SWI NEWS: Wed, Apr 18, 2012 26 Nisan, 5772
War Game: Israeli Air Strike Deals Severe Blow to Iran Nukes
Terrorists freed in Schalit deal return to terror
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 $70m guarantee, clouding relations
Gold rush in the mountains of Eilat
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.
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.
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.By YAAKOV KATZ
04/17/2012 16:52
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 $70 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 $260 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 $70 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 $2.8 billion bribe in 2010. All Israel’s efforts to keep its defense transactions with New Delhi clear of its domestic infighting were fruitless.04/17/2012 04:02
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.
