the meeting. Two days later Shapiro went on Channel 2 and denied the story, characterizing it as a "silly" report that "did not reflect what actually occurred in the meeting." Rogers said that it was "very, very clear" from the meeting that the Israelis "had lost their patience with the administration. There was no doubt." "Right now the Israelis don't believe that the US administration is serious when they say that all options are on the table, and more importantly neither do the Iranians. That's why the program is progressing," he said. Rogers said that he walked out of the meeting feeling that Israel was a "wits' end," and feeling that the window for impacting the Iranian program was starting to close. The Michigan Republican said that what was apparent was "a lot of frustration with the lack of clarity and the uncertainty" about the US administration's position on the Iranian issue. "And that's what I think I saw across the Middle East," he added. "The uncertainty about where the United States' position is on those questions has created lots of problems and anxiety that I think doesn't serve the world well and doesn't serve peace well."

Massive reservoir discovered beneath Western Wall

By MELANIE LIDMAN

09/06/2012 16:33

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

When a floor begins to give way in one the 2,000 year old tunnels underneath the Old City during excavations, archaeologists get excited. Holes in the floor can be dangerous, but they’re also a sign that there are even more layers of history underneath waiting to be discovered. Recently, when part of the floor collapsed in a massive underground drainage ditch deep below the Western Wall, as archaeologists were taking it apart to see how the floor was constructed, they could barely contain themselves. They were so excited to see what was down there that they couldn’t wait for additional lighting, and used their cell phones to see what they had found. Chief Architect Eli Shukron, who has been digging around Jerusalem for 25 years, was his first to stick his head in the hole. He was blown away by the size of the room they uncovered.

Based on previous research and excavations in the area, Shukron was immediately convinced they had stumbled on an enormous underground well from the First Temple Period. The finding is significant because it is the first evidence of stored water next to the Temple. Previously, experts believed that pilgrims and residents used to hike to the Gihon Spring, located in a wadi at the bottom of the City of David park, in order to get water for rituals and daily life around the First Temple. “It gives us an opportunity to understand their day to day life,” said Shukron on Thursday. The reservoir measures 12m x 5m x 4.5m and can hold approximately 250 cubic meters of water. It’s roughly the tenth of the size of an Olympic swimming pool, which holds 2,500 cubic meters of water. Shukron dates the reservoir from the First Temple period because it uses the same type of plaster as other reservoirs in the Gihon Springs area from the same time period. He is fairly certain that the reservoir was a public reservoir because the private wells could only hold a few dozen cubic meters of water. While the reservoir was in use, spring water running downhill from the Temple Mount would have seeped through one side of the reservoir and filled the entire room to capacity. On Thursday, a pool of fresh water was still standing at the bottom in one of the corners, even though it is the end of summer. Dr. Tvika Tsuk, chief archaeologist of the Nature and Parks Authority and an expert on ancient water systems, said the reservoir was similar to ones found in Beit Shemesh and Beer Sheva during the same time period. “Presumably the large water reservoir, which is situated near the Temple Mount, was used for the everyday activities of the Temple Mount itself and also by the pilgrims who went up to the Temple and required water for bathing and drinking,” he said. The excavations were carried out by Israel Antiquities Authority, funded by the Ir David Foundation, and with the support of Nature and Parks Authority. Even today, the handprints from the laborers who added the plaster are still visible. The reservoir’s discovery was presented on Thursday at the 13th annual conference on the “City of David Studies of Ancient Jerusalem,” which discuses findings from the past year in the City of David archaeological park. The drainage channels underneath the Western Wall plaza are part of a giant engineering project undertaken in the Second Temple Period. Even the debris filling the water channels contains unique discoveries: shards of pottery dating back 2,000 years, an ornamental golden bell that possibly belonged to a Cohain (high priest), and seals, one of which offered the first written reference to Bethlehem

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Uri — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:49:30 +0000

Terror Onslaught Continues: 30 Rockets on Sabbath

Gaza terrorists continued their attacks over the Sabbath, hitting southern Israel dozens of times.

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By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 6/23/2012, 9:13 PM

Rocket vicitm at Barzali Hospital (archives)

Flash 90

Gaza terrorists continued to fire on Israel over the Sabbath. The Iron Dome rocket defense system successfully shot down 5 rockets, but more than 20 hit southern communities. One rocket hit a factory in the Sha’ar Hanegev region. A worker was moderately wounded. Another rocket hit a school in Sderot, causing damage to the building. School was not in session, and no injuries were reported. Israeli warplanes fired on a terrorist as he prepared to launch a rocket. Pilots reported a hit. Sources in Gaza confirmed that the man was killed. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, and other senior defense officials to discuss the situation. He ordered them to take strong action to restore security to the south.

PM to security chiefs: Act strongly to protect the South

By JPOST.COM STAFF

LAST UPDATED: 06/23/2012 20:32

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

Photo: REUTERS video http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=274929 Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday told top security officials to continue acting strongly in order to ensure the safety of residents in Israel's South, following six days of rocket fire from Gaza Strip. The prime minister made the remarks during a situational held Saturday afternoon at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Channel 10 reported.

Later Saturday evening, Hamas said that an Egyptian-brokered cease fire between Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip and Israel was expected to take effect Saturday night, Channel 10 reported. IDF officials responded to the report saying "quiet will be answered with quiet and fire will be answered with fire," according to the report. Palestinians have fired over 23 rockets from Gaza into Israel since midnight. The IAF struck a rocket-launching cell in the northern Gaza Strip making final preparations to launch projectiles into Israel Saturday evening, the IDF Spokesman's Office said. Palestinian reports said one person was killed and ten were injured in the strike Earlier Saturday, the IAF struck another Palestinian terrorist who was preparing to launch a rocket into Israeli territory from northern Gaza, the IDF stated. Medical officials in Gaza said at least 30 people were injured in IAF strikes Saturday. In the earlier strike, the IDF said it recorded a direct hit and thwarted a rocket launch. A video released by the IDF Spokesman's office showed the targeting and attack of a man it said was an operative of the Popular Resistance Committees. The air strike followed a barrage of rockets fired into southern Israel Saturday morning, injuring one man and causing damage to a school and factory in Sderot. The wounded man, approximately 50 years old, suffered moderate-to-severe injuries after being struck by shrapnel in the neck and stomach. He was rushed to Barzilai Medical Center and was fully conscious. Two other residents suffered shock in the Palestinian attack. "Israel cannot remain silent in the face of continued rocket fire from the Gaza Strip," Home Front Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i said earlier Saturday during a visit to the afflicted areas of Sderot and the Sha'ar HaNegev Regional Council area. Vilna'i also paid a visit to the IDF's Gaza Division for an operational review of recent events. "We hold Hamas fully responsible for everything that happens in the Gaza ," Vilani said during the visit. "Israel is working, and will continue to work with a heavy hand against those terrorists that want to escalate the situation in the region." The minister stressed that, "the state attaches great importance to protecting the cities that lay within a radius of 4.5 to 7 km. of the Gaza Strip." Hamas's armed wing, the Izzadin Kassam Brigades, released a statement Saturday warning Israel over the recent escalation of violence in Gaza, saying if Israeli airstrikes continue "we are ready to smash [Israel's] arrogance." Israeli attacks, a statement published online by the group said, are a crime which Hamas cannot remain silent about and vowed a "proper" response. Palestinians have fired over twenty rockets from Gaza into southern Israel since midnight on Friday, police said. Fifteen of those landed in the Lachish region, and five in the Negev. One rocket hit and damaged a school in Sderot. No injuries were reported. The Iron Dome rocket defense system intercepted five of the rockets. 11 rockets were fired toward the Ashkelon Coast Regional Council, Channel 10 reported. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the recent round of rockets. Earlier, the IDF denied Palestinian reports that an IAF strike on Gaza had killed a four-year-old-boy and wounded seven others on Saturday. Quoting Gazan Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qidra, Palestinians news agency Ma'an reported that Israeli fire killed the boy in the Abasan neighborhood east of Khan Younis. The IDF denied any connection to the incident and stated that the IAF had not carried out any further strikes between the early morning and Saturday afternoon. In light of the recent wave of rockets, the IDF instructed residents in the area to stay within 15 seconds of protected spaces. In a conversation with Army Radio, Sderot Mayor David Buskila called on the government to return quiet to the region. The violence all but erases diplomatic progress made in the form of an informal ceasefire brokered by Egypt on June 20, which brought two days of relative quiet to southern Israel. Early Saturday morning, the IAF struck three Palestinian terror bases in the Gaza Strip in response to continued Palestinians rocket firing into Israel. Palestinian media reported that between 17 and 21 people were wounded in the strike - the third of its kind since Friday, which according to the reports have also resulted in the death of at least one terrorist. Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report

Iran general: Military strike would be end of Israel

By REUTERS

06/23/2012 18:04

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Photo: Baz Ratner / Reuters DUBAI - A high-ranking Iranian general said on Saturday Israeli military action against Iran's nuclear program would lead to the collapse of the Jewish state, Fars news agency reported. Last week's round of nuclear talks between Iran and world powers in Moscow failed to secure a breakthrough, heightening fears Israel might take unilateral military action to curb Iran's nuclear activities.

The two sides agreed to a follow-up meeting of technical experts on July 3, saving the process from outright failure. "They cannot do the slightest harm to the (Iranian) revolution and the system," Brigadier-General Mostafa Izadi, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, told Fars. "If the Zionist regime takes any (military) actions against Iran, it would result in the end of its labors," he added. "If they act logically, such threats amount to a psychological war but if they want to act illogically, it is they who will be destroyed." Izadi's comments are an apparent response to Vice Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz's calls for tougher sanctions against Tehran and his indication that military action was still an option. Analysts say Iranian officials use such rhetoric as a way of stoking Western concerns of chaos in the Middle East and the disruption of oil supplies in the event of military action. During negotiations in Moscow the six powers - the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany - demanded Iran scale back its nuclear work and, in particular, stop enriching uranium to levels that could bring it close to making an atom bomb. The demands included the shutting down of the Fordow underground uranium enrichment facility and the shipping of any stockpile out of the country. In return, they offered fuel to keep Iran's medical isotope reactor running, assistance in nuclear safety and an end to a ban on spare parts for Iran's aging civilian aircraft. Iran denies its work has any military purpose and says the powers should offer it relief from sanctions and acknowledge its right to enrich uranium before it meets their demands.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2012, 8:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian Pantsyr-1 air defense missile in Syria

To ambush the Turkish Air Force F-4 Super Phantom Friday, June 22, over Latakia Syria used Russian-made self-propelled medium range anti-air Pantsyr-1 missiles recently supplied by Moscow (not as first reported anti-air Buk-M2 missiles). This weapon can down aircraft flying at altitudes up to 12 kilometers and cruise missiles. The unit responsible for the ambush was the 73rd brigade of the Syrian army’s 26th Air Defense Division. Since the sophisticated weapons were delivered to the Assad regime in recent weeks, it must be assumed that local missile crews had not finished training in their use and would have had to rely on help from their Russian instructors to fire one. This would be the first instance in the 15-month Syrian uprising of an advanced Russian-supplied weapon hitting the military target of a NATO member. Hence the comment from Washington by US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland who said: “We’ve seen the reports… We have obviously been in contact with our Turkish ally…. To my knowledge, they haven’t raised this at NATO at this point.” Ankara has repeatedly threatened to ask NATO to invoke the pact’s article 5 obligating members to come to the aid of a fellow member coming under attack. In this case, however, the Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s rhetoric was relatively restrained. He vowed to “determinedly take necessary steps” in response “once the incident is fully clarified,” leaving Ankara’s response deliberately vague. President Abdullah Gul spoke out more strongly: “It is impossible to ignore our fighter jet being shot down by Syria,” he said after Damascus admitted to shooting down the plane, claiming its air defenses acted according to standard procedure before realizing it was a Turkish air force jet. Both are searching for the two missing pilots. debkafile’s military experts add: This was also the first time in five years any weapons system with Israeli manufacturing input had faced a Russian weapon acquired by Syria. The first time was September 6, 2007, when Israeli fighter-bombers demolished the Iranian-North Korean-built nuclear reactor in the northern Syrian town of Al-Kibar. Airspace over the reactor was guarded by Russian Pantsyr-S1 anti-air missiles. Israeli bombers got through by disabling the Russian missiles’ radar so that Damascus never realized its reactor was being bombed until it had been smashed and Israeli bombers were home. Five years later, Turkey has lost a Super Phantom which had undergone partial upgrading by the Israeli Aerospace Industry. However, two years ago, Ankara broke off its security and military ties with Jerusalem after a clash at sea between Turkish Mavi Marmara and Israel troops wich intercepted the vessel on its way to break Israel’s Gaza blockade, leaving nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists dead. By severing those ties, the Erdogan government left Israel’s improvements unfinished and the Turkish air force’s F-4 short of counter-measures for evading or attacking the latest Russian-made air defense weapons fired by Syria. According to, debkafile’s military sources waylaying a Turkish military plane over the sea was therefore a simple matter for the new Pantsyr-1. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan admitted Saturday that the jet was shot down over the Mediterranean around 13 kilometers west of the Syrian port of Latakia. He did not explain what a Turkish bomber fighter was doing over Syrian territorial waters, but the suggestion, which Western military sources have confirmed, was that Turkish military jets have lately been carrying out almost daily reconnaissance flights over the Syrian coast. Moscow and Damascus apparently decided it was time to stop the missions which among other things spied on the Russian arms supplies transiting Russian bases at the Syrian ports of Tartus and Latakia.

