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1. Study: Iran to Attack US, Israel
by Malkah Fleisher
Just two days after US President Barack Hussein Obama shared a controversial and landmark handshake with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez at the Summit of the Americas, the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has released a study analyzing the flowering alliance between the increasingly anti-Western Latin America and the virulently anti-Israel Iran.
The study was conducted at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC), a non-governmental organization dedicated to Israeli intelligence and terrorism issues.
According to the study, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is using anti-Western Hugo Chavez as a springboard into several Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador, where he intends to establish a religious, terrorist, political and economic foothold in South America. Iran has already made major inroads in its relationship with Venezuela and Bolivia, largely based on shared anti-American sentiments.
Iran will utilize this developing relationship to challenge the United States, parts of Asia, and Africa, said the study.
The Islamic Republic will also leverage petrodollars and Muslim operatives positioned throughout key Latin American countries to implement a radical anti-Western agenda, fight America's anti-nuclear policy, and to slash international economic sanctions according to the IICC.
In addition, the report warns that Iran may launch anti-American and anti-Israel terror attacks through intelligence and terror networks in South American countries.
Ahmadinejad, who hosted a "World Without Zionism" conference in 2005, promoting his goal to "wipe Israel off the map", has already succeeded in wounding Israeli diplomatic relations in the region, with Israel's diplomatic core being forced out of Chavez's Venezuela and Bolivia during the anti-terror Operation Cast Lead in January 2009.
Khomeini-inspired Shi'ite Islamic and Iranian revolutionary propaganda is being exported by Iran into non-Muslim and Muslim communities in Latin America, in large part through its terror proxy, Hizbullah, which is raising funds for operation by uniting with South American drug and crime cartels.
The IICC report cites several U.S. intelligence and military officials expressing concern over rising Iranian activity in Latin America, and increasing numbers of converts in the region to Islam.
Chavez and Obama exchanged a warm greeting on Friday, and again on Saturday, at which time Chavez presented Obama with a book on American and European imperialism in South America.
Chavez, who said being in Iran's capital city of Tehran made him feel "like arriving at one's own home", told reporters he shared a good moment with Obama, who he called "intelligent." The Venezuelan dictator once referred to former US President George W. Bush as "the devil" at a meeting of the United Nations.
Venezuela and Israel enjoyed a strong relationship in the past, with Venezuela voting in favor of Jewish statehood at the United Nations on November 27, 1947.
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by Malkah Fleisher
Just two days after US President Barack Hussein Obama shared a controversial and landmark handshake with Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez at the Summit of the Americas, the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has released a study analyzing the flowering alliance between the increasingly anti-Western Latin America and the virulently anti-Israel Iran.
The study was conducted at the Israel Intelligence Heritage & Commemoration Center (IICC), a non-governmental organization dedicated to Israeli intelligence and terrorism issues.
According to the study, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is using anti-Western Hugo Chavez as a springboard into several Latin American countries, such as Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador, where he intends to establish a religious, terrorist, political and economic foothold in South America. Iran has already made major inroads in its relationship with Venezuela and Bolivia, largely based on shared anti-American sentiments.
Iran will utilize this developing relationship to challenge the United States, parts of Asia, and Africa, said the study.
The Islamic Republic will also leverage petrodollars and Muslim operatives positioned throughout key Latin American countries to implement a radical anti-Western agenda, fight America's anti-nuclear policy, and to slash international economic sanctions according to the IICC.
In addition, the report warns that Iran may launch anti-American and anti-Israel terror attacks through intelligence and terror networks in South American countries.
Ahmadinejad, who hosted a "World Without Zionism" conference in 2005, promoting his goal to "wipe Israel off the map", has already succeeded in wounding Israeli diplomatic relations in the region, with Israel's diplomatic core being forced out of Chavez's Venezuela and Bolivia during the anti-terror Operation Cast Lead in January 2009.
Khomeini-inspired Shi'ite Islamic and Iranian revolutionary propaganda is being exported by Iran into non-Muslim and Muslim communities in Latin America, in large part through its terror proxy, Hizbullah, which is raising funds for operation by uniting with South American drug and crime cartels.
The IICC report cites several U.S. intelligence and military officials expressing concern over rising Iranian activity in Latin America, and increasing numbers of converts in the region to Islam.
Chavez and Obama exchanged a warm greeting on Friday, and again on Saturday, at which time Chavez presented Obama with a book on American and European imperialism in South America.
