Report: Al-Qaeda suspects flee after Turkish gov't blocks raid

Source : TODAY'S ZAMAN

İSTANBULAl-Qaeda-linked Yusuf Al Qadi and Osama Khoutub, who are among the suspects in a major graft probe, have reportedly fled Turkey after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) blocked a police raid on Wednesday as İstanbul police refused to comply with orders of prosecutors to detain several suspects in the second leg of the investigationThe İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office ordered the detention of 30 suspects, including a number of deputies and businessmen. The İstanbul Police Department, which saw an extensive purge of its top officers over the last week, has not complied with the order, however.News reports suggest that when the list of 30 suspects leaked to media on Wednesday, some of the suspects took precautionary measures to avoid incriminating themselves in the case of a police raid on their homes or offices.And some suspects fled Turkey, including al-Qaeda Turkey operatives Al Qadi and Khoutub, after government blocked the investigation through newly appointed police chiefs who refused to comply with court decision.Prosecutor Muammer Akkaş, who was leading the second round of the probe, was removed from the case. “All my colleagues and the public should know that as a public prosecutor I was prevented from carrying out the investigation,” the prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday, adding that pressure had clearly been placed on the judiciary both from the Public Prosecutor's Office and the police, allowing an opportunity for suspects to destroy the evidence.Akkaş said although he issued detention and search warrants for the suspects and relayed these to the İstanbul Police Department on Wednesday morning, the police department had not complied with his orders."By not implementing the court decisions, police chiefs committed a crime. An opportunity was given to suspects to take measures, escape or mitigate the evidence," he said.Saudi businessman Al Qadi's assests were frozen in Turkey after he was named a financer of terrorism in the international community. News reports point out that the al-Qaeda suspect is allowed to enter Turkey freely and has access to high-level diplomats and security officials, including Undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Hakan Fidan.According to claims, former Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, who left his post on Wednesday in a major Cabinet reshuffle, asked the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor to close the case. 

Keywords: turkey , national news , al qaeda

Al-Nusra: Saudi Arabia next target of al-Qaeda?

The leader of Al-Nusra Front, Mohamed Abu al-Yulani, does not rule out that Saudi Arabia would become the next target of al-Qaeda in the region. In an interview with Qatari Al-Jazeera Channel, Al-Yulani said that if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will stay in power, "then the next target will be the Arabian Peninsula, known as Saudi Arabia."The leader of al-Nusra, a subsidiary of Al-Qaeda in Syria, said it will target the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, where we find most of the oil in the country. During his first interview with the media, he appeared back to camera; Al-Yulani also warned about the possible improvement of relations between Iran and the United States by the recent nuclear agreement reached in Switzerland, since, in his opinion, it reinforces the position of the Persian country in the region.Furthermore, he explained that his group rejects any results arising from the second edition of the peace conference on Syria known as Geneva II, which will take place on January 22, 2014 in the Swiss town of Montreux."Those attending the conference do not represent the people. Besides, who authorized them (the opposition) to represent the people," he asked.In future Al-Nusra could become the number one enemy of Saudi Arabia, despite the head of the intelligence services in the country, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, being the main sponsor of the terrorist cell, according to recent information released by French bulletin "Intelligence Online", specializing in Strategic Affairs.Irã News, Hispan TVTranslated from the Portuguese versionBy Olga Santos

Karzai from New Delhi: I Don’t Trust US

Source : Al Manar.com

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said on Saturday that he no longer trusts the United States, noting that Washington says one thing and does another in the troubled Asian country."I don't trust them," Karzai said on the second day of a three-day visit to India during which the United States hopes New Delhi can persuade him to sign the troubled troop deal."When Obama writes to me that he will respect homes, they should prove it... implement the letter, respect Afghan homes," Karzai said, referring to a letter the US President Barack Obama wrote last month assuring him that US forces would "respect" the safety of Afghans in their homes."Just instruct no more bombings and there will be no more bombings and of course launch the peace process publicly and officially," he said."I am trying to make it a win-win for all," he said.Earlier on Friday, Karzai warned against intimidation regarding signing a security pact allowing US troops to stay on after next year."Aggressive rhetoric won't work... We are not a nation that is known for giving into intimidation," he told Indian television NDTV.Karzai, who is due to stand down after elections next year, initially endorsed the so-called Bilateral Security Agreement.But he later said the agreement could only be signed after the presidential election in April, warning against a NATO presence if it just meant "more bombs and killings".His stance has outraged US officials and lawmakers, who have threatened a complete pullout if Karzai does not sign by the end of the year.Karzai met Friday with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and foreign minister Kapil Sibal.

Lebanon in high alert at border with Israel

(Xinhua) -- Following the assassination of a high ranking Hezbollah official Wednesday in Beirut and accusing Israel of being behind the crime, a high tense situation was witnessed on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border.A Lebanese security source told Xinhua that a high alert was witnessed on both sides of the border in a preemptive move for any possible security deterioration.The source said that the Israeli army has put its units deployed on the border with Lebanon in a high alert state and patrolled all the border region using armored vehicles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV's).It added that the patrols were accompanied by intense flightovers of the Israeli air force and border units were seen monitoring the Lebanese side with advanced eavesdropping equipment.As for the Lebanese army, its units were placed in a high state of readiness and enforced its checkpoints, so did the Hezbollah, according to the source.Hajj Hassan Hollo al-Laqqis, who is a prominent figure in the resistance, was assassinated near his residence in Sainte Therese neighborhood in Hadath around 12 a.m. overnight Tuesday while he was on the way back from work.Hezbollah in a statement accused Israel of carrying out the assassination, revealing that Laqqis "was subjected several times and in several areas to failed assassination attempts."The statement added "Israel is automatically held the complete responsibility for this heinous crime."Related:Syria military jets strike Lebanon border town: security sourceBEIRUT, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Syrian military jets on Thursday launched three air raids on the outskirts of Lebanon's Arsal border town in the east Bekaa, a local security source said.A Syrian military helicopter conducted two raids on the Wadi Ata region on the outskirts of Arsal, launching six rockets while a second Syrian jet targeted the same area with three rockets. Full story

Assassinated Hezbollah leader key to technology, drone operations

Source : http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/hezbollah-assassinated-hashem.html#ixzz2mafUVVrX

BEIRUT — It was at least the fourth time coming face to face with his assassins. Hassan al-Laqis didn’t survive this time. So who was this Hezbollah high-tech unit head who was killed?Summary⎙ Print A source said Hassan al-Laqis was one of Imad Mughniyeh’s “smart students.”Author Ali HashemPosted December 4, 2013“One of Imad Mughniyeh’s smart students,” a source close to Hezbollah told me. “He was Hezbollah’s technological Mughniyeh, he’s the commander whose team gave Israel and its spies a serious headache, both on the ground and in the air, he was a genius on the head of tens of geniuses whom are expected to continue the job he was doing.”The source explained that Laqis was fond of technology and took the first steps two decades ago on the way to transferring Hezbollah into a techie organization. “His steps were seen by many in the beginning as very ambitious, he was the man who made Hezbollah intercept Israeli UAVs and record their footage for years.”According to Al-Monitor’s source, Laqis and his team should be credited for the “Ayoub” drone that on Oct. 7, 2012, penetrated the Israeli airspace, passing close to the most important strategic Israeli installation, the Dimona nuclear reactor. The drone bypassed the entire Israeli radar and air defense system before being detected and downed by Israel.The source revealed that Laqis’ efforts helped Hezbollah on Sept. 5, 1997, execute the Ansariyeh ambush, the operation that saw 11 commandos from Israel’s elite naval unit Shayetet 13 killed when they were on a mission inside Lebanon. “Hezbollah back then said that it succeeded through its own counterintelligence capabilities to learn about the operation in advance, later on Sayyed [Hassan] Nasrallah said it was the UAV footages. Today, I tell you it’s Hassan Laqis and his team.”This is not all. One of the main Hezbollah-related stories during the last years with respect to its war with Israel was the dismantling of the Israeli spy networks in Lebanon. “Haj Hassan’s unit played an important role in uncovering several Israeli spies in Lebanon during the last years. There were complicated ways that they mastered, and he always wanted the smartest men with him. He was part of a dangerous war, but if you ask him how he would wish to die, he’ll tell you a martyr, and here he is.”In 2006 during the July/August war between Israel and Hezbollah, Laqis survived two attempts on his life, one in which 26 people, along with his elder son Ali al-Reda, were killed when an Israeli fighter jet struck the building where he lives. “His phone was with his son,” explains our source, “just a few minutes after his son put the phone on for a certain reason an Israeli plane bombarded the building where he was.”Since the early '90s, Laqis’ name appeared in Hezbollah-related activities in the West. In his book Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God, Mathew Levitt, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, wrote that Laqis was Hezbollah’s chief procurement officer during the 1990s and that he played a role in paying for Hezbollah activities in Canada in 1994.“From the first moment it was clear to Hezbollah [that] Israel was behind the attack,” the source explained. “The martyr was Israel’s enemy, besides after more than three decades of war, Hezbollah can quickly identify the Israeli touch on the operation.”He then revealed that there are serious doubts within Hezbollah’s security ranks whether the assassination was fully planned and executed by Israeli officers, or by operatives in Lebanon, except for the surveillance. “This is still to be confirmed, there’s good reason to review Israel’s 1973 attack on PLO leaders in Beirut,” he concludedRead more: 
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/12/hezbollah-assassinated-hashem.html#ixzz2mal7nhA5