More than 120 missiles on southern Israel this week This week's round of terrorist aggression emanating from the Gaza Strip saw more than 120 mortar shells, short-range rockets and medium-range missiles slam into southern Israel. The attacks began late Monday, following a similar missile attack from the Egyptian Sinai. Israeli commentators believe Hamas and other allied terror groups in Gaza have been encouraged by Muslim Brotherhood claims of victory in Egypt's presidential election. Some one million Israelis live within missile range of Gaza, so every attack, especially those against larger towns like Ashkelon and Beersheva, send large numbers of men, women and children scrambling for bomb shelters. The severe negative psychological effect on Israeli children living in the area has been documented, but largely ignored by the media. Miraculously, all those rockets and missiles have resulted in only 11 injuries, all of them coming from a direct strike on a building near Ashkelon where Israeli border policemen were gathered. Israel's ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, lamented the weak response to the rocket fire by the international community, which is always quick to issue strident condemnations of Israel when its actions endanger Palestinian lives. The unfortunate reality is that the world, and especially the mainstream media, simply is not interested in the bombardment of Jewish population centers until either a large number of Israelis are hurt or killed, or Israeli reprisals result in large Palestinian casualty figures.

SWI NEWS: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 29 Sivan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:05:15 +0000

Four Palestinians killed in IAF Gaza bombings

By YAAKOV KATZ

06/18/2012 20:49

Airstrikes target Islamic Jihad operatives; IDF maintains high alert along Gaza border in expectation of terrorist retaliation.

Photo: REUTERS The Israel Air Force struck targets in the Gaza Strip on Monday in a series of airstrikes against what the military said were Islamic Jihad operatives engaged in anti-Israel terror activity. The first airstrike occurred in the early afternoon just hours after the attack from the Sinai which killed an Israeli construction worker. IDF sources said that the strikes were not connected to the attack.

In the first strike, an IAF aircraft targeted a motorbike, killing two Islamic Jihad men who were part of a terror cell responsible for recent shooting attacks along the border. In late May, an IDF officer and soldier were shot and wounded by a sniper and last week, shots were fired at an Israeli farmer working in his field near the border. The Palestinian Ma’an News Agency identified the men as Muhammad Shabat and Ismael Abu Ouda in their 20s. It said that both were members of Islamic Jihad's Al-Quds Brigades and were on their way to perpetrate an attack against Israel. The second airstrike took place in the evening when aircraft bombed a group of Palestinians, who the military said were preparing to launch a rocket into Israel in the northern Gaza Strip. Two Palestinians, both believe to be Islamic Jihad operatives, were killed. Following the airstrikes, the IDF continued to maintain a high alert along the border with Gaza in expectation that Islamic Jihad will try to retaliate to the killing of four of its operatives.

Russia, China, Iran plan to stage in Syria “biggest Mid East maneuver”

DEBKAfile Special Report June 18, 2012, 8:31 PM (GMT+02:00)

Middle East military tensions around Syria shot up again Monday, June 18, with the news reported by the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars that a joint Russian-Chinese-Iranian exercise is to take place in Syria. It was described as “the biggest of its kind ever staged in the Middle East” with 90,000 personnel, 400 air planes and 900 tanks taking part. As part of its preparations, Beijing is reported to have asked Egyptian authorities to permit the passage through the Suez Canal in late June of 12 naval ships heading for the Syrian port of Tartus, where Moscow maintains a naval and marine base. debkafile reported earlier this week that Russian naval vessels with marines on board were heading for Tartus. The Iranian media did not itemize their contribution to the joint exercise. debkafile stresses that this would be the first time that substantial Russian and Chinese military strength has ever been deployed in Syria or anywhere else in the Middle East. It means that the two powers are prepared to parade their unabashed partnership with the Iranian and Syrian armies for the shared purpose of obstructing US-European-Arab military intervention in Syria. A large-scale Russian and Chinese military presence in the embattled country would expect to deter the United States from leading a military operation against Bashar Assad and his regime. No date was attached to the report but the exercise may possibly take place before the end of the month The large-scale maneuver was announced in Tehran on the first day of the nuclear crisis talks in Moscow between Iran and the six world powers, their third attempt to resolve the crisis by diplomacy. However, Russian and Iranian sources close to the talks were pessimistic about progress. An Iranian delegation member complained the atmosphere was harsh and unconstructive. A Russian source saw no way of bridging US-led Western differences with Tehran when the parties reconvene Monday. debkafile also notes that the big joint Russian-Chinese-Iranian exercise “at sea, air and land on Syrian soil,” ws released for publication shortly before US President Barack Obama was due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit in Mexico.

Israel-Egypt border continues to heat up

Montag, 18. Juni 2012 | Ryan Jone

A firefight that left three people dead erupted along the Israel-Egypt border on Monday, just two days after Sinai-based terrorists fired two medium-range missile into southern Israel. Around 6 AM Monday morning, a group of at least three terrorists crossed from the Egyptian Sinai into southern Israel and attacked a group of construction workers who were building a portion of the new border fence. One construction worker was killed and another seriously wounded in the attack. A team of IDF soldiers quickly responded to the scene, killing two terrorists and causing the others to flee. The army was still searched for the remaining terrorists at press time, and residents of southern Israel were warned to remain indoors. On Saturday, forces operating out of the Egyptian-controlled Sinai Peninsula fired two medium-range Grad missiles at targets in southern Israel. The missiles landed near the Negev town of Mitzpe Ramon and the Uvda Airfield, where Israel is mulling the construction of a new international airport. Both sites had never before been targeted by terrorist rocket fire. Around this time last year, a terrorist cell infiltrated southern Israel from the Sinai and murdered seven Israeli motorists and one army officer on the highway leading to Eilat. This week's attacks came as Egyptians were electing a new president for the first time since the fall of former dictator Hosni Mubarak. The leading candidate in the run-off presidential vote that took place over the weekend is Mohammed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood. Mursi has already declared victory, and Israel fears that with the Brotherhood in control of both Egypt's parliament and presidency, open war between the two nations is only a matter of time. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that the attacks from Sinai must be curbed. "Whoever is elected, we expect him to take responsibility for all of Egypt's international commitments, including the peace treaty with Israel and the security arrangements within Sinai, and to put a quick end to these attacks," Barak told reporters following Monday's attack. Erhalten Sie unseren täglichen, KOSTENLOSEN israel heute-newsletter per e-mail und bleiben Sie Tag für Tag über die Geschehnisse in Israel auf dem Laufenden!

IDF Armored Corps Moves to Southern Border

The IDF Armored Division moves closer to Israel's southern border following a terror attack Monday on contractors building a border fence.

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By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 6/18/2012, 5:40 PM

Egyptian border

Reuters

The IDF Armored Division has moved closer to Israel's southern border following a terror attack Monday on contractors building a border fence. A number of Merkava tanks were moved closer to the border with Egypt after two Palestinian Authority terrorists killed 36-year-old Said Phashpashe of Haifa, a father of four. A second worker was wounded as well. Golani troops clashed with the terror cell, killing the operatives. It is believed that a third terrorist may have also been involved, but could have escaped back into the Sinai Peninsula. The IDF later withdrew the tanks as soon as it was confirmed that the border was secured and no infiltrators remained on the Israeli side. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu commented Monday the attack would not stop Israel from completing the security fence. "The attack was most likely aimed at Israeli citizens and against people who work on the security fence along the Egyptian border,” the prime minister pointed out. "This barrier is meant both to prevent terrorism and also to prevent the entrance of infiltrators. Its construction is of supreme national interest,” he said

SWI NEWS: Tue, May 1, 2012 9 Iyar, 5772

Uri — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:55:04 +0000

Netanyahu's father dies at age 102

Montag, 30. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

Israel on Monday collectively mourned the passing of Benzion Netanyahu, scholar, Zionist leader, and father of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He was 102. Unsurprising considering his age, Benzion Netanyahu was around for the rebirth of the Jewish state, and played a leading role in that miraculous episode. Benzion Netanyahu was born in Warsaw, Poland. He moved with his family to the Land of Israel (then under British Mandate rule) in 1920. He worked for years as the personal aide of Zeev Jabotinsky, a leader in the Zionist movement and founder of Revisionist Zionism. Revisionist Zionism, to which Benzion Netanyahu dedicated his life, was and remains at odds with the more dominant Labor Zionism in that it views the establishment (and now the strengthening) of a Jewish state as its primary goal. Revisionist Zionism originally demanded that the Jews be given sovereignty over all the territories once ruled by their biblical forefathers, including territories that are today part of neighboring Jordan. At the social level, Revisionist Zionism was and still is more focused on strengthening the middle class as a means of boosting the entire economy, a concept that is today the cornerstone of capitalism. By contrast, Labor Zionism is more socialist and welfare-minded in its economic orientation. Revisionist Zionism is the founding ideology of Israel's Likud Party, and both Jabotinsky and Benzion Netanyahu are seen as the "fathers" of Knesset faction that Benjamin Netanyahu today leads. During the 1940s, Benzion lived in the US as head of Jabotinsky's New Zionist Organization of America in order to promote the Zionist goal of establishing a strong and independent Jewish state. Contemporaries have since acknowledged that Benzion's efforts were instrumental in building the foundation for strong American support for Israel. It was because of his lobbying efforts that first the Republican and then the Democratic parties both included support for Israel as part of their official party platforms. Benzion Netanyahu returned to Israel in 1949 following the establishment of the state of Israel. Later in his life, Benzion Netanyahu served as chief editor for the Encyclopedia Hebraica and became a recognized expert on Jewish history in Spain. He eventually returned to the US where he was a professor at Dropsie College (1957-1966), the University of Denver (1968-1971) and Cornell University (1971-1975). Benzion's eldest son, Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed while leading the daring 1976 raid to free 106 airline passengers being held hostage by pro-Palestinian terrorists at Entebbe Airport in Uganda. Following that tragedy, Benzion moved the rest of his family back to Israel. Benzion Netanyahu never shied away from publicly opposing any of the policies of the younger Netanyahu that he felt were harmful to the strengthening of Israel and the gradual return to Jewish sovereignty of all the biblical homeland.

Norwegian Scholar Connects Breivik's Attack to Mossad

Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung connects Mossad to Breivik massacre, claims Jews control 96% of world media.