Chavez, who said being in Iran's capital city of Tehran made him feel "like arriving at one's own home", told reporters he shared a good moment with Obama, who he called "intelligent." The Venezuelan dictator once referred to former US President George W. Bush as "the devil" at a meeting of the United Nations.
Venezuela and Israel enjoyed a strong relationship in the past, with Venezuela voting in favor of Jewish statehood at the United Nations on November 27, 1947.
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2. Obama: Durban 2 'Hypocritical'
by Gil Ronen
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the U.S. decided to boycott the “Durban 2” conference in Geneva because the draft for the summit's final declaration could include "hypocritical allegations" against Israel.
"I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad after attending the Summit of the Americas.
But, he said, the language of the draft declaration prepared for the conference "raised a whole set of objectionable provisions" and raised the risk of a repeat of the Durban Conference, "which became a session through which folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."
"We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Obama said. “Our participation would have involved putting our imprimatur on something we just didn't believe in,” he added.
The U.S. said Saturday that it would boycott "with regret" the meeting in Geneva. Holland and Germany declared that they would join the boycott Sunday. Australia, Canada, Israel and Italy said earlier they would not attend.
"I am shocked and deeply disappointed by the United States's decision not to attend," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who will be hosting the conference.
Besides criticizing Israel, the conference may adopt a resolution calling upon nations to outlaw criticism of Islam, Sharia law, and the founder of Islam, Mohammed.
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by Gil Ronen
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Sunday that the U.S. decided to boycott the “Durban 2” conference in Geneva because the draft for the summit's final declaration could include "hypocritical allegations" against Israel.
"I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad after attending the Summit of the Americas.
But, he said, the language of the draft declaration prepared for the conference "raised a whole set of objectionable provisions" and raised the risk of a repeat of the Durban Conference, "which became a session through which folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive."
"We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Obama said. “Our participation would have involved putting our imprimatur on something we just didn't believe in,” he added.
The U.S. said Saturday that it would boycott "with regret" the meeting in Geneva. Holland and Germany declared that they would join the boycott Sunday. Australia, Canada, Israel and Italy said earlier they would not attend.
"I am shocked and deeply disappointed by the United States's decision not to attend," said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, who will be hosting the conference.
Besides criticizing Israel, the conference may adopt a resolution calling upon nations to outlaw criticism of Islam, Sharia law, and the founder of Islam, Mohammed.
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3. Israel Recalls its Swiss Envoy
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A confrontation began brewing in Geneva Monday, where the United Nations-sponsored conference on anti-racism is to begin in the afternoon with a speech by "guest of honor" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In a harsh and exceptional step, the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned its Ambassador to Switzerland, Ilan Elgar to return home for consultations after Ahmadinejad met with Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz.
Israel also sent a delegation to Durban II to protest instead of participate in the sequel conference to Durban I, which in 2001 focused anger and condemnation on Israel to the point that the United States walked out. This time around, the U.S. and several Western nations have boycotted the conference ahead of time.
Israeli delegates are planning to arrange demonstrations against Durban II and during Ahmadinejad”s speech Monday afternoon, with information about human rights violations in Iran. They will be backed by Elie Wiesel, of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust center, and Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz a champion of civil rights and a strong supporter of Israel.
Swiss police are on high alert for problems and on Sunday whisked away Dershowitz, who had declared his intention to engage Ahmadinejad in a debate on his views of the Holocaust and Israel. Natan Sharansky, who is expected to be nominated by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to head the Jewish Agency, will be the keynote speaker in a protest session scheduled on Wednesday, entitled “Israel, Democracy, and the Search for Peace."
President Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust and has several times said that Israel must be wiped off the map. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is attending the conference and said no one should deny the Holocaust. He met with Ahmadinejad early Monday afternoon.
The European Union is split, with Italy, Holland and Germany boycotting the conference and Britain attending with a low-level representation. France announced Monday morning it will attend but only “on condition” that Durban II does not turn into another anti-Israel platform. Australia, New Zealand and Canada also are boycotting the conference, and Poland announced at midday it will not attend.
The conference ostensibly is arranged to fight racism, but Ahmadinejad was quoted by the Iranian government radio as saying, “The Zionist ideology and regime are the flag bearers of racism."
Durban II, whether by coincidence or by intention, begins on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that Durban II is “upside down” and explained, “How could it be that the Iranian president is the guest of honor at a conference for racism?" Prime Minister Netanyahu commented, “The guest of honor at the conference is a racist and denies the Holocaust. He doesn’t deny his intention to wipe Israel off the map.”
