Jewish extremists vandalize Jerusalem church

Source : Al Akhbar English

  Anti-Christian graffiti was daubed on the Church of the Dormition, one of Jerusalem's leading pilgrimage sites, early on Friday, an AFP correspondent witnessed.

Police said they suspected Jewish religious extremists of spraying the Hebrew-language insults at the site, where tradition says the Virgin Mary died.

"The attack, suspected to be nationalistically motivated, was discovered on the wall of the Dormition Church in the Old City, and the tires of cars nearby were slashed," police Micky Rosenfeld told AFP.

The words "price tag" and "Christians are apes" were scrawled in Hebrew on the walls of the church, Rosenfeld said, adding police were investigating the incident.

An AFP correspondent said "Jesus is a monkey" was also written on the door to the adjacent cemetery, part of the church complex.

Orthodox Archbishop Atallah Hanna denounced the attack, noting that the abbey sheltered monks who sent a message of peace and love to all. He condemned repeated attacks by Israeli settlers against Islamic and Christian property, but said Palestinians would remain steadfast in defending holy sites.

"Price tag" is a euphemism for hate crimes by Israeli extremists, which normally target Palestinians and Arabs.

Initially carried out in response for state moves to dismantle unauthorized settler outposts, they have become increasingly unrelated to any specific government measures.

The attacks tend to involve the vandalism or destruction of Palestinian property and have included multiple arson attacks on cars, mosques and olive trees.

Perpetrators are rarely caught.

At first, the attacks were predominantly in the West Bank, but they have expanded over time to include sites inside Israel and in Jerusalem, where a number of Christian sites have been targeted.

In December, vandals sprayed anti-Christian graffiti on Jerusalem's Monastery of the Cross and at an Armenian cemetery, in an apparent price tag attack by Jewish extremists.

On May 13, vandals believed to be Jewish extremists desecrated graves and damaged property in a West Bank village.

Following the killing of a settler by a Palestinian in April, settlers went on the rampage, stoning Palestinian vehicles in the northern West Bank, including a school bus carrying children.

They also smashed windows of a mosque and set fire to Palestinian farmland.

(AFP, Ma'an)

Turkey and Israel can't agree on Flotilla compensation

Source : middleeastmonitor.com

Three rounds of discussions over the amount of compensation to be paid for the victims of Israel's assault on the 2010 Freedom Flotilla have not resolved the issue, media reports claim. Turkey's Sabah newspaper claims that there is still a big gap between the compensation demanded by Ankara for the nine Turkish citizens killed by Israel on the Mavi Marmara and the amount offered by Israel.

Turkey is demanding $1 million for the family of each of the nine men killed by Israeli commandos when they stormed the flotilla vessels in international waters as they were taking humanitarian aid to break the siege of Gaza. Israel has said that it will only pay $100,000 to the victims' families; it has already issued an official apology for the deaths.

Bahrain bomb attack injures seven policemen

Source : Ahlul Bayt News Agency

Bahrain police early on Thursday arrested 10 suspects after a bomb attack that injured seven policemen on patrol a few hours earlier.

Two arrest announcements, one related to seven suspects and the other to three, were posted an hour apart on the ministry’s Twitter account. The police added that the search operation and investigation they launched after the attack was continuing.

Earlier, the general director of the Northern Governorate Police said an explosion in Bani Jam village west of the capital Manama, targeted on-duty policemen.

“The blast injured seven policemen, including one officer who is in critical condition,” he said. other officers sustained serious injuries. All seven were referred to the hospital for treatment.

End item/ 149

Terrorists from Syria may sneak into Russia: security service

Source : Xinhua

MOSCOW, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Terrorists currently fighting in Syria may sneak into Russia disguised as immigrants to unfold sabotage, the Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday.

"We expect that amidst armed conflict in Syria the armed fighters and terrorists could infiltrate into our country inside the illegal immigrants flows," head of FSB counter-intelligence analytical department Alexander Roshchupkin told a hearing in the Federation Council, or upper house of parliament.