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By Arutz Sheva Staff

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 2:14 AM

Anders Behring Breivik

Reuters

Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung has said that he is not ruling out the possibility that the Mossad was involved in the massacre carried out by Anders Behring Breivik last July. The comments were made by Galtung last September at a lecture entitled “Ten Theses on July 22” at the University of Oslo. July 22 was the date on which Breivik shot panicked youths at point-blank range at the Utoya island, killing 69 people. He also claimed that Breivik “belonged to the Freemasonry organization which is based on Judaism.” Galtung, who founded the Peace Research Institute Oslo in 1959, noted that the date on which the massacre took place is the same date when, in 1946, the underground Jewish movement the Irgun planted explosives at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, the headquarters of the British Army at the time. Warnings were given by members of the Irgun to clear the hotel, but were ignored by the British. Furthermore, in a recent interview with the Norwegian magazine Humanist quoted by the Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv on Monday, Galtung claimed that Jews control the world media and tilt public opinion in favor of Israel. “The Jews control 96 percent of world media,” Galtung claimed during the interview, adding that the directors of Walt Disney, Warner Brothers and Viacom are all Jews, as are directors in the big American television networks. “Is this accidentatl? If there is a Jewish boss it means Jewish control,” he claimed. Referring to the massacre in Norway, Galtung told the newspaper that a European journalist who had surmised that the Mossad was behind the massacre “was vilified.” He then added that there was also a conspiracy to assassinate a former U.S. senator known for his anti-Israel positions. Galtung claimed that Israel is the only place in the world in which the issue of anti-Semitism is permitted to be dealt with and said that Jews think that only they are allowed to speak out against themselves. “I remember a famous professor in Israel who said, ‘Anti-Semitism means opposing us more than we deserve,’” Galtung said. “The meaning of his words is that he believes that Jews deserve some of the accusations, but thinks that only Jews can say that.” Soon after Breivik carried out his horrendous attack, anti-Zionists tried to pin it on Israel and the Mossad. The Al Jazeera network, for example, published an article by Gilad Atzmon, an Israeli-born British jazz saxophonist and political activist known for his criticisms of Zionism, Jewish identity, and Judaism. Atzmon harped on the Norwegian Labor party’s support for boycotting Israel and noted, “The Labor Party Youth Movement have been devoted promoters of the Israel Boycott campaign. Many of the children who were gunned down by Breivik earlier had held up anti-Israel signs."

Rocket Attack Strikes Near Sderot

Gaza terrorists launched a short-range Qassam rocket attack on Sderot Monday night. The rocket landed in an open area.

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By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 4/30/2012, 10:41 PM

Qassam rocket (archive)

Flash 90

Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists in Gaza aimed at southern Israel Monday night, launching a rocket attack at the town of Sderot. The short-range Qassam missile landed in an area about a kilometer away from Israel's security fence along the Gaza border. The explosion occurred in an open area, and no property damage was reported by the authorities. No one was physically injured. Residents received a 15-second warning of the impending attack due to the Color Red incoming rocket alert system. However, residents living in areas targeted by rocket attacks are frequently traumatized. Children have their sleep disrupted and are often frightened when they are snatched up from their beds by parents in order to run to a bomb shelter or other space space. In addition, those affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to prior attacks are typically re-traumatized as a result.

Olmert: U.S. Should Lead Attack on Iran, Not Israel

Former PM Olmert says any military action against Iran should be led by the U.S., hints he doesn't trust Netanyahu and Barak.

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By Elad Benari

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 4:14 AM

Ehud Olmert

Israel News Photo: Flash 90

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has said that if international efforts to halt Iran's nuclear program fail, any military action against Tehran should be led by the United States and not by Israel. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour which was recorded on Sunday and aired on Monday, Olmert said, “The last resort is a military action. And I prefer that it would be an American action -- supported by the international community -- if all the other efforts would fail.” Olmert added that the U.S. government should decide on the extent and the scope of any military action, saying, “Israel certainly could be part of the effort, but Israel should not lead it.” The former Prime Minister said there is no immediate need for military action against Tehran. “I know one thing: that the Iranian leadership has not gone beyond a certain line for the time being of developing the nuclear program. And that shows that they are at least thoughtful, which means that they are not rushing, but they are calculating their steps.” In the interview, Olmert also responded to the harsh remarks made over the weekend by former Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin. Diskin attacked Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak at an open forum, saying they are “messianic” and “unfit to hold the reins of power. They give the public a false picture on the Iran question. They create the feeling that if Israel does not act, Iran will have a nuclear bomb, even though experts think that an attack on Iran will cause it to speed up the process of arming with nuclear weapons.” Olmert described as “quite unusual” the comments from Diskin and added, “I prefer to distinguish between the personal aspects of what he said and the substantial aspects of what he said. We don't think that the priorities are set in the right way. First priority, as I said, is cooperation with America from a respectful and serious and careful attitude and not trying to teach the president of America or preach to the president of America or blame the president of America, but rather cooperate with him.” Olmert also implied that, like Diskin, he did not trust the current leaders of Israel to make the right decisions. “You have to have full trust in the judgment of those who have to take decisions,” said Olmert. “And you could understand from what I said that maybe something in my trust is lacking.” Asked if he does not have full trust in the Netanyahu government, Olmert replied, “Apparently.” He admitted he was “worried” that a preemptive attack on Iran could be a “terrible, terrible mistake for the security and the well-being of Israel.” Olmert, who faces a series of indictments and court hearings on charges of bribery and abusing public trust, was recently the keynote speaker at the annual J Street conference. The organization describes itself as being “pro-Israel” and “pro-peace,” but many Jews believe that the organization actually undermines the interests of the State of Israel and Jewish people. Only several days ago, J Street’s regional director said that in the event that war broke out involving Israel, J Street would not necessarily support the Jewish state. When Olmert served as Prime Minister, he was determined to reach a peace agreement with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. He went so far as to offer Abbas 94 percent of Judea and Samaria, a shared jurisdiction of Jerusalem, and allowing 5,000 PA Arabs who left their homes in 1948 back into Israel. The details of Olmert’s offer were revealed several months ago in former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s memoir

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:53:08 +0000

War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes

In simulation by Makor Rishon newspaper, Israel strikes on October 16, loses 10 jets. Angry Obama refuses to intervene.

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 7:41 PM

Israeli F-15

Israel news photo: Flash 90

In a simulation war game featuring Israelis in senior positions, Israel loses 10 fighter jets in a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and manages to set back the Iranian nuclear program by seven years. An angry President Barack Obama takes no steps against Israel but also refuses to intervene on its side. In the war game, conducted by Makor Rishon newspaper, the strike takes place on October 16, 2012, just three weeks before the U.S. election. The simulation was carried out with the participation of former Government Secretary Yisrael Maimon as a member of the "Octet" of trusted ministers and Home Front Minister; Iran expert Dr. Eldad Pardo as the Iranian regime; Maj. Gen. (ret.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu as a senior member of the Octet; Begin-Sadat Center Chairman Prof. Efraim Inbar as the Prime Minister; Dr. Mordechai Kedar as "the Palestinians," Hizbullah and the Arab countries; journalist Amit Segal as Israeli and world press; journalist Ofer Shelach as Preient Barack Obama and Makor Rishon journalist Amnon Lord as game administrator. According to the game's premise, on October 14 and 15, four independent and reliable Mossad intelligence sources indicate that Iran has begun transferring its strategic nuclear equipment to underground sites in Qom. Military Intelligence, meanwhile, determines that Iran was ready to enrich weapons-grade uranium. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu lulls the press into complacency by maintaining a seemingly regular schedule in Jerusalem. In the pre-dawn hours of October 16, the IDF launches Operation Yahalom ("Diamond"). The nuclear sites at Natanz and Arak are bombed, as are several other nuclear plants and research centers. Ten IAF jets are shot down. President Obama receives word of the strike when he is speaking to 350 rabbis in Florida. He convenes a consultation and says that Israel's "excuse" for bombing is "irrelevant" because while Iran's nuclear facilities may become immune to an Israeli attack by moving underground, they will not become immune to a U.S. attack. The timing of the strike "basically amounts to an intervention in the elections," Obama adds. "The attack will have immediate repercussions influencing the election considerations of voters here, such as the expected rise in the price of oil. Israel could have waited until after the elecions." In the simulation, the formal White House announcement calls on Israel to cease hostilities but does not place sanctions on it or threaten it. On the other hand, it offers no assistance. "Israel is responsible for its own fate," it says. "It went against our wishes, and therefore we do not offer it a military umbrella of protection against military responses by Iran or its proxies." Iran sends 1,500 tanks toward the border with Iraq and instructs Hizbullah to fire missiles at Israel. It also launches a series of large scale terror actions and fires missiles from Lebanon and from its own territory at hi-tech targets in Herzliya, suceeding in destroying Intel's headquarters. A suicide bomber kills a large number of cadets in the IDF's hi-tech Talpiyot program. Low-level radiation is released in Tel Aviv by a "dirty bomb." In the war game, Israeli media shows surprising solidarity and unity on the day of the attack, initially sparing the government from criticism. Republican candidate Mitt Romney calls upon Obama to give Israel his backing "immediately." Obama, meanwhile, threatens an Israeli minister who speaks with him on the phone: "I may still be president on November 7. This will have a price, as far as you are concerned. I will not elaborate right now, but you should take this into consideration." Iran decides to try and drive a wedge between Israel and the U.S.. It therefore tells the U.S. it will supply it with as much oil as it needs, in the hope of helping Obama get reelected. In late October, its agents blow up a car bomb in Tel Aviv and fire a missile at an El Al jet from a ship in the Mediterranean, killing 300 people. Meanwhile, intelligence indicates that Iran's nuclear program has been set back 7 years by the Israeli strikes. With U.S. elections days away, Obama decides that "enough is enough" and begins to threaten Iran with a U.S. attack if it does not cease its hostilities against Israel. Whether real life will be anything like the simulation by Makor Rishon remains to be seen.

Terrorists freed in Schalit deal return to terror

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/17/2012 16:52

Shin Bet: Two terrorists released in Gilad Schalit deal rearrested for trying to commit terrorist acts.

Photo: REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed Tuesday two cases of Palestinian terrorists who were released in the prisoner swap for Gilad Schalit last year but have since returned to engage in anti-Israel terrorist activity. In October 2011, Israel released over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in a deal with Hamas which brought Schalit home after five years of captivity in the Gaza Strip.

The first case is Omar Abu Snina, who was released to the Gaza Strip. According to the Shin Bet, Abu Snina – a known Hamas operative – has been working in recent months to recruit Palestinians from the West Bank into Hamas’s ranks. The Shin Bet said that it obtained a memory card Abu Snina had sent family members in the West Bank which included detailed instructions related to kidnapping soldiers, illegally obtaining weapons and establishing a terrorist cell. The second case is of Daoud Hilo, a 22-yearold resident of the Amari refugee camp near Ramallah. He was arrested about a month after his release for illegally purchasing weapons. He was convicted in late March and will return to prison for four more years. Last month, senior IDF officers in the Central Command warned of the growing involvement of Palestinians released in the Schalit exchange in terror activity in the West Bank. The officers said the IDF had noted a dramatic increase in the smuggling of cash into the West Bank since the beginning of the year and that some of the money was to be used to reestablish terror cells for the 55 Palestinians released to the West Bank under the deal.