President Shimon Peres stated, “I feel deeply hurt and ashamed that on such a day, there is the opening of a racist conference in Geneva, and the main speaker is who? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A man that calls to wipe Israel off of the map. A man who denies the Holocaust. There must be a limit, even to the neutrality of Switzerland."
Organizers of the conference toned down several policies that prompted objections by Western nations but retained resolutions that imply criticism of Israel. Muslim countries want a resolution that bans all criticism of Islam, which they claim preclude the freedom of speech.
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by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
A confrontation began brewing in Geneva Monday, where the United Nations-sponsored conference on anti-racism is to begin in the afternoon with a speech by "guest of honor" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In a harsh and exceptional step, the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned its Ambassador to Switzerland, Ilan Elgar to return home for consultations after Ahmadinejad met with Swiss President Hans-Rudolf Merz.
Israel also sent a delegation to Durban II to protest instead of participate in the sequel conference to Durban I, which in 2001 focused anger and condemnation on Israel to the point that the United States walked out. This time around, the U.S. and several Western nations have boycotted the conference ahead of time.
Israeli delegates are planning to arrange demonstrations against Durban II and during Ahmadinejad”s speech Monday afternoon, with information about human rights violations in Iran. They will be backed by Elie Wiesel, of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust center, and Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz a champion of civil rights and a strong supporter of Israel.
Swiss police are on high alert for problems and on Sunday whisked away Dershowitz, who had declared his intention to engage Ahmadinejad in a debate on his views of the Holocaust and Israel. Natan Sharansky, who is expected to be nominated by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to head the Jewish Agency, will be the keynote speaker in a protest session scheduled on Wednesday, entitled “Israel, Democracy, and the Search for Peace."
President Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust and has several times said that Israel must be wiped off the map. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon is attending the conference and said no one should deny the Holocaust. He met with Ahmadinejad early Monday afternoon.
The European Union is split, with Italy, Holland and Germany boycotting the conference and Britain attending with a low-level representation. France announced Monday morning it will attend but only “on condition” that Durban II does not turn into another anti-Israel platform. Australia, New Zealand and Canada also are boycotting the conference, and Poland announced at midday it will not attend.
The conference ostensibly is arranged to fight racism, but Ahmadinejad was quoted by the Iranian government radio as saying, “The Zionist ideology and regime are the flag bearers of racism."
Durban II, whether by coincidence or by intention, begins on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Monday that Durban II is “upside down” and explained, “How could it be that the Iranian president is the guest of honor at a conference for racism?" Prime Minister Netanyahu commented, “The guest of honor at the conference is a racist and denies the Holocaust. He doesn’t deny his intention to wipe Israel off the map.”
President Shimon Peres stated, “I feel deeply hurt and ashamed that on such a day, there is the opening of a racist conference in Geneva, and the main speaker is who? Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A man that calls to wipe Israel off of the map. A man who denies the Holocaust. There must be a limit, even to the neutrality of Switzerland."
Organizers of the conference toned down several policies that prompted objections by Western nations but retained resolutions that imply criticism of Israel. Muslim countries want a resolution that bans all criticism of Islam, which they claim preclude the freedom of speech.
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4. Hamas Imam: Jews Destined to Die
by Hana Levi Julian
A Muslim cleric called this month for the extermination of the Jews in a Friday sermon broadcast on Hamas TV, according to Middle East media watchdog, the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Barely three years ago, Ziad Abu Al-Haj participated in an international conference of “Imams and Rabbis for Peace”, where he and others vowed to “condemn any negative representation” of each others’ religion.
Three weeks ago, however, the religious leader told his viewers on Al Aqsa (Hamas) TV that “Hatred for Muhammad and Islam is in their [Jews souls; they are naturally disposed to it…” According to the Hamas interpretation of Islam, Jews are inherently evil and therefore are a threat to Muslims and all humanity.
Can't see the video player? Click here to view the footage.
Palestinian Media Watch has provided an English translation of Abu Al-Haj’s sermon calling for genocide of the Jews:
"Who is it that is leading the world today in the vicious, all-encompassing war against Islam and Muslims? The answer is clear: it is the Jewish nation. It is the Jews who today are leading the all-encompassing war against Muslims...
We, the Muslims, know the nature of Jews the best, because the Holy Quran taught us. The prophetic traditions explained at length to Muslims the true nature of Jews... Their war and their hatred for Muhammad and Islam is in their souls, they are naturally disposed to it.