He said the FSB is monitoring this security threat.

According to Roshchupkin, the FSB is aware that some groups of illegal immigrants arrived in Russia for subversive and intelligence activities.

He said Russian security service has uncovered several professional spies working in the North Caucasus.

"Illegal immigration is one of the tools to destabilize situation in Russia," Roshchupkin said, adding that formation of isolated immigrant communities creates security threats for Russia.

The illegal industry of immigrants transit to Europe via Russian territory has been actively working, he noted.

The FSB pointed at unpoliced borders between Russia and CIS countries as well as at omissions in Russian law which facilitates criminal groups to conduct such activity.

"No one can say how many immigrants have arrived and how many have left, even in the border service," the officer said, describing the situation as grave.

The Federal Migration Service (FMS) estimates the number of illegal immigrants at 3.3 million.

"Today over 10 million foreign nationals have been to Russia, 8 million out of that number are citizens of the CIS countries, 3.3 million out of them violate migration law," FMS deputy head Anatoli Fomenko said during the same hearing.

Earlier this month, FMS chief Konstantin Romodanovsky vowed to tighten control over immigrant flows and said the authorities planned a massive crackdown on illegal immigrants later this year.

Also in May, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would create a system to monitor and control the flow of migrant workers to secure social stability.

Israel to build 1,000 settler homes in mainly-Palestinian areas of Jerusalem

Source : Al Akhbar English

Israel is preparing to build more than 1,000 new settler homes in annexed east Jerusalem as the United States strives to revive dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, an NGO said late Wednesday.

Danny Seidemann, director of Jerusalem settlement watchdog Terrestrial Jerusalem, told AFP that contracts for 300 homes in the northeastern settlement of Ramot were signed and another 797 plots were to be offered for sale in the southern Jerusalem settlement of Gilo, near the West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Both are in mainly-Palestinian areas of the holy city which were occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day war then annexed, in a move still unrecognized by the international community.

Seidemann said that the plans were approved last year, before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quietly ordered a settlement freeze, but the latest steps in their implementation were leaked to media by the office of hardline Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel .

"This does not mean that the freeze is over, it does mean that Netanyahu's minister of construction is trying to achieve that," Seidemann said.

Ariel is himself a settler and number two in the pro-settlement Jewish Home party, which joined Netanyahu's coalition government in the wake of January's general election.

The news came less than a week after Kerry's latest round of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on his fourth visit to the region since he took office in February.

On Sunday he unveiled a $4 billion US plan to boost the Palestinian economy but it was met with a cool response, with an advisor to Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas saying that the leadership would "not offer political concessions in exchange for economic benefits."

Abbas himself called on Israel to "end the occupation of our lands", evacuate settlements and free Palestinian prisoners."

The Palestinian leadership wants a total freeze on Israeli settlement construction before it resumes peace talks with Israel, which have been stalled for almost three years.

According to Peace Now data for 2012, at least 1,747 new settlement housing units were built in the past year, and plans were approved for the construction of 6,676 more homes.

The international community views all Israeli construction on occupied Palestinian land as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.

(AFP, Al-Akhbar)

Russia: Hezbollah Fighters Deploy in Syria to Protect Religious Shrines

Source : Ahlul Bayt News Agency

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned against “the increasing flow of foreign fighters who are coming to Syria from North Africa and Europe.”

“Since the beginnig of the crisis, we warned against internationalizing the conflict, yet the flow of foreign fighters to Syria, those who are coming from Libya, North Africa, Middle East, Europe and other regions, has been steadily increasing,” he added.

Concerning the deployment of Hezbollah fighters in Syria, Lavrov said “that this comes in order to protect the Shiite Holy sites there, and Hezbollah does not conceal this fact.”