Israeli occupation To Build 3000 New Settlement Units

Source :  http://www.qassam.ps/news-7773-Israeli_occupation_To_Build_3000_New_Settlement_Units.html

04-12-2013,09:08 Occupied Palestine - [Tuesday, December 3, 2013] Israeli War Minister, Moshe Yaalon, has decided to approve 3,000 new units in illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and occupied Jerusalem. New illegal settlement also to be built in the Negev.The decision came despite a statement made by Netanyahu, who alleged that the occupation “will not rush new plans” and “will not issue new bids at the current stage.” Israeli sources said that Yaalon issued several similar decisions, and that most of these decisions were made in July of this year, when he approved the construction of 2,487 units for several settlements in the occupied West Bank.Israeli Peace Now Movement said that Yaalon is waging an extensive campaign to expand various illegal settlements, including Alia Zahav, Shilo, Kedumim, Givat Zeev, and Talmon.In related news, the Israeli Regional Construction and Planning Committee has decided to build a new settlement of 250 units for young Israeli couples in the Negev, as part of the Ramat Negev Regional Council of Settlements. The decision came amidst massive protests against the Prawer-Begin displacement plan in the Negev. The Prawer-Begin Plan aims at illegally confiscating nearly a million dunams of Arab – Bedouin land in the Negev, and the total destruction and removal of nearly 36 “unrecognized villages”, an issue that would lead to the displacement of about 100,000 people. By forcing out the Arabs from the Negev and constructing malls and “Jewish-only” areas, Israeli occupation will be blocking any geographical contiguity between the Negev, Gaza and Sinai. The plan, which passed following the first reading, would also lead to the illegal annexation of more than 800,000 dunams of Arab lands in the Negev.

Amnesty international tells israel to end illegal blockade of Gaza

Source : http://www.tehrantimes.com/world/112499-amnesty-international-tells-israel-to-end-illegal-blockade-of-gaza-

Amnesty International has called on the Israeli regime to immediately end the illegal 5-year blockade it has imposed on the Gaza Strip, which has left many struggling for humanitarian supplies. “Israel must immediately lift its blockade on the Gaza Strip, including by allowing the delivery of fuel and other essential supplies into the territory without restrictions,” Amnesty said in a statement issued on Sunday, Al-Alam reported.  The rights organization also warned of a prolonged humanitarian crisis in Gaza due to fuel shortage ahead of winter. Over 1.7 million people of Gaza are living without power since the territory’s sole power plant was forced to shut down last month due to fuel shortage, Amnesty said. “This latest harsh setback has exacerbated the assault on the dignity of Palestinians in Gaza and the massive denial of rights they have experienced for more than six years because of Israel’s blockade, together with restrictions imposed by Egypt,” said Philip Luther, the Middle East and North Africa director at Amnesty International. Luther added that the blockade “has collectively punished Gaza’s population in violation of international law.” “The power plant shutdown has further affected all aspects of daily life, and the Israeli authorities must lift the blockade immediately, starting by allowing urgently needed fuel supplies into the Strip and working with all relevant parties to avert a prolonged humanitarian crisis this winter.” Israel imposed an all-out land, aerial, and naval blockade on Gaza in June 2007.The siege has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the impoverished enclave, having turned the territory into the world’s largest open-air prison.In recent months, fuel and electricity shortages in Gaza have worsened as the Egyptian military has blocked supply tunnels leading into the region. The underground tunnels serve as a lifeline for the Palestinians in Gaza. The blockaded silver is now experiencing daily power outages of up to 16 hours. Hospitals, homes, water and sanitation plants as well as businesses have also been affected by the serious energy shortage. The power cut has caused the failure of sewerage and water plants. It has also put the lives of many hospitalized patients in danger. According to the UN, all 291 water and wastewater facilities in the Gaza Strip are now relying on standby generators, which are also affected by the fuel shortages. Prominent political thinker Noam Chomsky has described the Gaza Strip as “the world’s largest open air prison."

Source: Agencies

Netanyahu tried to interfere in U.S. elections: Olmert

Source : http://en.mehrnews.com/detail/News/100903

TEHRAN, Dec. 2 (MNA) – Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that Benjamin Netanyahu's aggressive quarrel with the Obama administration over the agreement with Iran signed in Geneva endangers Israel, and panned Netanyahu for "losing his head."Olmert accused Netanyahu of "declaring war on the United States" and of attempting to incite the Congress against U.S. President Barack Obama.Olmert spoke Sunday at a closed panel discussion on "the strategic implications of the interim agreement between the P5 + 1 and Iran," held at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University.Olmert said both his government and that of his predecessor Ariel Sharon wished to avoid public confrontation with the American administration over Iran. "At no stage did we want to do battle with Israel's number one ally and to incite the Congress against the president," he asserted.Olmert called Netanyahu's acts and statements unprecedented. "The danger and the potential damage from it are incomparably larger" than the value of the public debate with the United States, he said.When Netanyahu took office in 2009, he changed Israeli policy in favor of "declarations" and "threats," Olmert said.Olmert also said Netanyahu's Iran policy put an undue financial strain on Israel, criticizing the NIS 10 Billion spent on preparations for a possible attack on Iran. "This is money that was wasted," Olmert said. "If the State of Israel ever decided act on its threats this money will not change anything, but it has great significance as to the state's budget."Olmert rejected the claim that Netanyahu's threats led to the severe sanctions that brought about the compromise with Iran, and said that these started even before Netanyahu took office.He warned Netanyahu, without directly naming him, against a conflict with Obama, "the man whose support for the State of Israel, his good will, is possibly the most important basis for the country's strategic interest," and added that "we need to guard against anything that could possibly make it seem that we desire to fight with our greatest ally."Olmert also claimed that Netanyahu openly intervened against Obama in the U.S. presidential elections last year, a move he termed a "historic mistake."

Israel’ Intervenes in Ghota Battles

Source :

Battles launched more than a week ago of Damascus by a surprised assault against the Syrian army forward posts in the eastern Ghota may turn to be the first occasion involving the Israeli army effectively in the war in Syria along one of the parties, Lebanese daily Assafir reported Saturday.Sources told the newspaper that Zionist troops have provided reconnaissance maps and photos of the Syrian army positions to the attacking force, which moved from Jordan under the leadership of Saudi-U.S.-Zionist coordinated intelligence."However, the great Israeli contribution in the East Ghota battle was the pillar of the whole attack. According to security information, before the start of the first round of the attack, the Israelis succeeded to disrupt communications system for each of the Fourth Division, the Republican Guard, units of Hezbollah elite forces, the Iraqi Abu al Fadl al Abbas factions deployed in the region.During the first hours of the attack, the Israelis used electronic means of encryption, and managed to disrupt radio communications between Syrian groups and their allies on the first line of defense, which was breached quickly, and led to the fall of the seven villages and farms in the area of al-Marj.It has become known that units of the fourth division stationed in the region had lost contact with commanders, and other units protected retreating groups' lines towards the second line of defense to prevent the attackers from progress toward their strategic goal of Otaiba, which forms the entrance to East Gouta and the key to the siege imposed over it.

UN Declares 2014 Year Of Solidarity With The Palestinians

Source : http://www.qassam.ps/news-7754-UN_Declares_2014_Year_Of_Solidarity_With_The_Palestinians.html

28-11-2013,08:22 Gaza - The United Nations has declared the year 2014 as a “Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People”, after the resolution passed by 110 votes, with seven countries opposing and 54 abstaining.The UN said it will be working with various governments, organizations and civil society institutions, in 2014, to ensure the urgently needed support to the Palestinian people.In a message read on his behalf, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon called on world countries to translate their solidarity with the Palestinian people by working together for justice and peace.The message of Ki-Moon stated that Israel’s occupation of the rest of historic Palestine in 1967 must end, and stressed on the importance of establishing a sovereign, independent and viable Palestinian State based on the 1967 borders.In November of 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of granting Palestine an observer status, a move which indirectly resembled a UN recognition of Palestine as a state. The resolution passed by 138 votes, with nine including the US vote against, and 41 countries absenting.Israeli occupation and the United States were angered by the move, considering it “counterproductive”. Israeli occupation then stopped the transfer of tax money it collects on behalf of the Palestinians at border terminals, and the US froze its financial support.Israeli occupation and its allies are attempting to prevent the Palestinians from joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), as joining the ICC gives the Palestinian Authority the chance to sue Israeli occupation for war crimes against the Palestinian People

Russia: CNN Censorship of Churkin's Syria Interview 'Unprofessionalism'