Israel today lives in the heart of Arab-Muslim territory, and it is a cancer that wants to rule the world. Know, my brothers! The Jews' expansion today brings the dissemination of an ancient thinking...
They argued with Allah's prophet Moses; they wanted to kill Allah's prophet Jesus, and wanted to murder Allah's prophet Muhammad...
The Jews want to destroy every inch ... Perhaps their famous book, which they deny [its authenticit - known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, but we call it, "The Protocols of the Imbeciles of Zion" - in this book, my brothers, the Jews set down their plan to besiege the entire world by land, by air, and by sea - conceptually, economically, and its communications, as is happening today...
The Jews' grandeur today, and their ascent to the world's throne, is because America, with all of its power, is ruled by the Senate, I won't say 'American' but rather 'Jewish' [Sena ... The time will come, by the will of Allah, when their property will be destroyed and their children will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be left on the face of this earth."
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by Hana Levi Julian
A Muslim cleric called this month for the extermination of the Jews in a Friday sermon broadcast on Hamas TV, according to Middle East media watchdog, the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Barely three years ago, Ziad Abu Al-Haj participated in an international conference of “Imams and Rabbis for Peace”, where he and others vowed to “condemn any negative representation” of each others’ religion.
Three weeks ago, however, the religious leader told his viewers on Al Aqsa (Hamas) TV that “Hatred for Muhammad and Islam is in their [Jews souls; they are naturally disposed to it…” According to the Hamas interpretation of Islam, Jews are inherently evil and therefore are a threat to Muslims and all humanity.
Can't see the video player? Click here to view the footage.
Palestinian Media Watch has provided an English translation of Abu Al-Haj’s sermon calling for genocide of the Jews:
"Who is it that is leading the world today in the vicious, all-encompassing war against Islam and Muslims? The answer is clear: it is the Jewish nation. It is the Jews who today are leading the all-encompassing war against Muslims...
We, the Muslims, know the nature of Jews the best, because the Holy Quran taught us. The prophetic traditions explained at length to Muslims the true nature of Jews... Their war and their hatred for Muhammad and Islam is in their souls, they are naturally disposed to it.
Israel today lives in the heart of Arab-Muslim territory, and it is a cancer that wants to rule the world. Know, my brothers! The Jews' expansion today brings the dissemination of an ancient thinking...
They argued with Allah's prophet Moses; they wanted to kill Allah's prophet Jesus, and wanted to murder Allah's prophet Muhammad...
The Jews want to destroy every inch ... Perhaps their famous book, which they deny [its authenticit - known as The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, but we call it, "The Protocols of the Imbeciles of Zion" - in this book, my brothers, the Jews set down their plan to besiege the entire world by land, by air, and by sea - conceptually, economically, and its communications, as is happening today...
The Jews' grandeur today, and their ascent to the world's throne, is because America, with all of its power, is ruled by the Senate, I won't say 'American' but rather 'Jewish' [Sena ... The time will come, by the will of Allah, when their property will be destroyed and their children will be exterminated, and no Jew or Zionist will be left on the face of this earth."
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5. U.S. Gives Iran Talks '6 Months'
by Gil Ronen
Ash-Sharq il-Awsat, a major pan-Arabic daily newspaper, quotes a source in the U.S. as saying that “Washington wants around six months to give dialogue with Iran enough of a chance.”
In an article by Tariq Alhomayed, the paper’s editor-in-chief, the source said that a few days ago, Washington completed a review of management policies on dealing with Iran. The decision was that Washington would negotiate with Tehran on issues other than nuclear weapons, “such as Iraq and Afghanistan,” while the nuclear issues will remain in the hands of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
In addition, the U.S. will sit in on the “P5 plus 1” meetings with Iran (“P5 plus 1” refers to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – and the “plus 1” is Germany).
The source told Alhomayed, “Attending does not mean interfering or changing the rules of the game,” and said that the U.S. is viewing with "cautious anticipation” an upcoming meeting between Solana and Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.
The Financial Times reported last week that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Arab officials that on her trip to the Middle East in March, that she was “doubtful” if Iran would respond positively to the U.S.’s initiative for dialogue.
Regarding the so-called “Bushehr for Yitzhar” formula floated in a report by an Israeli newspaper, the source told Asharq il-Awsat that the idea is an Israeli one. “There is no discussion taking place in Washington right now on stopping the settlements in return for stopping Iran but that is what Israel wants and this is what is being reported in the Israeli media,” the source said.