Lavrov recalled what "Secretary-General of Hezbollah Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah publicly announced about the deployment of his fighters in Syria to primarily protect the Shiites, the Alawites, and the Shiite shrines that are exposed to the attacks of the militants and face the threat of destruction."

Russian FM also pointed to the increasing flow of weapons to militants despite the fact that supplying weapons to non-governmental groups was illegal according to the International law. Lavrov also considered that “the non-extension of the EU ban on the supply of arms to Syria places obstacles in the way of Geneva Conference.”

“The European decision raises questions, knowing that from the beginning, imposing the ban on arms supply, that is basically prevented according to the international law, was ambiguous. However, lifting the ban now complicates the situation.

In a different context, Lavrov considered “that the only way to put an end to the Syrian crisis is to hold an international conference.” He added that the conflict in Syria has taken a sectarian nature, and “this would threaten the Islamic unity and the non-Islamic elements of the Syrian Society."

Lavrov also called for holding an international conference to reach political solutions for the Syrian Crisis, away from the unilateral and double-standard prospects to the Syrian conflict. He also mentioned that all the countries that are concerned with the Syrian crisis must attend, including Iran.

Russian Top Diplomat also said that the intention of the Human Rights Council to issue a resolution on Syria will not help holding Geneva Conference 2. He added that this unilateral resolution comes in the context of the efforts that led to the resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations which condemned Syria.

“Russia is astonished by such efforts of the US, Turkey, and Qatar,” Lavrov, added.

U.S. to ease Iran Sanctions on laptops, mobile phones

Source : Trend.Az

President Barack Obama's administration plans to lift U.S. trade sanctions that bar sales of consumer communications equipment and software to ordinary Iranians, according to the National Iranian American Council, Bloomberg reported.

The policy shift is to be announced today by the U.S. State and Treasury departments, which administer the sanctions that have been imposed on such consumer electronics since 1992, according to Jamal Abdi, a spokesman for the council, a Washington-based nonprofit group.

The action was confirmed by a State Department official who asked not to be identified because the announcement hasn't been made. The change is intended to help Iranians communicate through social media, text messaging, and mobile-phone videos in order to overcome some of the media and communications restrictions imposed by Iranian authorities.

"Now the U.S. is taking steps to ensure that, as Iran's government cracks down on Internet access and SMS, sanctions will no longer block cellphones, software and hardware," according to Abdi. SMS is an abbreviation for short message service text messaging.

The U.S. has supported such attempts to boost democratic movements and stepped up efforts to stop regimes such as those in Iran and Syria from blocking social media through what Obama has called the "malign use of technology."

In November, the administration imposed sanctions on Iranian officials - including the nation's communications minister - and government agencies for blocking Internet access, mobile-phone lines and satellite-television channels to stifle free speech.

The decision to waive some sanctions runs counter to recent actions in which the U.S. has generally tightened financial and trade restrictions on Iran as part of an international effort to persuade the regime in Tehran to give up activities that could lead to making nuclear weapons.

The National Iranian American Council has been urging the U.S. to aid ordinary Iranians and to assist the reform movement in the Persian Gulf country by ending the communications-equipment sanctions, making it easier and less costly to obtain such gear. The change will lift restrictions on hardware such as mobile telephones and laptop computers and on some software, such as antivirus programs, Abdi said.

"The sanctions were felt most acutely four years ago, at the height of Iran's green movement protests," the group said in a statement.

"The world was galvanized by cell-phone videos and reports of abuses coming from inside of Iran, and SMS and other communications tools were being used to help organize massive demonstrations. Yet all of those tools were under U.S. sanctions."

The restrictions have blocked companies from selling laptops, mobile phones or modems to Iranians, which has fueled a black market for the goods. They also have blocked services such as satellite-based Internet access, website hosting, and virtual private networks for Iranian citizens, according to the group.

Under the Iran-Iraq Arms Non-Proliferation Act of 1992, the president may waive the requirement to impose certain sanctions if it is "essential to the national interest" of the U.S. This waiver authority has since been delegated to the under secretary of state for arms control and international security.