India confiscates Israeli defense firm’s m guarantee, clouding relations

DEBKAfile Special Report April 17, 2012, 7:01 PM (GMT+02:00)

Indian army's 155mm howitzers - out of ordnance

The Israeli government spared no effort to save the day. However, even after Prime Minister Netanyahu’s security adviser Yaacov Amidror visited New Delhi to intercede with top security and government officials, India decided, for the first time in its history, to penalize a foreign defense vendor, Israel’s Military Industries (IMI), for alleged breach of contract. To the dismay of officials in Jerusalem, the IMI was singled out for the penalty with loud publicity from among five defense vendors – three foreign and two Indian - recommended for blacklisting in March for alleged involvement in a graft case. Its million guarantee was accordingly confiscated. In Jerusalem, it is strongly suspected that India is deliberately cooling its defense relations with Israel to fit in with its new alignment with Tehran and Moscow. All three refuse to join US and European sanctions against Iran. The IMI signed a contract with the Indian OFB-Ordinance Factory Board to build ordnance factories at Nalanda in Bihar for manufacturing bi-modular charges for the Indian Army’s 155mm howitzers. The 0 million contract contained an “integrity pact” covering a commitment to abstain from “malpractice.” Delhi says the IMI forfeited its guarantee because it was allegedly involved in the offer of a bribe to former OFB director general Sudipto Ghosh in 2010. IMI sources pointed out that an Indian court had ruled the encashment of the guarantee improper. The firm operated within the law and intends to appeal the decision and the handling of the case before the competent authorities. The decision, they say, was based on disputed facts and ignored the documents and information refuting the charges which were presented to the Indian Defense Ministry. debkafile’s military sources add that Israel’s defense leaders made every effort, including an appeal by Yaacov Amidror to Indian defense minister A.K. Antony, to get its military industries removed from the blacklist banning its operations in India for 10 years, and reinstated. It was all in vain. New Delhi’s decision to confiscate the million guarantee was taken and published Tuesday without letting Jerusalem know it was coming. The next day, Antony visited the OFB ordnance factory and approved a special operating budget for getting production at Nalanda up and running without outside help. On March 12, the Indian Chief of Staff Gen. V.K. Singh sent a letter to the prime minister in Delhi complaining that the army’s tank fleet is short of guns and ammunition for fighting off a potential enemy (Pakistani) tank assault; 97 percent of its air defense systems are inoperative; and its special forces have neither the right arms for their operations nor ammo. The situation in the Indian infantry, engineering and signals corps is no better. The letter, say our military sources was fired off as a shot in the feud among India’s top generals, security chiefs and politicians. In the free-for-all, they all accuse each other of corruption and graft related to military procurement. Gen. Singh said he too was offered a .8 billion bribe in 2010. All Israel’s efforts to keep its defense transactions with New Delhi clear of its domestic infighting were fruitless.

Gold rush in the mountains of Eilat

By SHARON UDASIN

04/17/2012 04:02

A subsidiary of Gulliver Energy, headed by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is request a gold exploration license.

Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

A subsidiary of Gulliver Energy, headed by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is partnering with an Australian mineral mining firm to request a gold exploration license in the mountains of Eilat. The two companies – Anat Oil Exploration, a daughter company of Gulliver Energy, and Northwood Exploration – have submitted a request to the Energy and Water Ministry for an exploration permit that covers an area of 43 square kilometers in the Nahal Roded region of the area, according to Gulliver. In a 51-49 percent partnership respectively, Northwood and Anat intend to conduct numerous tests, analyses and drillings in the location to determine whether there is justification for mining for gold and other accompanying metals in the area, the Israeli firm said. Evidence that there may be gold in the region is based on a geochemical survey conducted by the Geological Survey of Israel as well as previous research projects that have identified a presence of gold in the Nahal Roded and Yedidya Passage areas, according to Gulliver. In two past drillings conducted in the region, investigators found gold in concentrations of 3-4 grams per ton at a depth of 40-50 meters, the company said. Among the leaders of the Australian-Israeli venture will be head geologist Yoram Grossowicz and Avi Olshina, a special adviser to the project who has served as an expert on gold at the Geological institute of the Australian state of Victoria – GeoScience Victoria. Thus far, the work plan for the exploration includes the implementation of continuous core drilling as well as the launch of an atmospheric aeromagnetic survey over the entire licensed area by means of helicopters, the company said. While the region may contain some of the sparkling expensive metal, much of the lands in the Eilat mountains technically constitute a Israel Nature and Parks Authority protected nature reserve. The INPA would not issue an official statement regarding the matter, but a representative from the authority charged that the companies “do not want to mine gold; they want to boost the value of their stock, and we are not willing to participate in this game.” Meanwhile, Eilot Regional Council head Udi Gat told The Jerusalem Post on Monday that he has not yet received any information about the project. Assuming that the company is only doing a small amount of drilling and intends to repair the environment to how it was before, Gat said he is not sure whether he would be for or against the plan, and that he needs much more information from Gulliver to offer his opinion on their intentions.

MK Tibi in Canada: Boycott Products from 'Settlements'

MK Tibi in Ottawa: Settlements are a cancer spreading all over Palestinian land. Boycott products manufactured there.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/18/2012, 12:14 AM

MK Ahmed Tibi

Flash 90

Arab MK Ahmed Tibi, notorious for making statements against Israel while he serves in its parliament, has called for a boycott of products manufactured in Judea, Samaria, and east Jerusalem. Tibi made the controversial comments during a visit in Ottawa, Canada, on Monday. According to a report in The Montreal Gazette, Tibi also said he was aware that his remarks were a direct violation of the boycott law approved by the Knesset last July, though he seemed unfazed by that fact. “I said that I am willing to test this immoral law trying to prevent me, as a member of the parliament, from expressing my views against the settlements in a peaceful way,” The Montreal Gazette quoted Tibi as having said during his visit to Ottawa. “This is the first time that someone is calling and demanding abroad.” The boycott bill prevents companies from participating in government bids if they take part in a boycott of a business in Israel. It stipulates that anyone calling for an economic, cultural or academic boycott against the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria will be unable to participate in government tenders. In addition, any person who considers himself a victim of a boycott could sue the boycotter for compensation. Tibi, who served for a time as an adviser to the late Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, noted in Ottawa that successive Canadian governments have turned a disapproving eye on Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. “But it seems that the Canadian government is not willing to differentiate between, for example, products coming from settlements and products coming from Israel,” Tibi said. He added, “Settlements are a cancer spreading all over Palestinian land, and cancer should be treated and eradicated. I am talking about a peaceful and non-violent way by not buying or selling or dealing in these products from these settlements.” Tibi’s long history of anti-Israel activities includes going to New York to be a part of the Palestinian Authority’s delegation to the United Nations when it presented its unilateral statehood bid last September. Last January Tibi praised the Palestinian Authority’s “martyrs” at a ceremony held on the occasion of "Palestinian Martyrs Day” and sponsored by PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. “In the history of the peoples and their battles, the Palestinian shahid (martyr) is the height of glory,” Tibi said. “There is no higher value than death for the sake of Allah. The martyr is the one who breaks through and with his blood draws the journey to freedom and liberation.” After the boycott bill was passed last July, Yisrael Beiteinu MK Alex Miller said he would be the first to utilize it against none other than Tibi, after the latter called for a boycott of the city of Ariel. "Tibi's party is not immune to lawsuits and certainly is not above the law," Miller, an Ariel resident, said. "Whoever shows contempt for the law and stomps on it will be responsible for the outcome," he added. Miller explained that the law is meant to prevent economic damage caused by boycotts, and that Tibi's words could make investors hesitate before doing business in Ariel.

Report: Palestinian sentenced to death for selling house to Jews

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

The Palestinian man accused of selling a house near Hebron's Cave of the Patriarchs to a Jewish family has reportedly been sentenced to death by the Palestinian Authority. Israeli newspaper Makor Rishon reported that Mohammed Abu Shahala acted as an agent for the original Palestinian owner of what has come to be known as "Machpela House." After the story went public, sources in Hebron told the newspaper that Shahala was arrested and tortured by Palestinian security. During his second "interrogation" session, Shahala confessed not only to acting as an agent for local Palestinians willing to sell their houses to Jews, but also to cooperating with Israel's Mossad spy agency. Shahala reportedly received an expedited trial, and his death sentence is now awaiting the signature of Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas. Several Jewish settler leaders are trying to save his life. In an open letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and the heads of the European Union and International Red Cross, Hebron Jewish community leaders David Wilder and Noam Arnon pleaded for international intervention on behalf of Shahala. "It is appalling to think that property sales should be defined as a ‘capital crime’ punishable by death," they wrote. "What would be the reaction to a law in the United States, England, France, or Switzerland, forbidding property sales to Jews? Actually, less than one hundred years ago, such acts were legislated and practiced, known as the infamous ‘Nuremberg laws.'" Danny Dayan, head of the Yesha Council of Jewish communities, stated, "Abu Shahala will be executed in Ramallah, barely 15 minutes drive from the government's headquarters in Jerusalem. He is being executed for the 'crime' of helping Jews buy a home in Hebron. Israel cannot allow this travesty to take place." Since its inception in 1993 and its coming to power in 1995, the Palestinian Authority has maintained old Jordanian laws that made it a capital offense to sell property to Jews. More often than not, Israel sides with the Palestinian Authority on these issues for fear of provoking a violent Muslim outburst. That is what happened with the Machpela House, where earlier this month the new Jewish owners were forcibly evicted by the Israeli army.

Flytilla activists scrawl swastika at Israel airport

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

The so-called "peace" activists who attempted to infiltrate Israel via Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday would likely identify with those of Israel's most emphatic critics who insist that despite their disdain for the Jewish state, they are not anti-Semitic. But more often than not, the behavior of these individuals betrays their true disposition. That is what happened on Monday, when it was discovered that at least one of the flytilla activists who was detained at Ben Gurion had scrawled a Nazi swastika on the wall of a holding facility. The enormously offensive and anti-Semitic graffiti was found by Israeli Immigration Authority officials following the deportation of two foreign activists, citizens of Spain and France, respectively. "This was the gift the 'peace activists' left Israel," one Immigration Authority official told theYnet news portal. A total of 79 foreign activists managed to reach Israel this week. Most were detained at the airport, handed a wry letter of "welcome" by Israel's Foreign Ministry, and then deported to their home countries. Hundreds more activists were planning to invade Israel, but were thwarted when the airlines suddenly cancelled their tickets.

SWI NEWS: Tue, Apr 17, 2012 25 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:56:09 +0000

Israel: Obama’s secret dealings with Iran conflict with US-Israeli understandings DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 16, 2012, 3:07 PM (GMT+02:00)

Barack Obama and his double diplomatic track

The fundamental rift on Iran between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu burst into the open Monday, April 16 when high-ranking Israeli officials close to Netanyahu directly accused the president of reneging on the US-Israeli understandings reached ahead of the Istanbul talks between the six powers and Iran on April 14. Behind the show biz of Istanbul, they charged, the US and Iran had reached secret agreements in clandestine bilateral contacts channeled through Paris and Vienna. The row surfaced Sunday when Netanyahu said the US and world powers by agreeing to hold more talks in Baghdad next month had given Tehran a "freebie" of five more weeks to continue enriching uranium without restrictions. By singling out the US, the prime minister aimed his comment directly at the president. Obama’s response was fast. At a news conference ending the Western Hemisphere summit in Cartagenia, Colombia, he commented sharply: "The notion that somehow we've given something away or a `freebie' would indicate Iran has gotten something. In fact, they've got some of the toughest sanctions that they're going to be facing coming up in just a few months if they don't take advantage of these talks." That is the very point on which Israel accuses the US president of playing false: time. As disclosed by debkafile on April 9, American and Israeli officials preceded the Istanbul talks with an understanding for the US to put before Iran agreed demands/concessions: Iran would be allowed to keep 1,000 centrifuges for the low-level enrichment of uranium up to 3.5 percent purity, the first time Israel had accepted the principle of Iran enriching uranium at any grade at all. It was also agreed between Washington and Jerusalem that Iran would not be permitted to keep 20 percent enriched uranium, which is a short step before weapons-grade, in any quantity. These understandings, known as the “1,000 principle,” were meant to represent the final upshot of the formal negotiations with Iran, a consensus to which US diplomats would aspire in as short a time possible. In the event, the US delegation did not present any of the agreed demands – or any other - to the Iranians attending the first round of talks in Turkey. The belated sense of being misled prompted the prime minister’s exceptionally sharp reaction. Israeli official sources now suspect that in their secret contacts, the US has granted Iran far-reaching concessions on its nuclear program - more than Israel would find acceptable. The formal talks in Istanbul and in Baghdad on May 23 are seen as nothing but a device to screen the real business the US and Iran have already contracted on the quiet.