Source : http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13920909000825

TEHRAN (FNA)- Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said censorship of Churkin’s interview by CNN is beyond understanding and beyond unprofessionalism."The principal comments made by the Russian permanent representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, on Syria in his interview on CNN were cut from the screened version of this interview. Actually it is hard to understand why one of the major news channels is not interested in presenting Russia’s position on the Syria crisis, especially regarding the upcoming conference Geneva II," Maria Zakharova told The Voice of Russia.CNN has edited out a part of an interview with Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin that focused on the situation in Syria. The final edition of Tuesday’s program, hosted by Christiane Amanpour, lacks his answers to some key questions relating to the settlement of the Syrian crisis.In particular, the CNN removed Churkin’s call for turning an attentive ear to the aspirations of the Syrian people, who mostly support President Assad.One of the questions cut by CNN journalists concerned President Bashar al Assad’s role after the start of the transition period. "This is something for Syrians to decide", Vitaly Churkin said in the full version of the interview posted on the Russian UN Embassy website.CNN also cut the Ambassador’s statements on the Syrian opposition, which he said is trying to hamper humanitarian activities in the country. Vitaly Churkin said, specifically, that a high-level working party is currently holding consultations in Geneva to deal with the humanitarian situation in Syria.Maria Zakharova, Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia gave official comment to The Voice of Russia:"The principal comments made by Russian permanent representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, on Syria in his interview on CNN were cut from the screened version of this interview. Actually it is hard to understand why one of the major news channels is not interested in presenting Russia’s position on Syria crisis, especially regarding the upcoming conference Geneva II. Unfortunately, it is not the first time when Russian diplomats and officials interviews have been censored in western media."The reasons that the CNN television network "edited" an interview with Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, is beyond understanding, Maria Zakharova said in statement on Facebook:"The fact that CNN cut a fundamental assessment on Syria out of the interview with V. Churkin is beyond unprofessionalism, and generally beyond understanding. This Western media’s practice of throwing away passages or assessments from an interview that is “unnecessary” for their audience became not the exception, but the norm, especially in relation to Russian representatives. But, unfortunately, this is not the pinnacle of cynicism. A couple of phrases were cut out, so what? You can always say that the broadcast time did not allow everything to be shown."Maria Zakharova pointed out that Russia’s essential views were not allowed on air at the crucial moment of negotiations ahead of the Geneva II peace conference:"Such situations, when a high-ranking Russian representative of a state or business structure is invited to the editorial office of this or that periodical, where ON THE RECORD he talks to journalists for about an hour and answers ALL questions seem inexplicable. As you may have guessed, the next day, to the delight of the press service, nothing is published either in the printed or electronic version of the periodical. The same zero result is repeated one day later, two days later, a week later. To your question “Why?” you receive an astounding answer: “Because he has not said anything interesting”. How about that? Here sits an iron man of Russian politics in a Manhattan office and answers questions for an hour nonstop and then it turns out that he's a boring, uninteresting person." 

Six mortar shells hit eastern border of Saudi Arabia

Source : http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-11/22/c_125743058.htm

Six mortar shells of unknown source hit an area on Saudi Arabia's eastern border with Iraq and Kuwait, causing no damage, Saudi Press Agency reported Thursday, quoting a military spokesman.Saudi authorities are contacting their two neighbors to inquire the source of the shells to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, General Mohammed al-Ghamdi, the spokesman, said.Local residents were quoted by Al Arabia TV as saying some Saudi warplanes were seen flying over the area early on Thursday.Hafr al-Batin, a desert region near Iraq and Kuwait, hosted a U. S. army headquarters during Operation Desert Storm that prompted the pullout of Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1991, the TV noted.Tension between Saudi Arabia and Iraq goes back to the first Gulf war in the early 1990s. There has been no Saudi ambassador sent to Iraq for years.

Israeli Air Force Carries Out Seven Airstrikes Against Gaza

Source : http://www.qassam.ps/news-7726-Israeli_Air_Force_Carries_Out_Seven_Airstrikes_Against_Gaza.html

Israeli war jets carried out seven air strikes targeting different areas in the northern and the southern parts of the Gaza Strip.Local sources in Khan Younis, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, have reported that the army fired missiles targeting two chicken farms that belong to the Esleih family in the Al-Manara neighborhood in Khan Younis. The chicken farms were completely destroyed, and around 4000 chicks and some sheep were killed. No human casualties have been reported. The Israeli Air Force also fired a missile into an area, nearly 250 meters from the border fence, east of Khan Younis. The attacked area is where three members of the Al-Qassam Brigades martyred and four Israeli soldiers were injured, during a recent Israeli invasion into the area. Another Air Strike targeted a vacant chicken farm in the Az-Zanna area, in Bani Soheila, east of Khan Younis; damage was reported but no injuries. Furthermore, at least one missile was fired into a training center used by Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, north of Beit Lahia in the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Leader of Syrian Muslim Brotherhood killed

Source :

Syrian law enforcers have killed Abdul Qader as-Saleh, leader of the Al-Tawhid Brigade (a unit of the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front and an organization closely connected with the Muslim Brotherhood), RIA Novosti reports.As-Saleh was wounded by an air raid of the regime’s forces of Aleppo last week. He was hospitalized in Turkey, where he has died.Abdul Aziz Salameh has become the new leader of the Al-Tawhid Brigade.Syrian law enforcers have killed Abdul Qader as-Saleh, leader of the Al-Tawhid Brigade (a unit of the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front and an organization closely connected with the Muslim Brotherhood), RIA Novosti reports.As-Saleh was wounded by an air raid of the regime’s forces of Aleppo last week. He was hospitalized in Turkey, where he has died.Abdul Aziz Salameh has become the new leader of the Al-Tawhid Brigade.

Facebook closes some Hamas-affiliated page

Source : http://www.qassam.ps/news-7711-Facebook_closes_some_Hamas_affiliated_page.html

Al Qassam website- Gaza- The facebook administration arbitrarily closed on Friday a number of pages linked to the Hamas Movement, including the page of Ajnad news agency.The facebook pages of senior Hamas official Husam Badran and Sheikh Ahmed Yassin as well as the page of the Islamic bloc at Al-Khalil university were also shut down.For his part, Badran strongly denounced on his new facebook page such a measure and described it as arbitrary and unethical.He added that the facebook behavior reflected its double standard policy, unprofessionalism and its bias against Palestine and the legitimate rights of its occupied people.The Hamas official affirmed that the closure of his facebook account would never muzzle his voice and prevent him from communicating with others.Ajnad news agency also deplored the measure and said that the facebook administration unveiled its double face and its suppression of the Palestinian people's right to use the cyberspace to express their views.

NATO allies back keeping Patriot missiles in Turkey

Source : http://en.trend.az/regions/met/turkey/2210975.html

NATO allies backed keeping Patriot missiles in Turkey on Wednesday, agreeing that threats to the NATO member remained serious, a NATO official said, Reuters reported.Turkey earlier asked NATO to extend the deployment of Patriot missile batteries sent early this year to defend the country from a possible attack from neighboring Syria. The missile batteries had been expected to stay there for a year.NATO ambassadors concluded at a meeting on Wednesday that instability on Turkey's border "requires ... the extension of the deployment of the Patriot missiles," the NATO official said.

Senior PFLP-GC leader killed in Yarmouk refugee camp

Source :  http://www.maannews.net/eng

DAMASCUS (Ma'an) -- A senior commander of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command was killed in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus on Tuesday, the group said.Major General Nur Addin Ibrahim, nicknamed As-Sabi or 'beast of prey', was killed during a routine tour after a truce had been announced in an attempt to end a months-long crisis in the Palestinian camp.The PFLP-GC said Ibrahim was murdered by a "terrorist group," claiming that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, a group fighting the Syrian government, planted an explosive device in Ibrahim's car and detonated it from a distance.On Monday, PLO leader Zakariya al-Agha said that armed men and weapons would leave the Damascus camp and workers would begin to rebuild Yarmouk to allow refugees to return.The Syrian army has imposed a blockade on Yarmouk refugee camp for over 80 days and there has been no electricity or fuel in the camp for months, locals say.The PFLP-GC is aligned with embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad.At least 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in the ongoing Syria conflict.Some 250,000 Palestinian refugees have been forced to leave their refugee camps in Syria due to violence in the country.

Al-Qaeda Teaches on Twitter How to ‘Kindly’ Cut off Human Head

Source : http://english.farsnews.com

TEHRAN (FNA)- Al-Qaeda which is getting super-active using the charged insurgency in Syria is now teaching followers how to ‘kindly’ cut a human’s head as it teaches followers how to be like them, media reports said.An article in Lebanese daily As-Safir has taken a look into al-Qaeda’s increasing use of social media networks and media technology in spreading its ideology and even teaching people how to kill with kindness.Malak Hamoud, the writer of the article, says al-Qaeda’s active offshoot in Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), which was previously just Islamic State of Iraq during the years of wars in Iraq is gaining more power in the social media, silencing almost every strong voice that is raised against them, Al-Alam reported.The author says it is surprising that how al-Qaeda has come to get this much power; “Do it destroy them and make them invisible?”The ISIL which is called “Daesh” in Arabic, is forcing itself in all types of media, reports, TV programs and now it is raising up in the internet space.The group’s unique and unprecedented way of extremism, along with its media boosts, have made a unique image of this terrorist group for the viewers.“Daesh has made it possible for everyone to follow its acts and behaviors and this is very dangerous, especially if the follower has some sense of extremism him/herself.”Daesh writes in its Twitter account that, “The Islamic State of Iraq and Levant is stable and will remain firm with the help of God, Divine rules will be implemented by it and violated rights of Muslims will be regained”. Daesh considers anyone who rejects this, even Muslims, as enemies and a killing target.These “new invaders”, as the writer describes, try to show themselves as traditional and committed to Sunnat (traditional way of life), but they are moving forward with the modern life and benefit from every new technology.They have several Twitter accounts with different names, each with a different mission; “Lions of the Islamic State”, “Falcons of the Islamic State”, Companions of the Islamic State”, and “Shaam State” are among the most famous ones.They have different missions, but they share the same goal: Establishing Khilafa.Daesh official account has 60,000 followers and they are campaigning to attract more.According to Daesh rules, having facebook pages is illegal and there are just a couple of pages which their followers do not exceed from several hundred.The group leadership has also banned follower from using the name “Daesh” and anyone who uses this name in his account will be lashed 70 times.They have an advertising ministry-like setup which issues statements on different subjects such as, Do not wear jeans, Do not use makeup, Do not shave your face, etc, and they get their statements from their clerics.Most recently the advertisement ministry is training its followers how to “kindly cut human’s head” because they don’t want to seem violent. They teach followers how they started their war, and justify their acts and lead people to their other pages and groups to join them.The war in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states.Since the start of the war al-Qaeda affiliated groups have been emerging under different names in Syria, fighting at the side of the US-backed opposition which is leading one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history.According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria for over two years. 