The administration previously eased some restrictions on mass-market software needed for Internet communications after noting that the sanctions were having an "unintended chilling effect" on the ability of companies such as Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Google Inc. (GOOG), based in Mountain View, California, to continue providing essential communications tools to ordinary Iranians.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control will issue a general license authorizing export of consumer communications equipment and certain types of software to consumers in Iran, according to Abdi.

Israeli Military Vehicles, Bulldozers Enter Gaza

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- Israeli military vehicles escorted bulldozers into a border area in central Gaza on Wednesday, locals said.

Seven bulldozers flanked by four military vehicles crossed into a border area near al-Bureij refugee camp at around 6 am, penetrating 300 meters into fields and leveling agricultural lands, witnesses told Ma'an.

Israeli drones were hovering at a low distance during the incident, locals added, with Israeli forces firing smoke bombs.

An Israeli army spokesman said there was "routine activity along the fence," without providing further details.

Arms race fears after Syria weapons moves

Source : Shanghai Daily

FEARS of a foreign-fed arms race in Syria grew yesterday as European Union nations decided they could give weapons to the outgunned rebels and Russia disclosed it has a contract to sell the Syrian government anti-aircraft missiles.

Each development could significantly raise the firepower in a two-year civil war which has already killed more than 70,000 people.

It also comes as the US and Russia are preparing for a major peace conference in Geneva that diplomats have called the best chance yet to end the bloodshed in the Middle East country.

The EU move late on Monday lifting an arms embargo on Syria sparked broad political fallout within hours.

Russia criticized the decision and acknowledged its anti-aircraft missile sale.

In Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov called the EU's decision "a manifestation of double standards" and accused the European Union of "throwing fuel on the fire" by letting its arms embargo on Syrian expire, saying it would hurt prospects for the Geneva talks, which are expected to take place next month.

Ryabkov confirmed that Russia had signed a contract with Assad's government to provide S-300 air defense missiles, which he said were important to prevent foreign intervention in the country. Ryabkov would not say whether any of the missiles had been shipped to Syria.

"We think this delivery is a stabilizing factor and that such steps in many ways restrain some hotheads ... from exploring scenarios in which this conflict could be given an international character with participation of outside forces, to whom this idea is not foreign," he told reporters.

An official in Britain's Foreign Office said: "We have stated that we have made no decision to supply arms to Syria. At the same time, Russia has acknowledged publicly that it is providing weapons to the Assad regime. Of course we disapprove strongly of continued arms sales to the regime."

Britain and France, which opposed renewing the arms embargo, have made it clear that they reserve the right to send arms immediately, despite an agreement by European countries to put off potential deliveries until August 1.

In Damascus, a Syrian lawmaker criticized the EU move, saying efforts to arm the rebels would discourage the opposition from seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict.

In contrast, Louay Safi, a senior figure in the main Western-backed Syrian opposition group, the Syrian National Coalition, called the EU move a "positive step."

The US and other Western powers fear that any European weapons could fall into the hands of extremists.

"We have no guarantees about the end user," Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders said. "So it is perfectly possible to see arms disappear in the hands of extremists and jihadists. And, second, it is a real proliferation. There are enough arms in the field, not only in Syria but also in the neighboring countries."

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said: "Germany will not deliver any weapons to the Syria conflict and we note that no other European country has expressed the intention to do so in the near future.

Arming Syria Militants Greatest Miscalculation since Rise of Fascism: Guardian

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

In an article published by the Guardian on Tuesday, Simon Jenkins considered that “by helping to destroy secular politics in the Middle East, the west has unleashed the Shia/Sunni conflict now tearing it apart.”

Under the headline “Our Greatest Miscalculation since the Rise of Fascism”, Jenkins asserted that “there is no more dreadful idea than to pour more armaments into the sectarian war now consuming Syria. Yet that is precisely what Britain's coalition government wants to do.”