Comment on this story
by Gil Ronen
Ash-Sharq il-Awsat, a major pan-Arabic daily newspaper, quotes a source in the U.S. as saying that “Washington wants around six months to give dialogue with Iran enough of a chance.”
In an article by Tariq Alhomayed, the paper’s editor-in-chief, the source said that a few days ago, Washington completed a review of management policies on dealing with Iran. The decision was that Washington would negotiate with Tehran on issues other than nuclear weapons, “such as Iraq and Afghanistan,” while the nuclear issues will remain in the hands of EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
In addition, the U.S. will sit in on the “P5 plus 1” meetings with Iran (“P5 plus 1” refers to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council – the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China – and the “plus 1” is Germany).
The source told Alhomayed, “Attending does not mean interfering or changing the rules of the game,” and said that the U.S. is viewing with "cautious anticipation” an upcoming meeting between Solana and Saeed Jalili, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator.
The Financial Times reported last week that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Arab officials that on her trip to the Middle East in March, that she was “doubtful” if Iran would respond positively to the U.S.’s initiative for dialogue.
Regarding the so-called “Bushehr for Yitzhar” formula floated in a report by an Israeli newspaper, the source told Asharq il-Awsat that the idea is an Israeli one. “There is no discussion taking place in Washington right now on stopping the settlements in return for stopping Iran but that is what Israel wants and this is what is being reported in the Israeli media,” the source said.
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6. Fatah Jihad on the Rise
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Last week’s terrorist attack in Beit Haggai, adjacent to Hevron, is the latest in a string of “individual Jihad” violence against Jews, counterterror expert reserve Brigadier-General Shalom Harari said on Channel One’s "Today in the News" program Sunday night.
Harari, a senior research scholar at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, tied the Palestinian Authority with the growing phenomenon of apparently spontaneous terrorist attacks that have killed several Israelis the past year.
A combination of incitement in Arab media, Israeli court orders to destroy illegal homes in Jerusalem, internal dissent in Fatah and a general frustration amid rising Arab expectations has encouraged the attacks, he said.
Harari noted that senior Fatah leaders in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority have declared in internal discussions that a return to violence is necessary. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has been termed a moderate by the Western world and by Kadima, Labor and Meretz party leaders because of his public declarations that violence harms the PA’s fight for a new Arab state on the land of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
Compounding Fatah’s predicament is a growing popularity of Hamas in Arab cities and villages in Judea and Samaria at the same time that the rival terrorist organization is losing ground in Gaza.
“The PA suppreses [violen by using fear and stops some attacks, resulting in individuals taking action on their own,” the reserve brigadier general stated.
He pointed out that the Internet is a source of incitement and can cause individuals who have no connection to an organized terror cell to get up one morning and decide to attack Jews. Another source of incitement is the Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite network, which still shows readers carnage from the Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign in Gaza “as it if happened yesterday.”
The attack at Beit Haggai, which ended with the attacker being killed without causing serious injuries to anyone, came one week after a terrorist from the Hevron area killed a 13-year-old boy and wounded one other child in the western Gush Etzion community of Bat Ayin, located south of Jerusalem.
Arab individuals without any known connection to an organized terrorist group were responsible for terror attacks that killed eight students in the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva massacre and three people in a bulldozer attack in the capital last year.
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by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Last week’s terrorist attack in Beit Haggai, adjacent to Hevron, is the latest in a string of “individual Jihad” violence against Jews, counterterror expert reserve Brigadier-General Shalom Harari said on Channel One’s "Today in the News" program Sunday night.
Harari, a senior research scholar at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, tied the Palestinian Authority with the growing phenomenon of apparently spontaneous terrorist attacks that have killed several Israelis the past year.
A combination of incitement in Arab media, Israeli court orders to destroy illegal homes in Jerusalem, internal dissent in Fatah and a general frustration amid rising Arab expectations has encouraged the attacks, he said.
Harari noted that senior Fatah leaders in the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority have declared in internal discussions that a return to violence is necessary. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has been termed a moderate by the Western world and by Kadima, Labor and Meretz party leaders because of his public declarations that violence harms the PA’s fight for a new Arab state on the land of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.
Compounding Fatah’s predicament is a growing popularity of Hamas in Arab cities and villages in Judea and Samaria at the same time that the rival terrorist organization is losing ground in Gaza.
“The PA suppreses [violen by using fear and stops some attacks, resulting in individuals taking action on their own,” the reserve brigadier general stated.