Army Kidnaps 25 Social Media Activists In Jerusalem

Source : http://imemc.org/article/66371

Israeli soldiers and police officers kidnapped on Wednesday evening [November 6 2013] 25 young Palestinian men and women, active in social network sites, exposing Israeli violations.Israeli Soldiers - File Milad NewsHead of the Jerusalem office of the Palestinian Prisoners Society Nasser Qous said that the soldiers invaded a large number of internet coffee shops, and computer stores in the occupied city, searched them and kidnapped the 25 Palestinians. Abu Qous added that seven young women were among the kidnapped, and that the soldiers released 15 of the kidnapped later on. The Police in the occupied city claims the kidnapped Palestinians conducted “incitement” against the army.The remaining ten Palestinians will be sent to the District Court in Jerusalem

Turkey seizes 1,200 rocket warheads near Syrian border

Source : http://news.xinhuanet.com

English.news.cn   2013-11-07 19:36:22             ISTANBUL/ANKARA, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkey seized a total of 1, 200 rocket warheads near the Syrian border, private Dogan news agency reported on Thursday.Dogan quoted Gov. Huseyin Avni Cos as saying that a cargo truck filled with rocket heads, bazookas, missiles, bombs and guns was seized in Turkey's southern province of Adana near the Syrian border.The report said that Adana police teams discovered the weapons after pursuing the truck initially on the suspicion that it was carrying drugs.Police used detection dogs to search for narcotics in the truck, said the report, adding that when the police opened the doors of the vehicle, they found the truck filled with weapons and explosives.Escorted by bomb disposal specialists, anti-terror teams brought the truck to a police station in the city. The truck was confiscated.The driver of the truck has been detained, and an investigation has been launched.

Turkey intercepts chemical shipment from Syria

Source : All akhbar.com

Turkish authorities have seized a large quantity of chemicals from a convoy trying to illegally enter the country from Syria, which "could be transformed into weapons," the army said Sunday.The convoy of three vehicles refused to stop as it attempted to illegally cross the border on Saturday near the southeastern town Turkish town of Reyhanli, the army said in a statement.Para-military police were forced to shoot out the tires of the vehicles to stop them, and three drivers jumped out and fled in the direction of Syria.One of them was arrested, the army said without specifying his nationality.The haul of sulfur and another unidentified substance will be examined by a team of army specialists, the statement said.The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) reported on Thursday that Syria's entire declared stock of chemical weapons has been placed under seal.This included 1,000 tons of chemical agents, which can be used to make weapons, and 290 tons of chemical weapons.A UN Security Council resolution stating that the arsenal must be destroyed by mid-2014, was agreed by the United States and Russia to avert military strikes on Syria after deadly chemical weapons attacks near Damascus in August.The West blamed those attacks, which killed hundreds of people, on the Syrian government, which denied all responsibility, instead blaming the attack on rebels.(AFP)

‘Sponsors’ of Syrian Rebels Sabotage Geneva-2 – Russian MP

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) – A senior Russian lawmaker said Sunday that the recent refusal of 19 Syrian opposition groups to attend a peace conference in Geneva was instigated by their foreign backers.

“Nineteen groups in the Syrian opposition, which is incapable of acting without outside support, ‘rejected’ Geneva-2. It means their sponsors want it to fall through,” Alexei Pushkov, the head of State Duma’s foreign policy committee, said on Twitter.

The militant groups, most of them moderate Islamists, announced their decision in a joint statement on late Saturday.

Geneva-2, tentatively set for November 23, is meant to bring the Syrian government and the rebels to the negotiation table in hopes of ending the 2 1/2-year-long civil strife in the Middle Eastern country.

Pushkov, a former TV host and a foreign policy hawk, did not name the alleged sponsors.

But he has previously criticized Western countries, particularly t United States, for their support of the Syrian opposition in their battle against the Moscow-backed government in Damascus.

A number of groups in the fractured Syrian opposition have already voiced reluctance to participate in Geneva-2, which is set up jointly by Moscow and Washington.

(Abbreviature in the headline was corrected from "PM.")

Report: Syrian al-Qaeda planning car bombings in Turkey

Source : Trend.Az

Turkey's Gendarmerie General Command, the military police responsible for security in rural areas, has reportedly notified the country's Interior Ministry about preparation by al-Qaeda- affiliate fighters in Syria to stage car bomb attacks in Turkey Today`s Zaman reported.

Turkish daily Milliyet reported on Friday that the gendarmerie sent a letter to the intelligence department of the Interior Ministry before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha notifying them about 10 car bombs that are being prepared to be detonated across Turkey.

A secret cable the gendarmerie sent to the police said the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is planning terrorist attacks in Turkey and has prepared 10 cars with fake Turkish plates and loaded with bombs to be detonated in Turkey.

The terrorists were planning to cut the wired border fence with Turkey to bring in the cars. The cable said the final decision as to whether or not to carry out the terrorist attacks would have been given based on Turkey's position during the Friends of Syria meeting in London last week.

The letter explained that the ISIS plan would have been called off if Turkey had considered the terrorist group among the legitimate moderate opposition. Milliyet said Turkish authorities issued warnings to all police and gendarmerie forces in all cities across the country.

Turkey, which has been a staunch supporter of the Syrian opposition fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad, is accused of providing logistical support to two al-Qaeda-linked groups -- the al-Nusra Front and ISIS.

Ankara has said several times that its stance towards the developments in Syria is clear and that it will not take part in the ongoing fighting, denying claims that it supports radical Islamist groups operating in Syria.

Walls of Europe: Bulgarian army is building 30-km-long wall on Turkish border

Source : Vesti Kavkaza

Today, Bulgaria began the construction of a 30- km-long wall at the Turkish border to strengthen control over the flow of refugees coming to Bulgaria from the Middle East."In accordance with the measures proposed by the Minister of Defence, Angel Naydenov, we are working on renovating roads in the area between the villages of Lesovo and Kraynovo on the border with Turkey. These measures are related to the construction of engineering structures," the press service of the Defense Ministry announced, ITAR TASS reports. According to recent reports, today there are eight thousand refugees in Bulgaria, mostly from Syria.

German extremist teenagers fighting in Syria: TV

Source : http://en.alalam.ir

Male and female European extremist teenagers who adhere to ideology have departed from Germany and Norway for Syria against President Bashar Assad’s government.

Second German Television (ZDF) broadcast a report that adolescents – including a German Muslim as young as 15 – traveled to Syria to fight against Assad’s government.

A "German camp” was created in Syria to recruit extremists, with an estimated 200 German militants involved, some of whom are in Syria or on their way to the Middle Eastern country, according to German intelligence.

Der Spiegel news magazine also reported that around 200 are now in the “German Camp” or on their way there, taking a now well-worn route from Germany to Istanbul and through to the Syrian border.

The Welt newspaper also said that German security services are increasingly concerned about the number of militants heading to Syria from Europe.

They fear that the extremist figures will return to Germany more radicalized after potentially receiving terror training from Al-Qaeda and other foreign backed militant groups in the country.

In September, Germany's domestic spy chief Hans-Georg Maassen estimated the number of German extremists in the country at 170 and said 50 had travelled in recent months.

NJF/NJF

Saudi-Backed Bahraini forces brutally kill Shiite teenage activist / Pics

Source : Ahlul Bayt News Agency

Saudi-backed regime forces in Bahrain have killed a pro-democracy activist in a village in the northwest of the Persian Gulf kingdom.

Seventeen-year-old Ali Khalil al-Sabbagh was shot in the head by the security forces in Bani Jamra on Tuesday.

On its Twitter account, Bahrain’s Interior Ministry allegedly accused Sabbagh, who had been under arrest, of being a terrorist and claimed he was trying to plant a bomb.

The Bahraini forces have also arrested Sabbagh’s father.

After the incident, Bahrainis took to the streets across the island nation and held demonstrations against the Al Khalifa regime.

The demonstrators chanted anti-regime slogans.

Bahrainis have been staging demonstrations since mid-February 2011, calling for political reforms and a constitutional monarchy, a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.

Scores have been killed, many of them under torture, while in custody, and thousands more detained since the popular uprising in the kingdom.

Physicians for Human Rights says doctors and nurses have been detained, tortured, or disappeared because they have "evidence of atrocities committed by the authorities, security forces, and riot police" in the crackdown on anti- government protesters.

Protesters say they will continue to hold anti-regime demonstrations until their demand for the establishment of a democratically elected government and an end to rights violations are met.

UK spies to run $100bn Afghan drug industry

Source : Strategic-Culture.org

Britain's foreign intelligence agency is planning to send more spies to Afghanistan to manage a $100-billion drug industry, a US political commentator says.

Gordon Duff, a senior editor at Veterans Today, made the remarks during an interview with Press TV on Tuesday, two days after The Telegraph revealed in a report that the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), also known as MI6, appealed for extra staff from other intelligence agencies for Afghanistan after British troops leave in 2014.

“I think they are going to Afghanistan to help manage the 100-billion-dollar-a year drug industry, moving heroin through Afghanistan, managing the banking for the heroin industry through London banks. I cannot think of anything else they would do there,” Duff said.

“There is no history of terrorism involving Afghanistan and Britain or Afghanistan and the United States, that was long disproven, this debunked over a decade ago,” he added.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but after more than 12 years, the foreign troops have still not been able to establish security in the country.