“For two years pundits have proclaimed the imminent fall of Syria's President Bashar Al-Assad. High on Arab spring, they declared he would fall from the logic of history. Or he would fall because western sanctions would bring him down. Or he would fall because the media, as in the novel Scoop, were with the rebels and had decided they would win,” the writer added.

He pointed out that “Assad has not fallen. He is still there, locked in the lethal Muslim schism that resurfaced with the demise of the region's secularist dictators,” indicating that “they had faults in abundance, but they succeeded in suppressing religious discord, instilling rudimentary tolerance and keeping the region mostly in order. This was in the west's interest, and the rulers, like those in the Gulf, were supported accordingly.”

In this context, Jenkins emphasized that “pouring arms into Syria will no more topple Assad or drive him to the negotiating table than did two years of blood- curdling sanctions. Hague knows this perfectly well, as he knows there is no way arms can be sent to "good" rebels and not to bad ones. He knows that if you want one side to win a civil war, the only honest way is to fight on its side. We did that in Kosovo and Libya.”

He indicated that “Britain's military judgment is no more coherent than its political. It thinks it can conquer Syria… But sending weapons cannot make a difference, and will merely entice Britain into promising troops, unless it wishes to desert the rebels. Like American backing for the Taliban in the 1990s, the idea that "my enemy's enemy must be my friend" could yet see British Special Forces fighting alongside Al-Qaida in Syria.”

Meanwhile, the writer stated that “most of Europe's rulers have other matters on their hands, but Britain and France, two nations whose ancient empires carved up the Levant between them, cannot keep out of it. They see national interest and danger where none exists. They cannot relieve Syria's agony, yet hope some vague belligerence might bring relief.”

“The reality is they hope that belligerence might draw attention from political troubles back home. That is the worst reason for going to war,” he concluded.

Scrapped Syrian Arms Ban May Draw Terrorism to EU - Iran

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, May 28 (RIA Novosti) – The European Union’s failure on Monday to extend the arms embargo on Syria has brought the threat of terrorism from Syria to the borders of the EU, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported, citing Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Araghchi.

“It is a dangerous move as it brought Syrian terrorists several thousand kilometers closer to EU soil,” Araghchi was quoted by IRNA as saying, adding that lifting the embargo would increase the risk of terrorism against EU countries.

The diplomat said the EU’s move demonstrated double standards in the approach of European politicians to the issue of terrorism and was “a destructive move on the eve of the ‘Geneva 2’ conference on Syria.”

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton confirmed on Monday that from now on, every EU member country has the right to make its own decision on arms exports to Syria, meaning EU countries could now supply the Syrian opposition with weapons.

She affirmed that any arms sent to Syria would be "intended for the protection of civilians," and added that the European Union governments would review the position on sanctions on Syria before August 1.

The EU’s failure to renew the embargo on Monday has also been criticized by Moscow, with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov calling it “a direct blow to the international conference on Syria.”

In early May, Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry announced plans to organize an international conference aimed at facilitating a solution to the ongoing Syrian crisis through political dialogue. The conference is designed to be a follow-up to last year’s international meeting in Geneva that drafted a peace roadmap for Syria, where more than 80,000 people have died since fighting broke out between government forces and rebels in March 2011. According to diplomatic sources, the conference may take place in mid-June, but both Moscow and Washington have so far avoided giving exact dates.

Syria presses for international probe into Qatari special services

Source : The Voice of Russia: News

Syria is pressing for an international inquiry into the role that the Qatari special services have played in abducting UN officials on the Golan Heights on May 7th, the Syrian Ambassador to the UN, Baashar Jafari, told a news briefing

An unidentified person instructed the abductors by telephone from Qatar in a move, confirmed by an official email message that a UN mission member in Damascus has sent to the UN Headquarters, the Syrian Ambassador said. Jaafari feels that Qatar seeks to destabilize the situation in Syria, undermine the UN personnel security and replace the UN force by the armed groups that are resisting the government in Damascus. According to the Financial Times Magazine, Qatar has spent three billion dollars on assistance for the enemies of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

'Hezbollah supports Syria's anti-Israel resistance'

Source : Strategic-Culture.org

The Deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah Sheikh Naim Qassem says that the Lebanese movement supports those in Syria backing resistance against Israel.