Muslim Radical Salah Returns to Israel

Six months after being arrested in London, Sheikh Raed Salah, who heads the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, returned to Israel.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 12:14 AM

Sheikh Raed Salah

Reuters

Sheikh Raed Salah, who heads the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, returned to Israel on Monday evening, about six months after he was arrested in London following an unauthorized entry into the UK. Salah was arrested in the London hotel at which he was staying last June. Local immigration authorities claimed that Salah had entered Britain illegally despite having previously been declared persona non grata. Despite Salah being banned from the country, airport police allowed him to enter. Labor Members of Parliament had invited him to speak at the legislature despite the ban, which did not prevent him from passing through immigration inspection at Heathrow Airport. He was reportedly arrested only after British newspapers published his appearance. The British Home Office subsequently agreed to release Salah. A British immigration board later ruled that Salah is “undesirable” and can be deported from the United Kingdom. Salah was previously arrested and jailed several times in Israel for incitement and assaulting police officers. After he landed in Israel on Monday, Salah was taken by the police at the airport for a short interrogation, after which he was released.

Fayyad Ignores Israeli Sovereignty, Launches New Dam

PA Prime Minister inaugurates new PA construction project, despite the fact that it is located in an area under full Israeli control.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 5:13 AM

Salam Fayyad

Reuters

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has inaugurated a new PA construction project, despite the fact that it is located in an area under full Israeli control, the PA-based WAFA news agency reported on Monday. According to a statement issued by Fayyad’s office, he inaugurated on Monday stage one of a water dam to be built in “Palestine” at a cost of over million. The statement quoted by WAFA said that during a visit to the village of Ouja and the Jordan Valley, Fayyad inaugurated the Ouja Dam, which he said is one of the projects to develop Area C, which falls under full Israeli control. “Our non-stop efforts to develop the area known as Area C and every inch of our country aim mainly to benefit from our resources, mainly our water resources,” Fayyad was quoted as having said. He added that building the Ouja Dam is proof that “we will not be deterred by unfair classifications and names.” Fayyad also noted that he will not wait for Israeli permission to allow him to develop the Jordan Valley. According to WAFA, he stressed that “this is our land and it is our natural right to develop this area and to serve our people living here.” Fayyad said that the Jordan Valley is “part of the occupied Palestinian territory and a vital part of the future independent state of Palestine.” According to WAFA, the Islamic Development Bank contributed million toward developing stage one of the Ouja Dam and the Palestinian Authority paid over ,000 toward that end. Work will now start on stage two of the project. The report said that Fayyad also condemned the IDF for what he claimed was its assault against Palestinian and international activists who wanted to hold a bicycle tour of the Jordan Valley area last week. Fayyad claimed that Lt. Col. Shalom Eisner’s striking of an anarchist provocateur who rioted and broke Eisner’s hand is “what happens to the Palestinian people on daily basis,” according to WAFA. Fayyad’s provocative actions and remarks came a day before his meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Last week it was reported that Netanyahu will seek direct talks with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during the meeting.

Former Amb.: Israel Should Set 'Red Lines' for Talks with PA

Dr. Dore Gold, former Ambassador to the United Nations, says Israel should set ‘red lines’ should it restart negotiations with the PA.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 2:13 AM

PA Prime Minister Fayyad

Flash 90

Dr. Dore Gold, former Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and former advisor to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, said on Monday that Israel should set ‘red lines’ should it restart negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. Dr. Gold spoke to Arutz Sheva ahead of a meeting between Netanyahu and the PA’s Prime Minister, Salam Fayyad, on Tuesday. Last week it was reported that Netanyahu will seek direct talks with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during the meeting. According to his office, Netanyahu will propose "raising the level of talks" and holding face-to-face negotiations with Abbas. Gold told Arutz Sheva that he believes Netanyahu has actually started drawing his ‘red lines’ when he stressed the importance of an Israeli security presence in the Jordan Valley as part of a future agreement with the PA. He added that a demand that Abbas recognize the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people is another red line that should be set by Netanyahu. Gold also addressed recent reports, according to which Fayyad intends to demand, during the meeting with Netanyahu, that Israel return to the indefensible pre-1967 borders, halt all construction in Judea and Samaria and release all PA prisoners. He described these demands as “a dream” of the PA leadership, noting that the question now is whether any negotiations will be held based on dreams or on red lines. On Sunday, it was reported that during the meeting on Tuesday, Fayyad will present Netanyahu with a letter from Abbas, in which the PA Chairman writes that Israel’s actions have stripped the Palestinian Authority of its “raison d'etre”, creating a reality which cannot continue. “As a result of actions taken by successive Israeli governments, the Palestinian National Authority no longer has any authority, and no meaningful jurisdiction in the political, economic, territorial and security spheres,” says the letter. “In other words, the PA lost its raison d'etre which, if it continues, will make it unable to honor its commitments,” Abbas says, referring to the multiple agreements signed with Israel since the 1993 Oslo Accords, which brought about the creation of the Palestinian Authority a year later. Jordan recently hosted a series of “exploratory meetings” between Israeli and PA representatives. However, the PA refused to continue to talk after those meetings and Abbas has continued to impose preconditions on negotiations, also threatening to cancel any agreements signed between the sides after 2000. Abbas may be reacting to the fact that the world - and even the Israeli left and Israel's Arabs - has lost much of its interest in the Palestinian Arab cause, as can be seen by the failed flytilla and March on Jerusalem, one reason being that the Arab Spring has shown where the real problems are.

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:05:15 +0000

Former US Official: Pollard May Yet be Released

Former US undersecretary of defense Lawrence Korb says Jonathan Pollard may yet be released, perhaps in June.

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/10/2012, 9:18 PM

Jonathan Pollard

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Former undersecretary of defense Lawrence Korb said Tuesday that convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard may be released soon. "Given Jonathan's deteriorating health they may consider clemency," Korb said in remarks that contradicted reports that Pollard's release was were baseless. "There is a chance." Korb also rejected that US President Barack Obama's silence on anemergency plea for Pollard's release from Israeli President Shimon Peres on humanitarian grounds was a definite "no" on clemency for Pollard. "Obama didn't respond to a letter sent by Prime Minister Netanyahu over a year ago, either, to my knowledge," Korb said. "He may be waiting for the right time." Korb added: "I think maybe they were planning to in June – at least I hope so – but in light of Jonathan's deteriorating health, maybe they will do it early." Obama is expected to award the Medal of Freedom to Peres in June. At that time Peres is expected to deliver a letter from 80 Israeli lawmakers asking for Pollard's release. Peres is also expected to make his now-third formal request for Pollard's release in June. He first requested Pollard's release when he met with Obama at the White House in March. "I think it's important, because if he is released right now he will not have to go back to prison, and he could receive proper healthcare at a civilian hospital," Korb said. "Treatment beyond prison walls is much better in of itself . If it is released now he can be reunited with his wife, and I think it will help him heal faster. " "There is no doubt he should be freed," Korb said. "Even if he was healthy, he has served 27 years for a crime most people receive much shorter sentences for – providing information to a friendly country." "I'm optimistic," Korb said. "I am optimistic by nature. And as Winston Churchill said of the United States, we always sought to right our mistakes." Earlier on Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor responded to Peres' emergency plea saying "Our position has not changed". Pollard was hospitalized Friday before Passover began at a medical facility for prisoners after reporting severe pain. Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the US Navy, was arrested in 1985 and has been serving a life sentence since 1987 for one count of conspiracy to deliver national security information to a foreign government. Pollard told Wolf Blitzer that year that he provided Israel with satellite photography of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) headquarters in Tunisia, specific capabilities of Libya's air defenses, and "the pick of U.S. intelligence about Arab and Islamic conventional and unconventional military activity." Others convicted of the same crime, including those who pass intelligence data to hostile nations, have been given average sentences of 7 years or less in prison. Israel granted Pollard citizenship in 1995, but denies he was an Israeli agent. In 1998, Israeli officials said Pollard had worked for an "unauthorized rogue operation." The disparity of Pollard's sentence with those of others convicted of the same crime has turned his lengthy incarceration into an issue for American Jewry. Jewish and Israeli leaders have been joined by numerous US officials and lawmakers in calling for Pollard's release.

Abbas Threatens Renewed UN Statehood Bid

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas said he will turn to the UN General Assembly for recognition if Israel does not capitulate to his demands

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/9/2012, 7:50 PM

Mahmoud Abbas

Flash 90

President Mahmoud Abbas said Sunday he will turn to the UN General Assembly for recognition if Israel does not capitulate to his demands. A previous bid for recognition in the United Nations Security Council – which must approve all moves for full membership in the world body – was stopped dead by the specter of a veto from the United States. Approval would require 9 affirmative recommendations in the council and no negative recommendations from the five permanent, veto-wielding, members - Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States. The PLO – currently listed as an observer "entity" with no voting rights – applied for full membership of the UN on Sept. 23. An admissions committee said on Nov. 11 it had failed to reach an agreement on the bid. Even without the promised US veto in play, the current composition of the 15-member decision making council remains unfavorable to the PA bid as Ramallah cannot muster sufficient affirmative votes. It had been suggested that Ramallah could instead seek upgraded observer status via the General Assembly to make it a non-member observer state – like the Vatican – but Abbas angrily rejected the proposal. Nonetheless, Abbas' change of heart on Sunday is no surprise. Last Tuesday, Abbas telegraphed the move saying a unilateral track at the United Nations “is our right and we will turn to the UN again." The threat to again pursue a unilateral track at the United Nations in violation of the 1994 Oslo Accords comes as chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat prepares to deliver a letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu outlining Ramallah's demands. The letter is expected to reiterate Ramallah's preconditions that Israel accept the indefensible pre-1967 lines as the future borders of a PA state, release all Arab terrorists from its prisons, and again halt all construction in the 'disputed territories.' Presidential adviser Nimir Hammad indicated earlier that Palestinian envoys would deliver the message next week, but negotiator Saeb Erekat told Ma'an on Sunday they were still waiting for Israeli confirmation of the meeting. Last week, sources close to Netanyahu said the Prime Minister will reply to Abbas demanding he returns to negotiations without preconditions. Netanyahu is also expected to demand Abbas recognize Israel as a Jewish state and agree to security arrangements in any peace agreement. The official said Netanyahu would finalize his response after receiving Abbas' letter. Critics say Netanyahu's government has failed to adapt to a new paradigm in which PLO officials pursue a unilateral track while forestalling bilateral talks with unacceptable preconditions. In December 2011, PLO officials announced "a strategy based on continuous efforts along with the international community to secure full recognition and full United Nations membership, pursuing internal reconciliation, and keeping up the popular resistance."

IDF weighs interceptors for offshore gas platforms

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/10/2012 01:30

Fearing missiles, Navy seeking budget for 4 new vessels to improve defense coverage of Mediterranean Sea.

Photo: Albatross The IDF is considering the deployment of missile interceptors on gas rigs that Israeli companies plan to construct in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the coming years, The Jerusalem Post has learned. Israel’s concern is that Hezbollah will try to attack the platforms with anti-ship missiles or explosives-laden vessels.