There are currently over 100,000 foreign troops in Afghanistan. The US has announced plans to pull out all foreign combat troops by the end of 2014.

Opium cultivation in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the US-led war began, with the Central Asian country producing about 90 percent of the world's opium.

Several reports by the United Nations affirm that Afghan opium is having a devastating impact on the world, killing thousands in consumer countries.

Commenting on the long involvement of US and UK intelligence agencies in drug trade, Duff said, “The CIA, MI6 and other intelligence agencies have been running drug trafficking in the world, certainly, since [the] Vietnam” war.

“The British intelligence services were running world drug trafficking in the 1840s at the time of the Opium Wars,” he said, referring to the Anglo-Chinese Wars (1839-1860) over opium trade between China and Great Britain.

“They have always managed the world’s opium and heroin trafficking. It is something the British Empire is known for. The British began heroin, certainly opium production, in Afghanistan. It is their industry. They have been doing it for well over a hundred years and it is extremely profitable. It funds all of their other activities and there is no reason for them to want to leave it.”

Afghan Loya Jirga to decide presence of US troops after 2014

Source : KUNA

ISLAMABAD, Oct 20 (KUNA) -- A national meeting of tribal elders (Loya Jirga) is to discuss the fate of a future security deal with the US for keeping troops in Afghanistan after 2014, said Afghan officials on Sunday. A member of the convening commission, Sadeq Mudaber said that the consultative assembly of tribal elders (Loya Jirga), will kick off in the third week of November and could last a week. He expected up to 3,000 people might attend the meeting. The US State Secretary, John Kerry and President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai met last week to reach an agreement on the major elements of a deal that would allow the US to keep its troops in Afghanistan after 2014, the set period for foreign forces to depart Afghanistan. The Afghan President on Friday said, "In our recent negotiations with the US, we also discussed another important topic of immunity for US troops in Afghanistan." He said that the Loya Jirga must debate a potentially deal-breaking issue of jurisdiction over those forces before he makes a decision. President Karzai added, "The decision in this respect is beyond the capacity of the Afghan government, and only the Afghan people maintain the authority to decide on it, the Loya Jirga reflects the will of the Afghan people." The United States wants to keep as many as 10,000 troops in the country to train Afghan national security forces, but if no agreement is signed all US troops would have to leave by the end of next year. The former Afghan president Sebghatullah Mujadidi will be heading the Loya Jirga, who was initially opposing the idea of calling the meeting as the basic points had already been covered by a Strategic Partnership Agreement that Karzai signed with US President, Barack Obama last year. Most foreign troops are due to leave Afghanistan by the end of 2014, amid Afghan security increasing worries about the country's prospects after western forces depart. If the Loya Jirga decides not to keep the US troops in Afghanistan after 2014 then failure to reach an agreement could prompt the US to pull out all its forces at the end of 2014, an outcome known as "zero option". (end) sbk.aa KUNA 201323 Oct 13NNNN

230 AlQaeda Militants Eliminated in Qalamon in One Shot

Source : Ahlul Bayt News Agency

When the Obama regime sends millions of US dollars worth advanced drones to kill a US citizen across the planet without trial the mainstream media & western people praises him, when the SAA kills tens of foreign radical Al-Qaeda Wahhabi Cannibal Sex Jihadists inside Syria, this never get noticed.

That what happened when Obama killed Anwar Awlaki and his young child, and this what happened when the Syrian Arab Army killed at least 230 terrorists from Nusra Front, the Levant version of Alqaeda, in an ambush near Nabk city north of Damascus last week.

After the preemptive military operation carried out by the SAA in Eastern Ghouta, Damascus countryside on 19 August 2013, just 2 days before the ‘chemical craze’, the operation which secured the failure of the ‘liberation of Damascus’ from its people and ended with killing more than 4,500 terrorists out of the total of 6,500 highly trained by CIA suicide freedom fighters, after this preemptive operation and after the realization of the Obama regime and their stooges that there won’t be any military strike against Syria to aid the leftover terrorists in the countryside, herds of the terrorists flocked to the Qalamon area in strongholds fortified by the rough mountainous area and linked with the Lebanese concentrations of Al-Qaeda, namely Arsal on the other side of the mountains.

Syrian Armed Forces which left a corridor as usual for terrorists to escape hoping some of them might change their mind and drop their quest for 72 virgins, kept a watchful eye on the terrorists fleeing, and followed their footsteps. The noose was tightened on the terrorists in Qalamon and squeezed on them in Yabroud, one of the cities known for its thriving smuggling business between Syria and Lebanon, and one of the first towns to aid the terrorists against the Syrian state. A very active SAA checkpoint is set on the Damascus-Homs international highway near the town of Nabk, and on a certain day with a firm plan, the checkpoint was moved, a large group of terrorists not less than 300 took the bait and tried to cross the road near Taybah restaurant.

Trying to stay low, the highly trained AlQaeda militants hid in a semi-natural trench awaiting the right time to cross into Nabk city on the other side of the road just to meet their end of their filthy life at the hands of the Syrian Arab Army men. Not less than 230 Wahhabi Jihadists were eliminated immediately, some put the figure at 250, and the rest were crippled, literally.

Western mainstream media might have included the killed terrorists in the toll of ‘civilians killed by the regime’ they keep a record of, I’m not sure whether they did count them, but our sources confirm the operation and crossed with sources from locals, the blow was so severe that the terrorists leftovers are trying to flee Yabroud to the outskirts of Dayr Attiyeh near the hills in groups of 2 or 3 maximum to evade their inevitable death.

SAA, the Syrian Arab Army definitely deserves a world’s prize more worthy than the Nobel Peace Prize for its hard work in cleaning our planet from its ever filthiest threat against humanity, civilization and future, and ending the presence of such filth in the tens of thousands not in individuals like the operations carried out by the world’s biggest armies.

Syrian Envoy: Saudi Prince Real Leader of Al- Qaeda

Source : Farsnews

TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman called Saudi Prince "the real gang leader of terrorists fighting in Syria".

Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan is the head of Al-Qaeda terrorist group and the founder of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in Syria, Suleiman said, according to an article in Arabic language Ray al-Youm website, Al-Alam reported.

Suleiman said, Osama Bin Laden was the founder of Al-Qaeda, Aymen Zahiri is their apparent leader, and Bandar bin Sultan is the real leader of Al-Qaeda.

He added that the Saudi Prince dwells in a residence near a militant-held area on Syria-Jordan border and leads the terrorists fighting in Syria from there.

The Syrian ambassador also noted that the Syria-Jordan borders have been kept under the control of the so-called Free Syrian Army that enjoys Saudi Arabia’s support.

Pointing out the Saudi regime's crack-down on its own citizens Suleiman added, "Saudi Arabia is not in a stance to give lessons of democracy and freedom to the Syrian nation."

Saudi officials have denied being directly involved in the crisis in Syria, but there are many reports on Saudi regime’s huge financial supports to the Syria militants.

The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent hist

Syrian Envoy: Saudi Prince Real Leader of Al- Qaeda

Source : Farsnews

TEHRAN (FNA)- Syrian Ambassador to Jordan Bahjat Suleiman called Saudi Prince "the real gang leader of terrorists fighting in Syria".

Saudi Arabia’s intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan is the head of Al-Qaeda terrorist group and the founder of the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant in Syria, Suleiman said, according to an article in Arabic language Ray al-Youm website, Al-Alam reported.

Suleiman said, Osama Bin Laden was the founder of Al-Qaeda, Aymen Zahiri is their apparent leader, and Bandar bin Sultan is the real leader of Al-Qaeda.

He added that the Saudi Prince dwells in a residence near a militant-held area on Syria-Jordan border and leads the terrorists fighting in Syria from there.

The Syrian ambassador also noted that the Syria-Jordan borders have been kept under the control of the so-called Free Syrian Army that enjoys Saudi Arabia’s support.

Pointing out the Saudi regime's crack-down on its own citizens Suleiman added, "Saudi Arabia is not in a stance to give lessons of democracy and freedom to the Syrian nation."

Saudi officials have denied being directly involved in the crisis in Syria, but there are many reports on Saudi regime’s huge financial supports to the Syria militants.

The conflict in Syria started in March 2011, when pro-reform protests turned into a massive insurgency following the intervention of western and regional states.

The unrest, which took in terrorist groups from across Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, has transpired as one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent hist

Activists urge Korea to cancel massive tear gas shipment to Bahrain

Source : Akhbar English

Rights activists have launched a campaign urging South Korea to cancel an imminent shipment of over 1.6 million tear gas canisters allegedly ordered by Bahraini authorities battling a two-and-a-half-year-long rebellion.

An unverified document dated June 16, 2013 obtained this week by the monitoring group Bahrain Watch shows that Bahrain's Ministry of Interior has requested an order of 1.6 million tear gas shells, 145,000 stun and flash grenades, and 90,000 tear gas grenades.

The massive figure startled observers who pointed out that the quantity was larger than the entire 1.2 million population of Bahrain, half of which is comprised of foreigners and migrant workers not involved in the largely-peaceful, anti-government movement.

"I think if you look at the scale and frequency of the use of tear gas in Bahrain, it's unprecedented anywhere in the world," Alaa Shehabi, a founding member of Bahrain Watch which is behind the Stop the Shipment campaign, told Al-Akhbar.

"They (police) are using hundreds of rounds on a nightly basis, ... so they need this amount to sustain the constant state of repression."