The Lebanese resistance official made the remarks during an interview with Beirut’s al-Mayadeen news channel.

Sheikh Naim Qassem reiterated that political dialogue is the only way to resolve the current crisis in the Arab nation.

He also said that Hezbollah was playing a supportive role in Syria.

The Hezbollah figure further warned that Western powers and some Arab states such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia are provoking a backlash in their own countries through their stance on Damascus.

Earlier in May, Sheikh Qassem said that Tel Aviv was aiming to boost the morale of foreign-backed militants fighting in Syria by its recent airstrikes against the country.

“An aggression by Israel against Syria has taken place which means that Syria represents an obstacle in the face of Israel. But Syria is unwavering in the face of [Israel],” he added.

Israel has carried out at least three airstrikes in Syria so far this year.

On May 22, Israeli Major General Amir Eshel said that Israel was prepared to attack Syria the moment the government of Bashar al-Assad collapses.

The unrest in Syria has dragged on for over two years, and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the foreign-sponsored militancy."

New computer attacks traced to Iran, U.S. officials claim

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com/

TEHRAN, May 26 (MNA) – U.S. officials and corporate security experts examining a new wave of potentially destructive computer attacks striking American corporations, especially energy firms, claimed that they have tracked the attacks back to Iran.

The targets have included several American oil, gas and electricity companies, which government officials have refused to identify. The goal is not espionage, they said, but sabotage. Government officials describe the attacks as probes looking for ways to seize control of critical processing systems.

Investigators began looking at the attacks several months ago, and when the Department of Homeland Security issued a vaguely worded warning this month, a government official told the New York Times that “most everything we have seen is coming from the Middle East.”

Government officials and outside experts on Friday confirmed a report in the Wall Street Journal claiming that the source of the attacks had been narrowed to Iran. They said the evidence was not specific enough to conclude with confidence that the attacks were state-sponsored.

American officials did not offer any technical evidence to back up their assertions of Iranian authorship of the latest attacks, but they described the recent campaign as different from most attacks against American companies — particularly those from China — which quietly siphon off intellectual property for competitive purposes.

The new attacks, officials said, were devised to destroy data and manipulate the machinery that operates critical control systems, like oil pipelines. One official described them as “probes that suggest someone is looking at how to take control of these systems.”

Government officials also claimed that Iran was the source of a separate continuing campaign of attacks on American financial institutions that began last September and has since taken dozens of American banks intermittently offline, costing millions of dollars. But that attack was a less sophisticated “denial of service” effort.

Ali Reza Miryousefi, the head of the press office of the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, in an article published in the May 23 edition of the New York Times in response to an article entitled “Cyberattacks Against U.S. Corporations Are on the Rise,” which was published in the May 13 edition of the paper, dismissed the claims that Iran was behind cyber attacks against the United States.

AM/PA MNA END

Israeli forces storms Jenin, renews detainee's arrest

Source : http://abna.ir/

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided on Friday night and Saturday morning several villages in Jenin in northern West Bank.

IOF soldiers violently stormed and searched on Saturday morning a warehouse in Anin village in Jenin where they questioned its owner for more than two hours, local sources reported.

Israeli forces have also stormed Yabad village, southern Jenin, and stationed in the road between Yabad and Amrih villages where they fired flare bombs.

Occupation troops broke into Kvert and Dohr Abd villages and set up a military checkpoint on their entrances.

IOF stormed and conducted combing operations on Friday night in agricultural lands in Jalama area looking for water wells.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that the soldiers questioned the lands' owners concerning the area wells. Furthermore, the Israeli soldiers set up a check point in the mentioned area and checked the citizens' identities.