He pointed out that the Internet is a source of incitement and can cause individuals who have no connection to an organized terror cell to get up one morning and decide to attack Jews. Another source of incitement is the Qatar-based Al Jazeera satellite network, which still shows readers carnage from the Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign in Gaza “as it if happened yesterday.”
The attack at Beit Haggai, which ended with the attacker being killed without causing serious injuries to anyone, came one week after a terrorist from the Hevron area killed a 13-year-old boy and wounded one other child in the western Gush Etzion community of Bat Ayin, located south of Jerusalem.
Arab individuals without any known connection to an organized terrorist group were responsible for terror attacks that killed eight students in the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva massacre and three people in a bulldozer attack in the capital last year.
Comment on this story
7. Barak Offers Deal on Ofra
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Defense Minister Ehud Barak will tell the High Court he has decided to stop all building in Ofra but recognize all houses and remove all legal questions while not destroying any houses in dispute, the Hebrew-language daily Yisrael HaYom (Israel Today) reported Monday morning. Arabs, with the support of the Peace Now movement, have asked the court to order the destruction of nine houses that they say are on land they own.
The Defense Minster will explain that his suggestion will prevent a confrontation with Ofra, which has grown to a large town of several hundred families from only 70 families 25 years ago. Considered one of the flagship Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, it is located on Highway 60 in northern Samaria and approximately 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Jerusalem.
The newspaper said that the building freeze, if put into effect, will affect 24 houses that already are under construction, but Ofra Rabbi Avi Gissar told Israel National News that he does not know of any homes that are currently being built in Ofra.
Defense Minister Barak said his proposal will preclude destruction of nine houses that opponents to a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria claim are built on non-government land.
Rabbi Gissar said he backs the Defense Minister’s idea, despite the building freeze, because it would result in a military order that in effect eliminates all legal questions concerning previous construction of homes.
He said the government has to settle the problem of legal questions and that the military order would define the borders of Ofra and include all existing homes. He said that the building freeze can be discussed in the future and whether it applies to the entire community or only to land that has been disputed by Peace Now and Arabs.
Kadima Knesset Member Chaim Ramon, when he served as Deputy Prime Minister in the previous government, claimed that virtually all of the homes in Ofra were built on Arab land.
But Binyamin Regional Council Head Pinchas Wallerstein says that Ofra was established on state-owned land. According to Wallerstein, Ofra was erected in 1975 as a work camp with the authorization of then-Defense Minister Shimon Peres in the government of Yitzchak Rabin. The land belonged to the government and formerly was used as a military camp by Jordan when it occupied Judea and Samaria between 1947 and 1967.
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by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Defense Minister Ehud Barak will tell the High Court he has decided to stop all building in Ofra but recognize all houses and remove all legal questions while not destroying any houses in dispute, the Hebrew-language daily Yisrael HaYom (Israel Today) reported Monday morning. Arabs, with the support of the Peace Now movement, have asked the court to order the destruction of nine houses that they say are on land they own.
The Defense Minster will explain that his suggestion will prevent a confrontation with Ofra, which has grown to a large town of several hundred families from only 70 families 25 years ago. Considered one of the flagship Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, it is located on Highway 60 in northern Samaria and approximately 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of Jerusalem.
The newspaper said that the building freeze, if put into effect, will affect 24 houses that already are under construction, but Ofra Rabbi Avi Gissar told Israel National News that he does not know of any homes that are currently being built in Ofra.
Defense Minister Barak said his proposal will preclude destruction of nine houses that opponents to a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria claim are built on non-government land.
Rabbi Gissar said he backs the Defense Minister’s idea, despite the building freeze, because it would result in a military order that in effect eliminates all legal questions concerning previous construction of homes.
He said the government has to settle the problem of legal questions and that the military order would define the borders of Ofra and include all existing homes. He said that the building freeze can be discussed in the future and whether it applies to the entire community or only to land that has been disputed by Peace Now and Arabs.
Kadima Knesset Member Chaim Ramon, when he served as Deputy Prime Minister in the previous government, claimed that virtually all of the homes in Ofra were built on Arab land.
But Binyamin Regional Council Head Pinchas Wallerstein says that Ofra was established on state-owned land. According to Wallerstein, Ofra was erected in 1975 as a work camp with the authorization of then-Defense Minister Shimon Peres in the government of Yitzchak Rabin. The land belonged to the government and formerly was used as a military camp by Jordan when it occupied Judea and Samaria between 1947 and 1967.
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