Shehabi added that her group has received information that the order is expected to be delivered before the end of this month.

"We've had, in the last 24 hours since we launched the campaign, 11,000 e-mails sent to Korean agencies involved in shipment," Shehabi said.

Heeding activists' calls, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions have condemned the tear gas deal and urged authorities to prevent the shipment, citing humanitarian concerns.

The procurement tender does not specify the supplier of the weapons, but activists say that the bulk of the tear gas that reaches the tiny Gulf island is manufactured by two South Korean companies and a joint German-South African one.

Rheinmetall Denel Munition, the German-South African company, and South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration both declined to comment on the alleged deal.

Police have killed at least 89 people since the anti-government uprising erupted in February 2011, according to the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Of those victims, 39 died from tear-gas related attacks including suffocation and direct shots to the head, records from Physicians for Human Rights show.

Authorities have so far been unable to quell the nearly daily demonstrations that persist across Bahraini villages against the widely- detested, US-backed monarchy. Dozens of human rights activists, doctors and political opponents have been jailed since the start of the uprising.

Over the past month alone, Bahrain sentenced 104 protest leaders to prison terms of up to 15 years on "terrorism" related charRedditTweet9 Send by emailPrinter-friendly version Tags Category: Top News Tags: tear gas, South Korea, Bahrain Related Articles Bahrain sentences nine activists to life in prison A Bahraini court jailed nine activists for life Monday after alleging that they made bombs for "terrorist" purposes, a judicial source said. Four of the defendants were in court for the verdict and... Bahrain police fires tear gas at opposition protests Updated at 6:50pm: Bahraini police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters on Wednesday, but there were no reports of casualties. A Reuters correspondent saw police... Advertisement Published Friday, October 18, 2013

Cyprus to help Syrias weapons inspectors

Source: LBCI

Cyprus has approved the creation of a support base for the chemical weapon working in Syria, including the use of an old airport that will allow them to tr the two countries by helicopter.

The Cypriot government said Friday its goal is to help with the inspectors' dif destroying Syria's chemical weapons arsenal during the country's civil war.

The base will be located at a disused Nicosia airport inside the U.N.-controlle that separates the island's Greek-speaking south and Turkish-speaking north

Inspectors also will be able to stay at hotels in Nicosia, which is about 140 m kilometers) from the Syrian port of Latakia.

The mission in Syria is being conducted by the U.N. and the Organization for of Chemical Weapons.

Turkish opposition wants to know if war crimes were committed with aid sent to Al Qaida fighters in Syria

Source : World Tribune

ANKARA — Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has been questioned over Turkey’s links to Al Qaida in Syria.

The parliamentary opposition has formally submitted a request for the Erdogan government to detail alleged links with Al Qaida-aligned militias in Syria.

The opposition has sought to determine whether the purported Turkish aid facilitated war crimes by Islamist rebels, particularly the Nusra Front for the Defense of the Levant.

“Do you think that the foreign policy you are pursuing in Syria is responsible for the crimes committed by Al Qaida-linked groups such as Al Nusra?” Veli Agbaba, a parliamentarian from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, asked.

The parliamentary demand came amid reports in both Ankara and Washington that Turkish intelligence was either tolerating or supporting Al Qaida recruitment and financing for operations in Syria. The reports asserted that authorities were turning a blind eye to recruitment of young Turks for Al Qaida militias.

“It is known that the Turkey-Syria border has no security,” Agbaba said. “At this point, do you think that Turkey will be accused of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes for providing weapons and other supplies to opposition groups — which is claimed in HRW’s report?”

Erdogan aides have several times denied any Turkish support for Nusra or the new Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. But human rights groups asserted that Turkish authorities were allowing Al Qaida rebels to transport weapons and fighters into Syria and then return for medical treatment.

Agbaba also cited the U.S. Human Rights Watch, which asserted in an Oct. 11 report that Turkey was a leading facilitator of Islamist rebel militias that routinely abduct and torture civilians. HRW urged the Erdogan government to increase patrols along the 900-kilometer Turkish border with Syria.

“According to Syrian security officials, media reports, Western diplomats, and observations by journalists and humanitarian workers, foreign fighters in these groups enter Syria from Turkey, from which they also smuggle their weapons and obtain money and other supplies, and to which they retreat for medical treatment,” HRW said in a report titled “You Can Still See Their Blood.”

Agbaba addressed his questions to Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, deemed an ally of Erdogan. The opposition deputy, in remarks supported by Kurdish and Western sources, suggested that the Foreign Ministry was ignoring Al Qaida’s use of Turkey as a haven.

“Is there any work being done by the Foreign Ministry over the claims that Turkish citizens have entered Syria from Turkey’s eastern and southeastern provinces and have participated in crimes carried out by Al Qaida-linked groups in Syria?” Agbaba asked. “Is the silence of the Foreign Ministry over the crimes carried out by Al Qaida-linked groups in Syria the result of the ‘precious isolation’ policy of Turkey?”

For its part, the government has denied any Turkish link to Al Qaida. Officials dismissed allegations that Turkey was cooperating with Nusra or ISIL in arms and other smuggling.

“The Turkish republic would never open a border gate on the demand of a terrorist organization,” Interior Minister Muammer Guler said.

The Kurdish community has echoed allegations of a Turkish-Al Qaida link. The High Kurdish Council in Syria, which met the Turkish Foreign Ministry, asserted that more than 50 percent of the rebel militias supported by Turkey were attacking civilians.

“More than half of the groups which Turkey supports have come under the control of gangs,” council spokesman Ilham Ahmed said. “The situation is very dire, and if precautions are not taken these groups will create serious problems mainly for Turkey.

Jordan's king calls for China to exercise influence in resolving Syrian crisis

Source : Fox News

BEIJING – Jordan's King Abdullah is calling on China to exercise its influence to help resolve the conflict in Syria.

Abdullah made his appeal in his opening remarks at a meeting Wednesday with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a state visit to China. Abdullah praised relations between the two countries and said they shared a commitment to promoting progress on global issues of concern.

Abdullah then referred to the Syria conflict specifically, saying China was in a position to use its influence as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and a "friend of Jordan and the Middle East."

Beijing has called for a political settlement to the more than two-year-old conflict in Syria and joined Russia in blocking moves at the United Nations that could lead to the regime's removal.

Saudi Arabia sentences secular activist to 600 lashes, seven years prison

Source : Al Akhbar English

A Saudi court sentenced on Monday a rights activist to seven years in jail and 600 lashes for setting up a "liberal" network and alleged insults to Islam, activists said.

"Raef Badawi has been sentenced to seven years in jail and 600 lashes," lawyer Waleed Abualkhair wrote on his Twitter account, adding that the judge ordered the closure of the website of the Saudi Liberal Network.

He said Badawi, a co-founder of the Saudi Liberal Network, was charged with criticizing the religious police, as well as calling for "religious liberalization."

A judge had referred Badawi in December to a higher court for alleged apostasy, a charge that could lead to the death penalty in the medieval, US-backed kingdom.

The judge said at the time that his lower court was not qualified to deal with the case.

But the charge of apostasy was dropped on Monday, activists said.

Badawi, 35, was arrested in June last year in the Red Sea city of Jeddah for unknown reasons.

The network that he co-founded with female rights activist Suad al- Shammari, had announced May 7, 2012 a "day of liberalism" in the Muslim kingdom, calling for an end to the influence of religion on public life in Saudi Arabia.

Islamic law strictly applied in Saudi Arabia stipulates death as a punishment for apostasy, but defendants are usually given the chance to repent and escape being beheaded.

Saudi blogger Hamza Kashgari was deported in February last year from Malaysia to the kingdom and is being held in jail to face blasphemy charges over Twitter comments deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammad.

(AFP)

Egyptian soldier killed in Rafah attack

Source : Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- An Egyptian soldier was killed on Monday during a militant attack on an army camp in Sinai.

Gunmen fired rocket-propelled grenades at Egyptian forces near Rafah, killing a soldier, Ma'an's correspondent said.

Militants attacked eight other army checkpoints in the el-Arish, Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, injuring eight soldiers.

On Sunday, gunmen fired US-made ballistic shells at a security building in north Sinai, Egypt's Ministry of Interior said.

"Terrorists targeted the security directorate of north of Sinai from a lon distance," the ministry said. Security sources detained three suspects i Sinai, after clashing with two of them.

A police station in el-Arish was also targeted late Sunday by a bomb, with n injuries reported.

On Wednesday, militants shot dead an Egyptian soldier and wounde another south of el-Arish in Egypt's Sinai. Militants have conducted dai attacks on security forces in Sinai since the military overthrew Islamis President Mohamed Mursi on July 3.

Turkey to take legal action against British daily The Times

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

ISTANBUL, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said here on Friday that legal action would be taken against British daily The Times and those who wrote an open letter ad criticizing him for Turkish police violence during the Gezi park unrest in Turkey.

Erdogan said in Istanbul: "These are people who have rented out their minds. If they were sincere about democracy they would not act so immorally as to call a prime minister who was elected by receiving 50 percent of the vote a dictator."

"There are such media groups in Turkey that do every kind of defamation. How can they defame us when they are jailed? They are doing it because they do not know Turkey. The Times rents its page, this is their lack of morality," he added.

A group of internationally renowned artists and scholars condemned the Turkish authorities' heavy-handed crackdown on the Gezi park protests in the full-page letter published on July 24 in British broadsheet The Times, addressed to Erdogan.

The signatories, including figures known for their activism such as Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Ben Kingsley and movie director David Lynch, described the Turkish government as "a dictatorial rule" and slammed Erdogan's uncompromising stance regarding the protesters' demands.