On the other hand, Jalama Military Court extended the arrest of Mohammed Ahmad Zakarneh, 34, from Qabatiya for an additional week pending further investigation.

Local sources affirmed that the Israeli court extended Zakarneh's detention under the pretext of the alleged security file.

Islamic Jihad leader: Fatah, Hamas not ready to end split

Source : Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Talks between Fatah and Hamas on Tuesday and Wednesday accomplished little as the parties failed to reach any agreement, a top Islamic Jihad official said Thursday.

Abu Imad al-Rifaei, the Islamist group's representative in a committee preparing for national elections, told Ma'an that the talks focused on the makeup of the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Palestinian National Council.

But he said neither Fatah nor Hamas seemed serious about ending the division and implementing a reconciliation deal signed in 2011.

Al-Rifaei, who also serves as Islamic Jihad's representative in Lebanon, blasted the talks as a "waste of time."

He expressed strong doubts that elections were on the horizon but he said if they took place, Islamic Jihad would field candidates for the national council and PLO executive committee. The faction does not participate in legislative or presidential elections, he noted.

Asked about the situation in Syria, al-Rifaei denounced Israel's bombing in early May of a regime facility in Damascus. He says Islamic Jihad stands by any country facing Israeli attacks and will respond as it sees fit

UEFA urged to boycott Israel as Euro U-21 champs host

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

Over 50 international footballers have joined anti-apartheid protesters in London to demand that the European football’s governing body, UEFA, calls off the planned under-21 European football championships in Israel, Press TV reports.

The hundred-strong protesters, who gathered in central London where UEFA is holding its annual congress, said the body is complicit in whitewashing the Israeli regime’s crimes if it allows Tel Aviv to host the tournament.

Meanwhile, Palestinian footballer and hunger striker Mahmoud Sarsak and Jewish comedian Alexei Sayle used the rally to hand a letter to the UEFA president Michel Platini, calling for cancelation of the under-21 event.

“Israel exercises apartheid and exercises a program of injustice against Palestinian sportsmen and women, carries out an extensive arrest policy of Palestinians with a sporting ambition and hope of representing their country in international events,” Sarsak told Press TV.

“Israel tries to kill our sporting hope by bombing stadium and sports facilities,” he added.

Sayle also condemned the move as part of efforts toward normalization of Israeli crimes.

Participants in the protest, organized by Innovative Minds campaign group who carried placards reading “End Israeli Apartheid” and “Kick Israeli Racism out of UEFA”.

They said the European football body should prevent the regime from hosting the under-21 tournament if it seriously seeks to end racism in football because the regime is an epitome of racism and a boycott by UEFA would send a strong message to racists.

Israeli Army Kidnaps 12 Children In Jerusalem

Source : Al-Qassam Brigades

Jerusalem - Wednesday, May 22 2013, The Palestinian News & Info Agency (WAFA) has reported that Israeli soldiers kidnapped twelve children, students of the Orphanage School in occupied Jerusalem.

Bassam Khalil, vice-principal of the school, stated that the army kidnapped the children as they left school in the Old City, and took them to a local Police station in the Chain Gate area.

He added that, so far, three of the kidnapped children have been identified as Mohammad Abu Sneina, Obaida Es’eed, and Marwan Dweik.

The army claimed that the children hurled stones at Israeli settlers’ vehicles in the area.

Earlier on Wednesday, the army invaded different parts of the West Bank and kidnapped six Palestinians in the districts of Nablus, Tubas and Jenin.

On Tuesday, the army also invaded various areas in the West Bank, kidnapped eight Palestinians, and kidnapped two children in Abu Dis town, in occupied Jerusalem.