Navy seeks 0m. to protect new gas rigs

The navy is particularly concerned about Syria’s recent purchase of the Russian Yakhont anti-ship missile, which could be transferred to Hezbollah and used to target the gas rigs. Syria already tested the Yakhont in recent maneuvers. The weapon is said to be a sophisticated missile with a range of about 300 km. Last February, the navy seized an Iranian arms ship whose cargo, Israel said, was destined for Islamic Jihad. The vessel was carrying six Iranian Nasr-1 radarguided anti-ship missiles. The navy has yet to decide which type of missile defense system it would deploy on the gas rigs, but the two options under consideration are David’s Sling, which Israel is developing for use against medium-range rockets and cruise missiles, as well as the Barak-8, which protects large navy vessels against anti-ship missiles. The navy has already increased its patrols in the Mediterranean and is also using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to increase the range of its surveillance. It currently operates Israel Aerospace Industries’s Heron UAV, which comes with a special electro-optic payload for maritime operations. Until now, the navy has focused on protecting Israel’s sea lines of communication (SLOC), which span the length of the Mediterranean and around the Magreb region of North Africa. Some 99 percent of all goods arriving in the country come by sea, including security-related supplies and military hardware. “The area we will need to protect at sea will significantly increase with the construction of the new gas rigs,” a senior naval officer said. “We are also very concerned with the military buildup in the region, which is seeing an increase in sophisticated weapons systems like anti-ship missiles.” In addition, the navy is in talks with the Defense Ministry about the need for four new vessels to more effectively cover its new area of operations. It is seeking a larger platform than the Sa’ar 5-class corvettes it operates. The vessel will have to accommodate an advanced radar system, a helicopter and a launch system capable of firing long-range air defense and surface-to-surface missiles. The navy has also informed the energy companies that it will need to install radars on the gas rigs, and the government is considering ordering the companies to help finance some of the cost. In February, the Defense Ministry and navy ordered the Israel Electric Corporation to bolster security around a natural gas buoy that is being built off the coast of Hadera. The buoy will enable Israel to import natural gas in place of Egyptian gas, which has come to a near standstill since the revolution in Egypt last year.

‘Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah’

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/11/2012 01:12

Defense officials: It was a mistake not to have made this clear during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Photo: REUTERS/Sharif Karim Israel will attack Lebanese government targets during a future war with Hezbollah, senior defense officials said amid speculation that a war could erupt in the North following a future strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. “It was a mistake not to attack Lebanese government targets during the War in 2006,” a senior defense official explained. “We will not be able to hold back from doing so in a future war.”

After the outbreak of the 2006 war, the official said, the US asked Israel to refrain from bombing Lebanese government targets so as not to weaken the prime minister at the time, Fuad Siniora, who was aligned with the West. Israel complied and restricted its bombings to Hezbollah targets. “This will not be the same in the future, particularly now that Hezbollah and the government are effectively one and the same,” the official said. In general, the IDF has significantly boosted its “target bank” since the 2006 war. Today’s bank is said to contain thousands of Hezbollah targets, compared to the approximately 200 that the IDF had on July 12, 2006, when Hezbollah abducted reservists Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser. Hezbollah is believed to have amassed over 50,000 rockets and missiles, and most of the weaponry is thought to be stored in some 100 villages throughout southern Lebanon. The new thinking regarding bombing government institutions is part of a revised IDF strategy on how to damage Hezbollah and facilitate a faster end to a war than the 34 days it took in 2006. The guerrilla group, which embeds its military capabilities within civilian infrastructure, does not have a clear power base, which if destroyed could help end such a war. Talk of the possible bombing of Lebanese government targets comes as Israel prepares for a possible war with Hezbollah that could result from either an Israeli strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities or a preemptive strike to stop the transfer of sophisticated weaponry from Syria to Lebanon. Western countries have prepared various contingency plans for such a scenario, including the possible bombing of a convoy if it were detected, as well as the possible insertion of commando forces to secure the chemical stockpile if and when Syrian President Bashar Assad falls.

Big US-Arab Gulf air force exercise draws Iranian warning to stop at once DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 9, 2012, 11:04 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags: US aircraft carriers US-Persian Gulf GCC Joint exercise

Saudi Air Force warplanes

At least 200 American and Arab Gulf fighter-bombers thundered overhead Sunday, April 8 at the outset of the biggest air force exercise ever conducted in the Gulf region. They are simulating war with Iran and an operation for reopening the strategic Straits of Hormuz if it is closed by Tehran. DEBKAfile’s military sources report that 100 of the warplanes took off from the USS Enterprise and USS Abraham Lincoln which are cruising with their strike groups opposite Iranian shores. The Saudi, UAE, Kuwaiti and Bahraini air forces contributed the other 100. In an unprecedented show of military solidarity with the US, Bahrain, which hosts the US Fifth Fleet High Command, was also chosen by Gulf Cooperation Council – GCC - members for their unified exercise headquarters to be located at the Shaikh Isa Air Base. Tehran was being told that neither the Obama administration nor the Gulf Arab governments were deterred by its threats of retaliation against emirates placing bases at the disposal of foreign forces for an attack on Iran. However, shortly after the exercise began, Iranian ambassador to Kuwait Rouhullah Qahremani called urgently on Kuwait Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen Khalid Al-Sabah with a warning that the Iranian air and navy would attack the Gulf nations taking part in the exercise unless they withdrew at once. The Kuwaiti army chief took Iran's threat to the GCC Secretary General for Military Affairs Maj. Gen. Khalifa Humaid Al-Kaabi. Kuwait and Riyadh also briefed the Americans. The exercise is due to end on April 15, the day after the six world powers launch resumed nuclear negotiations with Iran in Istanbul. However some Iranian sources were hinting Monday that they would not come to the talks under military threat. Although the participants are keeping the exercise’s scenario under wraps, DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources are able to outline its five segments: 1. A practice operation to pry open the Strait of Hormuz should Iran try to block the waterway through which one-fifth of the world’s oil is exported - whether by deploying warships, scuttling old vessels, strewing sea mines or firing shore-to-ship missiles from the Iranian-controlled islands of Abu Musa, Great Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Sirri Island. The combined US-Gulf force is practicing air and naval assaults against those Iranian island bases and the Revolutionary Guards Corps’ mainland facilities facing them from Bandar-e-Abbas, Bandar-e-Lengeh and Qeshm island. They plan to cut off Iranian reinforcements en route to Hormuz. 2. They also aim to prevent Iranian air or sea assaults on the Persian Gulf emirates’ oil facilities and export terminals, focusing mainly on Saudi, Bahraini and Kuwaiti oil facilities and fields. 3. Air strikes are conducted against Iranian naval vessels, including speedboats, in a simulated exercise to head them off before they strike American aircraft carriers and warships or Gulf fleet vessels. 4. Testing the degree of coordination between US air, sea and marine forces and their Persian Gulf counterparts. 5. The Gulf exercise is in fact the sequel of Noble Dina 12, the US-Israeli-Greek war gameconducted earlier this month in the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. That war game practiced runs by Israeli fighter-bomber from their home bases to the big American facility on Crete, fueled in flight by American and Israeli tanker planes. The distance between the two points is roughly equivalent to the 1,200 kilometers between Israel and Iran. In a furious response to that maneuver, the Iranian Chief of Staff Gen. Seyed Hassan Firouzabadi, declared Saturday April 7: “Iran will bulldoze and destroy the illegal Zionist nest.

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:03:24 +0000

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 12 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:18:30 +0000

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK

10/02/2012 18:45

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Photo: REUTERS/Fars News

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 1, 2012, 8:40 AM (GMT+02:00)

The epic battle for Kismayo

Hizbullah Threatens to 'Conquer the Galilee'

A new Hizbullah video highlights the terrorist organization's latest campaign - “liberating the Galilee.”

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By David Lev

First Publish: 10/1/2012, 10:35 PM

Hizbullah supporters

IDF Spokesperson

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Uri — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:18:51 +0000

Chief of Staff: War will Knock Lebanon Back by Decades

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hopes Iranian leaders will scrap nuclear program of their own accord. As for Gaza, he predicts IDF "will visit it."

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By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 9:19 PM

Lt. Gen. Gantz in action.

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Number 2 US Military Chief in ‘Secret’ Talks with Barak

The vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff met Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak amid rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

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By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 6:39 PM

Defense Minister Ehud Barak

Israel News photo: Flash 90

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 6, 2012, 10:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian rebels under Turkish command

US congressman confirms sharp exchange between PM, US envoy

By HERB KEINON

09/06/2012 23:40

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Photo: REUTERS

Massive reservoir discovered beneath Western Wall

By MELANIE LIDMAN

09/06/2012 16:33

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Uri — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:49:30 +0000

Terror Onslaught Continues: 30 Rockets on Sabbath

Gaza terrorists continued their attacks over the Sabbath, hitting southern Israel dozens of times.

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By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 6/23/2012, 9:13 PM

Rocket vicitm at Barzali Hospital (archives)

Flash 90

PM to security chiefs: Act strongly to protect the South

By JPOST.COM STAFF

LAST UPDATED: 06/23/2012 20:32

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

Iran general: Military strike would be end of Israel

By REUTERS

06/23/2012 18:04

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2012, 8:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian Pantsyr-1 air defense missile in Syria

SWI NEWS: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 29 Sivan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:05:15 +0000

Four Palestinians killed in IAF Gaza bombings

By YAAKOV KATZ

06/18/2012 20:49

Airstrikes target Islamic Jihad operatives; IDF maintains high alert along Gaza border in expectation of terrorist retaliation.

Russia, China, Iran plan to stage in Syria “biggest Mid East maneuver”

DEBKAfile Special Report June 18, 2012, 8:31 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israel-Egypt border continues to heat up

Montag, 18. Juni 2012 | Ryan Jone

IDF Armored Corps Moves to Southern Border

The IDF Armored Division moves closer to Israel's southern border following a terror attack Monday on contractors building a border fence.

AAFont Size

By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 6/18/2012, 5:40 PM

Egyptian border

Reuters

SWI NEWS: Tue, May 1, 2012 9 Iyar, 5772

Uri — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:55:04 +0000

Netanyahu's father dies at age 102

Montag, 30. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

Norwegian Scholar Connects Breivik's Attack to Mossad

Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung connects Mossad to Breivik massacre, claims Jews control 96% of world media.

AAFont Size

By Arutz Sheva Staff

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 2:14 AM

Anders Behring Breivik

Reuters

Rocket Attack Strikes Near Sderot

Gaza terrorists launched a short-range Qassam rocket attack on Sderot Monday night. The rocket landed in an open area.

AAFont Size

By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 4/30/2012, 10:41 PM

Qassam rocket (archive)

Flash 90

Olmert: U.S. Should Lead Attack on Iran, Not Israel

Former PM Olmert says any military action against Iran should be led by the U.S., hints he doesn't trust Netanyahu and Barak.

AAFont Size

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 4:14 AM

Ehud Olmert

Israel News Photo: Flash 90

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:53:08 +0000

War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes

In simulation by Makor Rishon newspaper, Israel strikes on October 16, loses 10 jets. Angry Obama refuses to intervene.

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 7:41 PM

Israeli F-15

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Terrorists freed in Schalit deal return to terror

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/17/2012 16:52

Shin Bet: Two terrorists released in Gilad Schalit deal rearrested for trying to commit terrorist acts.

India confiscates Israeli defense firm’s m guarantee, clouding relations

DEBKAfile Special Report April 17, 2012, 7:01 PM (GMT+02:00)

Indian army's 155mm howitzers - out of ordnance

Gold rush in the mountains of Eilat

By SHARON UDASIN

04/17/2012 04:02

A subsidiary of Gulliver Energy, headed by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is request a gold exploration license.

Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

MK Tibi in Canada: Boycott Products from 'Settlements'

MK Tibi in Ottawa: Settlements are a cancer spreading all over Palestinian land. Boycott products manufactured there.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/18/2012, 12:14 AM

MK Ahmed Tibi

Flash 90

Report: Palestinian sentenced to death for selling house to Jews

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

Flytilla activists scrawl swastika at Israel airport

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

SWI NEWS: Tue, Apr 17, 2012 25 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:56:09 +0000

Israel: Obama’s secret dealings with Iran conflict with US-Israeli understandings DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 16, 2012, 3:07 PM (GMT+02:00)

Barack Obama and his double diplomatic track

Muslim Radical Salah Returns to Israel

Six months after being arrested in London, Sheikh Raed Salah, who heads the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, returned to Israel.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 12:14 AM

Sheikh Raed Salah

Reuters

Fayyad Ignores Israeli Sovereignty, Launches New Dam

PA Prime Minister inaugurates new PA construction project, despite the fact that it is located in an area under full Israeli control.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 5:13 AM

Salam Fayyad

Reuters

Former Amb.: Israel Should Set 'Red Lines' for Talks with PA

Dr. Dore Gold, former Ambassador to the United Nations, says Israel should set ‘red lines’ should it restart negotiations with the PA.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 2:13 AM

PA Prime Minister Fayyad

Flash 90

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:05:15 +0000

Former US Official: Pollard May Yet be Released

Former US undersecretary of defense Lawrence Korb says Jonathan Pollard may yet be released, perhaps in June.

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/10/2012, 9:18 PM

Jonathan Pollard

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Abbas Threatens Renewed UN Statehood Bid

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas said he will turn to the UN General Assembly for recognition if Israel does not capitulate to his demands

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/9/2012, 7:50 PM

Mahmoud Abbas

Flash 90

IDF weighs interceptors for offshore gas platforms

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/10/2012 01:30

Fearing missiles, Navy seeking budget for 4 new vessels to improve defense coverage of Mediterranean Sea.

Navy seeks 0m. to protect new gas rigs

‘Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah’

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/11/2012 01:12

Defense officials: It was a mistake not to have made this clear during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Big US-Arab Gulf air force exercise draws Iranian warning to stop at once DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 9, 2012, 11:04 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags: US aircraft carriers US-Persian Gulf GCC Joint exercise

Saudi Air Force warplanes

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:03:24 +0000

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 12 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:18:30 +0000

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK

10/02/2012 18:45

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Photo: REUTERS/Fars News

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 1, 2012, 8:40 AM (GMT+02:00)

The epic battle for Kismayo

Hizbullah Threatens to 'Conquer the Galilee'

A new Hizbullah video highlights the terrorist organization's latest campaign - “liberating the Galilee.”

AAFont Size

By David Lev

First Publish: 10/1/2012, 10:35 PM

Hizbullah supporters

IDF Spokesperson

The Truth About Israel

Uri — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:18:30 +0000

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK

10/02/2012 18:45

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Photo: REUTERS/Fars News

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 1, 2012, 8:40 AM (GMT+02:00)

The epic battle for Kismayo

Hizbullah Threatens to 'Conquer the Galilee'

A new Hizbullah video highlights the terrorist organization's latest campaign - “liberating the Galilee.”

AAFont Size

By David Lev

First Publish: 10/1/2012, 10:35 PM

Hizbullah supporters

IDF Spokesperson

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Uri — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:18:51 +0000

Chief of Staff: War will Knock Lebanon Back by Decades

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hopes Iranian leaders will scrap nuclear program of their own accord. As for Gaza, he predicts IDF "will visit it."

AAFont Size

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 9:19 PM

Lt. Gen. Gantz in action.

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Number 2 US Military Chief in ‘Secret’ Talks with Barak

The vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff met Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak amid rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

AAFont Size

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 6:39 PM

Defense Minister Ehud Barak

Israel News photo: Flash 90

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 6, 2012, 10:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian rebels under Turkish command

US congressman confirms sharp exchange between PM, US envoy

By HERB KEINON

09/06/2012 23:40

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Photo: REUTERS

Massive reservoir discovered beneath Western Wall

By MELANIE LIDMAN

09/06/2012 16:33

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Uri — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:49:30 +0000

Terror Onslaught Continues: 30 Rockets on Sabbath

Gaza terrorists continued their attacks over the Sabbath, hitting southern Israel dozens of times.

AAFont Size

By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 6/23/2012, 9:13 PM

Rocket vicitm at Barzali Hospital (archives)

Flash 90

PM to security chiefs: Act strongly to protect the South

By JPOST.COM STAFF

LAST UPDATED: 06/23/2012 20:32

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

Iran general: Military strike would be end of Israel

By REUTERS

06/23/2012 18:04

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2012, 8:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian Pantsyr-1 air defense missile in Syria

SWI NEWS: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 29 Sivan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:05:15 +0000

Four Palestinians killed in IAF Gaza bombings

By YAAKOV KATZ

06/18/2012 20:49

Airstrikes target Islamic Jihad operatives; IDF maintains high alert along Gaza border in expectation of terrorist retaliation.

Russia, China, Iran plan to stage in Syria “biggest Mid East maneuver”

DEBKAfile Special Report June 18, 2012, 8:31 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israel-Egypt border continues to heat up

Montag, 18. Juni 2012 | Ryan Jone

IDF Armored Corps Moves to Southern Border

The IDF Armored Division moves closer to Israel's southern border following a terror attack Monday on contractors building a border fence.

AAFont Size

By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 6/18/2012, 5:40 PM

Egyptian border

Reuters

SWI NEWS: Tue, May 1, 2012 9 Iyar, 5772

Uri — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:55:04 +0000

Netanyahu's father dies at age 102

Montag, 30. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

Norwegian Scholar Connects Breivik's Attack to Mossad

Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung connects Mossad to Breivik massacre, claims Jews control 96% of world media.

AAFont Size

By Arutz Sheva Staff

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 2:14 AM

Anders Behring Breivik

Reuters

Rocket Attack Strikes Near Sderot

Gaza terrorists launched a short-range Qassam rocket attack on Sderot Monday night. The rocket landed in an open area.

AAFont Size

By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 4/30/2012, 10:41 PM

Qassam rocket (archive)

Flash 90

Olmert: U.S. Should Lead Attack on Iran, Not Israel

Former PM Olmert says any military action against Iran should be led by the U.S., hints he doesn't trust Netanyahu and Barak.

AAFont Size

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 4:14 AM

Ehud Olmert

Israel News Photo: Flash 90

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:53:08 +0000

War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes

In simulation by Makor Rishon newspaper, Israel strikes on October 16, loses 10 jets. Angry Obama refuses to intervene.

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 7:41 PM

Israeli F-15

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Terrorists freed in Schalit deal return to terror

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/17/2012 16:52

Shin Bet: Two terrorists released in Gilad Schalit deal rearrested for trying to commit terrorist acts.

India confiscates Israeli defense firm’s m guarantee, clouding relations

DEBKAfile Special Report April 17, 2012, 7:01 PM (GMT+02:00)

Indian army's 155mm howitzers - out of ordnance

Gold rush in the mountains of Eilat

By SHARON UDASIN

04/17/2012 04:02

A subsidiary of Gulliver Energy, headed by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is request a gold exploration license.

Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

MK Tibi in Canada: Boycott Products from 'Settlements'

MK Tibi in Ottawa: Settlements are a cancer spreading all over Palestinian land. Boycott products manufactured there.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/18/2012, 12:14 AM

MK Ahmed Tibi

Flash 90

Report: Palestinian sentenced to death for selling house to Jews

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

Flytilla activists scrawl swastika at Israel airport

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

SWI NEWS: Tue, Apr 17, 2012 25 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:56:09 +0000

Israel: Obama’s secret dealings with Iran conflict with US-Israeli understandings DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 16, 2012, 3:07 PM (GMT+02:00)

Barack Obama and his double diplomatic track

Muslim Radical Salah Returns to Israel

Six months after being arrested in London, Sheikh Raed Salah, who heads the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, returned to Israel.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 12:14 AM

Sheikh Raed Salah

Reuters

Fayyad Ignores Israeli Sovereignty, Launches New Dam

PA Prime Minister inaugurates new PA construction project, despite the fact that it is located in an area under full Israeli control.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 5:13 AM

Salam Fayyad

Reuters

Former Amb.: Israel Should Set 'Red Lines' for Talks with PA

Dr. Dore Gold, former Ambassador to the United Nations, says Israel should set ‘red lines’ should it restart negotiations with the PA.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 2:13 AM

PA Prime Minister Fayyad

Flash 90

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:05:15 +0000

Former US Official: Pollard May Yet be Released

Former US undersecretary of defense Lawrence Korb says Jonathan Pollard may yet be released, perhaps in June.

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/10/2012, 9:18 PM

Jonathan Pollard

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Abbas Threatens Renewed UN Statehood Bid

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas said he will turn to the UN General Assembly for recognition if Israel does not capitulate to his demands

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/9/2012, 7:50 PM

Mahmoud Abbas

Flash 90

IDF weighs interceptors for offshore gas platforms

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/10/2012 01:30

Fearing missiles, Navy seeking budget for 4 new vessels to improve defense coverage of Mediterranean Sea.

Navy seeks 0m. to protect new gas rigs

‘Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah’

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/11/2012 01:12

Defense officials: It was a mistake not to have made this clear during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Big US-Arab Gulf air force exercise draws Iranian warning to stop at once DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 9, 2012, 11:04 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags: US aircraft carriers US-Persian Gulf GCC Joint exercise

Saudi Air Force warplanes

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:03:24 +0000

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 12 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:18:51 +0000

Chief of Staff: War will Knock Lebanon Back by Decades

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hopes Iranian leaders will scrap nuclear program of their own accord. As for Gaza, he predicts IDF "will visit it."

AAFont Size

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 9:19 PM

Lt. Gen. Gantz in action.

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Number 2 US Military Chief in ‘Secret’ Talks with Barak

The vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff met Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak amid rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

AAFont Size

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 6:39 PM

Defense Minister Ehud Barak

Israel News photo: Flash 90

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 6, 2012, 10:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian rebels under Turkish command

US congressman confirms sharp exchange between PM, US envoy

By HERB KEINON

09/06/2012 23:40

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Photo: REUTERS

Massive reservoir discovered beneath Western Wall

By MELANIE LIDMAN

09/06/2012 16:33

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

The Truth About Israel

Uri — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:18:30 +0000

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK

10/02/2012 18:45

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Photo: REUTERS/Fars News

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 1, 2012, 8:40 AM (GMT+02:00)

The epic battle for Kismayo

Hizbullah Threatens to 'Conquer the Galilee'

A new Hizbullah video highlights the terrorist organization's latest campaign - “liberating the Galilee.”

AAFont Size

By David Lev

First Publish: 10/1/2012, 10:35 PM

Hizbullah supporters

IDF Spokesperson

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Uri — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:18:51 +0000

Chief of Staff: War will Knock Lebanon Back by Decades

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hopes Iranian leaders will scrap nuclear program of their own accord. As for Gaza, he predicts IDF "will visit it."

AAFont Size

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 9:19 PM

Lt. Gen. Gantz in action.

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Number 2 US Military Chief in ‘Secret’ Talks with Barak

The vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff met Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak amid rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

AAFont Size

By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 6:39 PM

Defense Minister Ehud Barak

Israel News photo: Flash 90

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 6, 2012, 10:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian rebels under Turkish command

US congressman confirms sharp exchange between PM, US envoy

By HERB KEINON

09/06/2012 23:40

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Photo: REUTERS

Massive reservoir discovered beneath Western Wall

By MELANIE LIDMAN

09/06/2012 16:33

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Uri — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:49:30 +0000

Terror Onslaught Continues: 30 Rockets on Sabbath

Gaza terrorists continued their attacks over the Sabbath, hitting southern Israel dozens of times.

AAFont Size

By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 6/23/2012, 9:13 PM

Rocket vicitm at Barzali Hospital (archives)

Flash 90

PM to security chiefs: Act strongly to protect the South

By JPOST.COM STAFF

LAST UPDATED: 06/23/2012 20:32

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

Iran general: Military strike would be end of Israel

By REUTERS

06/23/2012 18:04

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2012, 8:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian Pantsyr-1 air defense missile in Syria

SWI NEWS: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 29 Sivan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 04:05:15 +0000

Four Palestinians killed in IAF Gaza bombings

By YAAKOV KATZ

06/18/2012 20:49

Airstrikes target Islamic Jihad operatives; IDF maintains high alert along Gaza border in expectation of terrorist retaliation.