The prime minister's orders "led to the deaths of five innocent youths," the letter said, adding that he might be called to render account to the European Court of Human Rights for the police's violence.

They also compared the counter-rallies organized by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to the annual Nuremberg rallies organized by the Nazis.

New European Union directive prohibits involvement in illegal Israeli settlements

Source : IMEC

On June 30, 2013, the European Union issued a directive forbidding its 28 member countries from funding or participating in projects that are located within the territory occupied by Israel in the 1967 war. The new directive, however, does not apply to trade between the EU and Israel, so businesses operating in the illegal settlements would not be affected.

The EU recognizes that Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank are illegal. (Image from Wikimedia Commons)

The legally binding directive will come into effect in 2014, and it forbids EU member states from issuing grants, scholarships, funding, and prizes to Israeli non-governmental and governmental organizations operating beyond Israel’s 1967 borders. The directive requires that any agreements or contracts between an EU country and an Israeli organization include a clause stating that the project or institution is not located on occupied land in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, or the Golan. The European Union recognizes that Israeli settlements on occupied land are illegal according to international law.

A statement issued by the EU explained that, “the purpose of these guidelines is to make a distinction between the state of Israel and the occupied territories when it comes to EU support." The Israeli government will have to stipulate in future agreements with the EU that the settlements in East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Golan are not a part of the State of Israel. Haaretz quoted an Israeli official as saying that the new EU guidelines are an “earthquake”, and Ze’ev Elkin, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, described the EU directive as a "big mistake.” Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi embraced the EU’s decision, saying that “[this] is the beginning of new era. Israel should listen carefully and should understand that this occupation cannot continue without any kind of accountability."

Israel demolishes Bedouin village for 53rd time

Source : Maan News Agency

BEERSHEBA, Israel (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces demolished a Bedouin village in southern Israel for the 53rd time on Tuesday, as thousands protested a day earlier over plans to forcibly displace Bedouins in the Negev.

"It is the 53rd demolition since July 2010," Araqib chieftain Sheikh Sayyah Abu Mdeighim told Ma'an.

"They have brought down all the sheds we built for the summer so we can protect our land and defend ourselves against the oppressive policy of this tyrannical government."

Large numbers of Israeli police officers and officials from Israel's Land Authority accompanied the bulldozers.

Families in Araqib managed to re-build five of the sheds after the bulldozers left, Abu Mdeighim said, with Palestinian and Israeli activists due to visit to the village to help rebuild the rest of the structures.

On Monday, thousands of people demonstrated across Israel and Palestine to protest a controversial plan which would see the forced displacement of nearly 40,000 Bedouins in the Negev.

The Israeli government approved the Prawer-Begin plan in 2011, in what it says was an attempt to address the problem of unrecognized Bedouin villages in the Negev desert of southern Israel.

The 2011 proposal was formulated without any consultation with the Bedouin community and rights groups slammed it as a major blow to Bedouin rights.

According to the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, the plan will forcibly evict nearly 40,000 Bedouins and destroy their communal and social fabric, condemning them to a future of poverty and unemployment.

Israel refuses to recognize 35 Bedouin villages in the Negev, which collectively house nearly 90,000 people.

The Israeli state denies them access to basic services and infrastructure, such as electricity and running water, and refuses to place them under municipal jurisdiction.

Israel army unveils new cyber defense unit

Source : Xinhua

JERUSALEM, July 8 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military offered Monday a peek into one of its most secretive bases, which houses a newly established unit tasked with defending its own networks against mounting attacks launched in cyberspace.

Teams of programmers and computer experts, aged 18 to 22, man the "Cyber War Room," situated at an undisclosed site in central Israel, where malicious cybernetic activities occurring worldwide are monitored around the clock.

Long gone are the days when cyber was the exclusive domain of computer "geeks" spending their nights and days hacking into data bases in the privacy of dimly-lit bedrooms. In the Israeli military, it has already received recognition as another dimension of warfare, alongside the bombers, ships and tank battalions.

"Cyber isn't just another means, but a dimension that exists all the time between and during wars," Brig. Gen. Ayala Hakim, commander of the Israeli Defense Forces's (IDF) Lotam Unit, which oversees cyberdefense operations, told Israel's Channel 10 during an interview Monday.

Israel is investing vast human and financial resources in defending against the immediate threat posed by computer network attacks launched daily on its strategic infrastructure, government ministries, military and intelligence community. The fear is that a major cyberattack could cripple the country's critical infrastructure, including utilities, banking and cellphone networks, among others.

To illustrate the scope of the phenomena, the government revealed it deflected a staggering 44 million attacks on its main online sites during a nine-day war with Islamist group Hamas in Gaza last November.

Last year, the IDF publicly acknowledged for the first time, in a post on its official blog, that it was engaged in both defensive and offensive cyberwarfare. On the defensive end, efforts are mainly focused on repelling attempts by enemy states, global militant networks and lone hackers from overseas to penetrate the military's computers, either for espionage or sabotage.

"The operations room enables us to monitor the great breadth of the Internet at a single focal point," explained the Israeli military official. "We look at what is happening to us via a proactive approach and by gathering open intelligence. We assess our situation."

Like other cyber units operating in Israel's defense institution, including in the intelligence community, the soldiers of the new Cyber War Room constantly seek to increase the nimbleness of their response to identify and prevent an attack, and exploit it to launch a counterattack.

E

New Egyptian war: Americans lose, again

Source : islmaicinvitationturkey.con

Looking at the banners in the massive Egyptian protests last week, we saw many anti-American slogans. Likewise, the Muslim Brotherhood-led government that was deposed by the military last week was very critical of what it saw as U.S. support for the coup. Why is it that all sides in this Egyptian civil war seem so angry with the United States? Because the United States has at one point or another supported each side, which means also that at some point the U.S. has also opposed each side. It is the constant meddling in Egyptian affairs that has turned Egyptians against us, as we would resent foreign intervention in our own affairs.

For more than 30 years, since the U.S.-brokered Camp David Accord between Israel and Egypt, the U.S. supported Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. Over that period the U.S. sent more than $60 billion to prop up Mubarak and, importantly, to train and seek control over the Egyptian military. Those who opposed Mubarak’s unelected reign became more and more resentful of the U.S., which they rightly saw as aiding and abetting a dictator and denying them their political aspirations.

Then the U.S. began providing assistance to groups seeking to overthrow Mubarak, which they did in 2011. The U.S. continued funding the Egyptian military at that time, arguing that U.S. aid was more critical than ever if we are to maintain influence. The U.S. Administration demanded an election in Egypt after Mubarak’s overthrow and an election was held. Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood won a narrow victory. The U.S. supported Morsi but kept funding the Egyptian military.

After a year of Morsi’s rule, Egyptians who did not approve of his government took to the streets to demand his removal from power. The U.S. signaled to the Egyptian military that it would not oppose the removal of Morsi from power, and he was removed on July 3rd. With the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood-led government came the arrest of many politicians and the closure of many media outlets sympathetic to them. Then the U.S. government warned the same Egyptian military that undermined democracy that it needed to restore democracy! Is it any wonder why Egyptians from all walks of life are united in their irritation with the United States?

Despite the Egyptian government being overthrown by a military coup, the Obama Administration will not utter the word “coup” because acknowledging reality would mean an end to U.S. assistance to the Egyptian government and military. That cannot be allowed.

Instead, we see the same Obama administration that is on a worldwide manhunt for pro-transparency whistle-blower Edward Snowden demand that the Egyptian military exercise “political transparency” in its dealings with the ousted Muslim Brotherhood-led government.

So, successive U.S. administrations over the decades have supported all sides in Egypt, from dictator to demonstrator to military. There is only one side that the U.S. government has never supported: our side. The American side. It has never supported the side of the U.S. taxpayers who resent being forced to fund a foreign dictatorship, a foreign military, and foreign protestors. It has never supported the side of the majority of Americans who do not wish to get involved in the confusing internal affairs of countries thousands of miles away. It has never supported the side of those of us concerned about blowback, which is the real threat to our national security. Unfortunately, U.S. administrations continue to follow the same old failed policies and Obama is no different. More intervention, more foreign aid, more bullying, more empire

Egypt militants bomb gas pipeline to Jordan

Source : Al Akhbar English

Attackers in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula bombed a gas pipeline to Jordan on Sunday, witnesses said, amid a surge in attacks on police and soldiers since Islamist president Mohammed Mursi's ouster.

Witnesses told AFP the blast took place near the North Sinai provincial capital of El-Arish, scene of major disturbances since Mursi's overthrow by the military on Wednesday.

On Friday, armed Mursi supporters stormed the provincial headquarters, raising the black banner used by al-Qaeda-affiliated militants, an AFP correspondent reported.

A Jordanian government official confirmed that gas supplies to the energy-poor kingdom were cut.

"The gas supplies to Jordan stopped due to the attack," the official told state-run Petra news agency.

"The Egyptian authorities have informed us that they are currently evaluating the situation and the damage," he added without elaborating. Egyptian gas covers 80 percent of electricity generation in Jordan, which imports 95 percent of its energy needs.

But Sunday's bombing was the first reported in almost a year.

Five security officers were killed at their checkpoints in Sinai on Friday and four other checkpoints were attacked on Saturday.

A priest was killed at one checkpoint by a group of militants, according to security sources.

(AFP, Reuters)

Israeli fighter jet crashed off the Gaza Strip coast

شبكة عاجل الإخبارية

A military F-16 aircraft belongs to the Israeli occupation army crashed off the coast of the Gaza Strip in the Mediterranean Sea.

The agency of France Press (AFP) quoted the spokesman for the Israeli army as saying that an "F-16 fighter jet crashed into the sea after its engine broke down," pointing out that the crew was rescued.

The Israeli reports said that the plane crashed off the coast of the Gaza Strip

Reports: Kerry to return to Mideast this week

Source : Maan News Agency

JERUSALEM (AFP) -- US Secretary of State John Kerry is to return to the Middle East later this week to resume efforts to draw Israel and the PLO back into direct negotiations, reports said on Sunday.

According to the top-selling Yediot Aharonot daily and the left-leaning Haaretz, Kerry was to arrive in Israel towards the end of the week on what would be his sixth visit to the region in as many months.

On his previous visit, a four-day trip which ended on June 30, Kerry held hours and hours of intensive talks with both sides in a mission which he said had achieved "real progress."

But PLO officials said there had been "no breakthrough" that could lead to a resumption of direct negotiations following a hiatus of nearly three years.

"John Kerry is on his way back: the US secretary of state is expected to arrive in Israel for the sixth time towards the end of the week, in order to try and get the negotiations with the Palestinians to move forward," said Yediot.

In his absence, Kerry left behind two aides to continue his work. Frank Lowenstein, his senior adviser on the peace process, has been meeting "almost daily" with Israeli negotiators Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molho as well as with chief PLO negotiator Saeb Erakat, Haaretz said.

"Lowenstein is trying to get the parties to agree to a document that would contain the principles for the renewal of talks but no agreement has emerged," the paper said.

Several days after Kerry's departure, a Palestinian official told AFP that the US top diplomat had presented the two sides with "an initiative to resume direct and intensive negotiations for a duration of six to nine months in order to reach a peace agreement."

Under the proposal, the talks would be based on a 2011 speech by US President Barack Obama in which he called for a Palestinian state on the basis of the lines which existed before the 1967 Six Day War, but there would be no specific reference to a settlement freeze, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Similar details emerged on Saturday in a report by the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper which quoted Western diplomatic sources as saying the talks would take place within a framework of six to nine months, during which there would be a building freeze outside the major settlement blocs.

It also said Israel would agree to the staggered release of 103 Palestinian prisoners who have been held since before the 1993 Oslo Accords, and would allow the Palestinians to develop projects in Area C of the West Bank, around 60 percent of the territory which is currently under full Israeli control.

Israeli officials were not immediately available to comment on either report.

US-brokered direct talks broke down in September 2010 just weeks after they were launched with the two sides locked in a dispute over settlement building. Multiple diplomatic efforts to bring about a renewal of negotiations have so far failed.

New Arab-Israeli Battalion to Fight Hezbollah

Source : Almanar.lb

The Zionist entity has recently formed an Arab battalion within its military ranks called 'Arabs of the Israeli army' dubbed as "Horv", particularly designed to fight Hezbollah in a future confrontation.

According to Syria Truth website, the Zionist army command revealed that officers of the new military unit are "Druze supporters of Walid Jumblatt and Wahhabi Bedouins known for their dogmatic hostility to the Shiites."

In this regard, the website recalls the statements of Muslim Brotherhood or Salafist leaders of the insurgence in Syria who showed affinities with the Zionist entity.

"Israel and the Sunni Muslims in Syria are in the same front against the Shiites, the Nasserists and the Majous who all have a joint project to eliminate the Jews," said a member of the so-called Syrian National Council (SNC) Khaled Khoja for the Zionist Channel 2, asking what he dubbed "Israel" to bomb Syria.

Regarding the battalion, the Zionist entity has sought to make a large propaganda and shed light on its recent maneuvers. This would reassure the Israeli public, which has not yet forgotten the heinous defeat its army suffered in the July 2006 war on Lebanon.

The unit commander, Shadi Abu Fares, told the Zionist army radio that the battalion has completed intensive training in the Syrian Golan Heights, revealing that the unit has developed new methods and tactics to fight the enemy in Lebanon as efficiently as possible."

"Fighting in Lebanon requires a severe camouflage style, given the need to slow the advance of the troops on the ground", he stressed, adding that "new battle techniques and tactics adopted by the battalion operated recently are perfectly adapted to the fight against the systems supported by Hezbollah, including the use of long-rage heavy fire."

"We worked on tactics and techniques of the battlefield adopted by the Israeli army, including open and associated combat zones. We have applied them with suitable modifications to the real ground against Hezbollah, as the battalion has rich experience, and we have a prior knowledge of what awaits us in the next war in Lebanon," he went on to say.

The Zionist radio has focused on what it considers the success of Horv while exercising its functions, noting that its troops have acquired operational experience, particularly during their task in Lebanon for many years.

"During the Second Lebanon War in 2006, it (Horv) was the first combat unit to cross the border into Lebanon, and the last to return. This is the reason behind the many medals of appreciation it gained," said the radio, knowing that the 2006 war on Lebanon was a major blow for the Zionist entity.

The radio correspondent quoted the commander of the northern front, Colonel Sion Ertson, as saying that "Horv should teach all the Israeli army how to effectively fight against Hezbollah."

"The maneuvers were held in the Upper Galilee and the Golan Heights, lasting for three consecutive days, where tanks and armored vehicles participated," the reported said, focusing on the role of special engineering forces in opening roads to facilitate the infantry movement.

As for the fighting methods, the Zionist journalist pointed out that the exercises were based on intensive fire shooting and the use of artillery "to prevent the enemy to raise his head."

For his part, Abu Fares voiced that the military cannot note that Horv battalion is ready for all situations.

"After completing training missions, Horv should be deployed on the border with Lebanon. We will work to prevent the infiltration of any incursion from Lebanon. We will also maintain its defensive position and activate it. At the same time, we will conduct additional activities which we can not reveal their details," he said.

Meanwhile, Ertson said "the changes in the region require us to be ready for war, but with the battalion Horv I'm much more confident than any other battalion in the IDF."

Maneuvers of Arabs in the Zionist army battalion attended by the commander of the northern region in the Zionist military General Yair Golan, and the brigade commander of the Galilee, Brigadier Hertsey Halevy.

Worthy to mention that the Zionist army has recently paved a new way at the northern border with Lebanon in an attempt to terrorize citizens and spread panic among them.

Since the 2006 July war on Lebanon, the Zionist entity has spared no chance to violate the Lebanese sovereignty in flagrant breaching of the UN resolution 1701.

Israel still tightens the Gazans' access to their land and sea waters: OCHA

Source : Ahlul Bayt News Agency

The escalating restrictions imposed by Israel on access to land along Gaza’s perimeter fence and to fishing areas along Gaza’s coast undermine the security and livelihoods of Palestinians, the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories stated in a recent report.

According to the report, Israel has tightened its restrictions on the Gazans' access to the sea and to land located near the fence since September 2000 at the pretext of security concerns.

Up to 35 percent of Gaza’s agricultural land and as much as 85 percent of its fishing waters have been affected at various points, the report said.

The Palestinian access to farming land within 300 meters of the perimeter fence separating Gaza from the 1948 occupied lands is largely prohibited and risky.

Fishermen are currently allowed to access less than one third of the fishing areas allocated under the Oslo accords, about six out of the specified 20 nautical miles from the coast.

There are currently 3,500 registered fishermen in Gaza and 2,000 people work in fishing-related industries, the report noted.

The fish catch lost as a result of access restrictions between 2000 and 2012 is estimated at approximately 1,300 metric tonnes per year.

The report pointed out that these Israeli restrictions caused 95 percent of Gaza fishermen to receive regular international aid.

Prior to November 2012, access restrictions resulted in a loss of approximately 75,000 metric tonnes of agricultural produce, valued at 50.2 million dollars per year.

12 percent of the homes destroyed during operation Cast Lead in 2008/2009 was located in access restricted areas.

13 schools with 4,800 students and staff are located within 1,500 meters from the fence and have had class sessions disrupted due to Israel's enforcement of access restrictions.

Since June 2007, 214 Palestinians have been killed, including at least 127 civilians, and 825 injured, including at least 761 civilians, in the access restricted areas.

During the same period, five Palestinian fishermen were killed and 25 others were injured when the Israeli naval forces opened fire at them to enforce access restrictions.

French consul in Libya's Benghazi survives gun attack

Source : Your Middle East

France's honorary consul in Benghazi, Jean Dufriche, has escaped unharmed after gunmen fired on his car in the eastern Libyan city, a source close to him and a security official said on Friday.

The unidentified attackers shot at Dufriche's car from another vehicle as he was returning home late Thursday with his wife, said Mohammed Hijazi, security services spokesman in Benghazi.

The couple were leaving a hospital at around 11:00 PM (2300 GMT), when the gunmen opened up.

"At least ten bullets hit the vehicle, but no one was wounded," Hijazi said.

"Dr Dufriche and his wife returned to the hospital where security forces took charge of them."

A source close to the honorary consul said Dufriche was at the wheel when gunmen pulled alongside and fired at him several times with a "handgun".

The source said there were at least seven bullet holes in Dufriche's car.

"Dufriche and his wife were not wounded and were able to leave Benghazi for Tunis on Friday," the same source added.

Benghazi, cradle of the 2011 uprising that toppled former dictator Moamer Kadhafi, has seen several attacks targeting the security forces and Western interests in recent months.

On September 11 last year, Islamist militants attacked the US consulate in the city, killing ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

A car bomb targeted France's embassy in the capital Tripoli on April 23 this year, devastating the building and wounding two French security personnel.

© AFP 2013