Russia, China, Iran plan to stage in Syria “biggest Mid East maneuver”

DEBKAfile Special Report June 18, 2012, 8:31 PM (GMT+02:00)

Israel-Egypt border continues to heat up

Montag, 18. Juni 2012 | Ryan Jone

IDF Armored Corps Moves to Southern Border

The IDF Armored Division moves closer to Israel's southern border following a terror attack Monday on contractors building a border fence.

AAFont Size

By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 6/18/2012, 5:40 PM

Egyptian border

Reuters

SWI NEWS: Tue, May 1, 2012 9 Iyar, 5772

Uri — Tue, 01 May 2012 03:55:04 +0000

Netanyahu's father dies at age 102

Montag, 30. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

Norwegian Scholar Connects Breivik's Attack to Mossad

Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung connects Mossad to Breivik massacre, claims Jews control 96% of world media.

AAFont Size

By Arutz Sheva Staff

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 2:14 AM

Anders Behring Breivik

Reuters

Rocket Attack Strikes Near Sderot

Gaza terrorists launched a short-range Qassam rocket attack on Sderot Monday night. The rocket landed in an open area.

AAFont Size

By Chana Ya'ar

First Publish: 4/30/2012, 10:41 PM

Qassam rocket (archive)

Flash 90

Olmert: U.S. Should Lead Attack on Iran, Not Israel

Former PM Olmert says any military action against Iran should be led by the U.S., hints he doesn't trust Netanyahu and Barak.

AAFont Size

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 5/1/2012, 4:14 AM

Ehud Olmert

Israel News Photo: Flash 90

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 03:53:08 +0000

War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes

In simulation by Makor Rishon newspaper, Israel strikes on October 16, loses 10 jets. Angry Obama refuses to intervene.

By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 7:41 PM

Israeli F-15

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Terrorists freed in Schalit deal return to terror

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/17/2012 16:52

Shin Bet: Two terrorists released in Gilad Schalit deal rearrested for trying to commit terrorist acts.

India confiscates Israeli defense firm’s m guarantee, clouding relations

DEBKAfile Special Report April 17, 2012, 7:01 PM (GMT+02:00)

Indian army's 155mm howitzers - out of ordnance

Gold rush in the mountains of Eilat

By SHARON UDASIN

04/17/2012 04:02

A subsidiary of Gulliver Energy, headed by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is request a gold exploration license.

Photo: Marc Israel Sellem

MK Tibi in Canada: Boycott Products from 'Settlements'

MK Tibi in Ottawa: Settlements are a cancer spreading all over Palestinian land. Boycott products manufactured there.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/18/2012, 12:14 AM

MK Ahmed Tibi

Flash 90

Report: Palestinian sentenced to death for selling house to Jews

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

Flytilla activists scrawl swastika at Israel airport

Dienstag, 17. April 2012 | Ryan Jones

SWI NEWS: Tue, Apr 17, 2012 25 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 02:56:09 +0000

Israel: Obama’s secret dealings with Iran conflict with US-Israeli understandings DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 16, 2012, 3:07 PM (GMT+02:00)

Barack Obama and his double diplomatic track

Muslim Radical Salah Returns to Israel

Six months after being arrested in London, Sheikh Raed Salah, who heads the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, returned to Israel.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 12:14 AM

Sheikh Raed Salah

Reuters

Fayyad Ignores Israeli Sovereignty, Launches New Dam

PA Prime Minister inaugurates new PA construction project, despite the fact that it is located in an area under full Israeli control.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 5:13 AM

Salam Fayyad

Reuters

Former Amb.: Israel Should Set 'Red Lines' for Talks with PA

Dr. Dore Gold, former Ambassador to the United Nations, says Israel should set ‘red lines’ should it restart negotiations with the PA.

By Elad Benari

First Publish: 4/17/2012, 2:13 AM

PA Prime Minister Fayyad

Flash 90

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:05:15 +0000

Former US Official: Pollard May Yet be Released

Former US undersecretary of defense Lawrence Korb says Jonathan Pollard may yet be released, perhaps in June.

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/10/2012, 9:18 PM

Jonathan Pollard

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Abbas Threatens Renewed UN Statehood Bid

PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas said he will turn to the UN General Assembly for recognition if Israel does not capitulate to his demands

By Gabe Kahn

First Publish: 4/9/2012, 7:50 PM

Mahmoud Abbas

Flash 90

IDF weighs interceptors for offshore gas platforms

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/10/2012 01:30

Fearing missiles, Navy seeking budget for 4 new vessels to improve defense coverage of Mediterranean Sea.

Navy seeks 0m. to protect new gas rigs

‘Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah’

By YAAKOV KATZ

04/11/2012 01:12

Defense officials: It was a mistake not to have made this clear during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Big US-Arab Gulf air force exercise draws Iranian warning to stop at once DEBKAfile Exclusive Report April 9, 2012, 11:04 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags: US aircraft carriers US-Persian Gulf GCC Joint exercise

Saudi Air Force warplanes

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 07:03:24 +0000

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 12 Nisan, 5772

Uri — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:49:30 +0000

Terror Onslaught Continues: 30 Rockets on Sabbath

Gaza terrorists continued their attacks over the Sabbath, hitting southern Israel dozens of times.

AAFont Size

By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 6/23/2012, 9:13 PM

Rocket vicitm at Barzali Hospital (archives)

Flash 90

PM to security chiefs: Act strongly to protect the South

By JPOST.COM STAFF

LAST UPDATED: 06/23/2012 20:32

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

Iran general: Military strike would be end of Israel

By REUTERS

06/23/2012 18:04

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2012, 8:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian Pantsyr-1 air defense missile in Syria

The Truth About Israel

Uri — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 05:18:30 +0000

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK

10/02/2012 18:45

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Photo: REUTERS/Fars News

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report October 1, 2012, 8:40 AM (GMT+02:00)

The epic battle for Kismayo

Hizbullah Threatens to 'Conquer the Galilee'

A new Hizbullah video highlights the terrorist organization's latest campaign - “liberating the Galilee.”

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By David Lev

First Publish: 10/1/2012, 10:35 PM

Hizbullah supporters

IDF Spokesperson

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Uri — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 23:18:51 +0000

Chief of Staff: War will Knock Lebanon Back by Decades

Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hopes Iranian leaders will scrap nuclear program of their own accord. As for Gaza, he predicts IDF "will visit it."

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By Gil Ronen

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 9:19 PM

Lt. Gen. Gantz in action.

Israel news photo: Flash 90

Number 2 US Military Chief in ‘Secret’ Talks with Barak

The vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff met Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak amid rising tensions over Iran's nuclear program.

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By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

First Publish: 9/6/2012, 6:39 PM

Defense Minister Ehud Barak

Israel News photo: Flash 90

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 6, 2012, 10:59 AM (GMT+02:00)

Syrian rebels under Turkish command

US congressman confirms sharp exchange between PM, US envoy

By HERB KEINON

09/06/2012 23:40

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Photo: REUTERS

Massive reservoir discovered beneath Western Wall

By MELANIE LIDMAN

09/06/2012 16:33

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

Photo: Israel Antiquities Authority

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Uri — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 22:49:30 +0000

Terror Onslaught Continues: 30 Rockets on Sabbath

Gaza terrorists continued their attacks over the Sabbath, hitting southern Israel dozens of times.

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By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 6/23/2012, 9:13 PM

Rocket vicitm at Barzali Hospital (archives)

Flash 90

PM to security chiefs: Act strongly to protect the South

By JPOST.COM STAFF

LAST UPDATED: 06/23/2012 20:32

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

Iran general: Military strike would be end of Israel

By REUTERS

06/23/2012 18:04

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report June 23, 2012, 8:41 PM (GMT+02:00)

Russian Pantsyr-1 air defense missile in Syria

***The Truth About Israel***

SWI NEWS: Tue, Oct 2, 2012 16 Tishri, 5773

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

SWI NEWS: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 29 Sivan, 5772

Airstrikes target Islamic Jihad operatives; IDF maintains high alert along Gaza border in expectation of terrorist retaliation.

IDF Armored Corps Moves to Southern Border

SWI NEWS: Tue, May 1, 2012 9 Iyar, 5772

Netanyahu's father dies at age 102

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772

Shin Bet: Two terrorists released in Gilad Schalit deal rearrested for trying to commit terrorist acts.

A subsidiary of Gulliver Energy, headed by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is request a gold exploration license.

MK Tibi in Canada: Boycott Products from 'Settlements'

Flytilla activists scrawl swastika at Israel airport

SWI NEWS: Tue, Apr 17, 2012 25 Nisan, 5772

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Fearing missiles, Navy seeking budget for 4 new vessels to improve defense coverage of Mediterranean Sea.

‘Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah’

Defense officials: It was a mistake not to have made this clear during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 12 Nisan, 5772

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

SWI NEWS: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 29 Sivan, 5772

Airstrikes target Islamic Jihad operatives; IDF maintains high alert along Gaza border in expectation of terrorist retaliation.

IDF Armored Corps Moves to Southern Border

SWI NEWS: Tue, May 1, 2012 9 Iyar, 5772

Netanyahu's father dies at age 102

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772

Shin Bet: Two terrorists released in Gilad Schalit deal rearrested for trying to commit terrorist acts.

A subsidiary of Gulliver Energy, headed by former Mossad chief Meir Dagan, is request a gold exploration license.

MK Tibi in Canada: Boycott Products from 'Settlements'

Flytilla activists scrawl swastika at Israel airport

SWI NEWS: Tue, Apr 17, 2012 25 Nisan, 5772

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

Fearing missiles, Navy seeking budget for 4 new vessels to improve defense coverage of Mediterranean Sea.

‘Lebanese targets fair game in war with Hezbollah’

Defense officials: It was a mistake not to have made this clear during the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 11, 2012 19 Nisan, 5772

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 12 Nisan, 5772

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

***The Truth About Israel***

'To annihilate Israel we need 24 hours, an excuse'

Ali Shirazi, representative of Ayatollah Khamenei to Iran's Qods Force, claims Israel could not win "war of attrition" against Islamic Republic, says Israel is desperate, "close to annihilation."

Kenyan army’s outstanding victory over Al Qaeda’s Somali Shabaab. Israeli advisers helped

Fri, Sep 7, 2012 20 Elul, 5772

Turkish officers take command of Syrian rebel brigades. N. Israel on alert

Republican Mike Rogers says Netanyahu expressed "elevated concerns" over Iranian threat to US ambassador Shapiro, adds Israelis "at wits' end," feeling window for impacting Iranian program closing.

Reservoir, approximately 1/10th of Olympic swimming pool, is first evidence that water was available next to Temple.

SWI NEWS: Sun, Jun 24, 2012 4 Tammuz, 5772

Netanyahu holds briefing with Barak, Gantz over continued Gaza violence, southern Israel; Hamas: Cease fire to take effect within hours; Kassam injures Sderot man; Palestinians report 2 dead, 30 injured in IAF strikes.

If Israel wants to act illogically, "it is they who will be destroyed," Iran's deputy chief of staff says.

Newly-supplied Russian Pantsyr-1 anti-air missile used to down Turkish warplane

SWI NEWS: Tue, Jun 19, 2012 29 Sivan, 5772

Airstrikes target Islamic Jihad operatives; IDF maintains high alert along Gaza border in expectation of terrorist retaliation.

IDF Armored Corps Moves to Southern Border

SWI NEWS: Tue, May 1, 2012 9 Iyar, 5772

Netanyahu's father dies at age 102

SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772

Shin Bet: Two terrorists released in Gilad Schalit deal rearrested for trying to commit terrorist acts.

The Truth About Israel

The Truth About Israel

The Truth About Israel