Israeli soldiers invade the West Bank, and conduct arrests and home invasions, on a daily basis as part of the ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinians and their property in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Turkey to build wall on border with Syria

Source : Xinhua

ANKARA, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will build a 2.5 km-long wall along its border with Syria to prevent illegal crossings, Turkish Trade and Customs Minister Hayati Yazici said Thursday.

The wall is to be built along Hatay province's Cilvegozu gate with Syria, he said, adding that a protocol with the Turkish Armed Forces had already been signed for the construction of the wall.

"According to the protocol, we have defined a project that aims to increase the security of the military zone by building a part barbed wire, part concrete wall with security camera system," the minister said.

The Cilvegozu gate lies less than 10 km from Reyhanli town center, where a twin-bomb attack killed 51 and wounded more than 100 on May 11.

Turkish leaders have associated the attacks with pro-Syria groups and intelligence organizations in Syria. However, Damascus denied the accusation.

Russian S-300 Deliveries to Syria ‘Destabilizing’ - Kerry

Source : RIA Novosti

TEL AVIV, May 23 (RIA Novosti) – The sale by Russia of S-300 air defense systems to Syria would be “destabilizing” for the region, US Secretary State John Kerry said on Thursday.

"S-300 missiles coming from Russia, or other countries, Iranian missiles, are destabilizing to the region," Kerry said. "The United States is committed, not only in its defense of Israel, but in its concerns for the region to try to address this issue."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this month that Russia would honor a deal with Syria to supply it with S-300 air defense systems.

“Those who do not plan aggressive actions against a sovereign state have nothing to worry about, because means of air defense – and this is clear from the name – are a purely defensive system required to repel air attacks,” Lavrov said.

He also said the deal was signed before Israel planes hit targets in Syria earlier this month.

S-300 is widely acknowledged by defense analysts as one of the world's most advanced air defense systems. An S-300 battery would "provide coverage of much of northern and central Israel if deployed in the south west of Syria for targets other than those at low altitude," Douglas Barrie, an air warfare analyst with the London-based International Institute of Strategic Studies, told RIA Novosti earlier this month.

The sale of Russian weapons to Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime has been a source of bilateral tension between Moscow and Washington, with US officials accusing Russia of arming a regime the United States says is killing its own citizens in Syria’s raging civil war.

Last week, Washington criticized Moscow for delivering advanced Yakhont anti- ship missiles to Damascus, and last year called on Russia not to deliver overhauled helicopter gunships to the Assad regime.

Russia, however, has insisted that the deliveries are legal under international law and that it is not supplying Syria, the largest importer of Russian arms in the Middle East, with offensive weapons which can be used to kill civilians.

Iran Calls for Termination of Arms Supplies to Terrorists in Syria

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

Iran’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York in a statement on the threshold of holding the friends of Syria conference in Tehran underlined the necessity for an end to certain foreign countries’ arm supplies to the rebel groups which are committing crimes against the Syrian people.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

In the Name of God

Press Release on the International Conference on Syria in Tehran on 29 May 2013

Pursuant to the two previous meetings on the developments in Syria, held in the Islamic Republic of Iran the third meeting is scheduled to be held in Tehran on 29 May 2013. We are confident that this Conference could enhance consultations and coordination among the countries that are real friends of Syria with view to assisting this country in surmounting the crisis. We are hopeful about the achievements that thi Conference would have and, especially, the practical solution for the crisis that it could come up with. The fact that a great number of countries and international organizations will take part in this Conference i indicative of the increasing determination of world public opinion towards the peaceful resolution of the crisis and also the growing role that the Islamic Republic of Iran is playing in dealing with it.

With regard to this International Conference on Syria, the following are also noteworthy:

- The Islamic Republic of Iran plays an important role in peacefully resolving the crisis in Syria. Iran is major country in the region and has put forward an important plan for the peaceful resolution of the crisis It has so far organized two major conferences on the topic and is one of the members of the Group of 4 major regional countries (Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey) tasked with tackling the Syrian crisis.

- On the same understanding, Iran has always criticized the actions by those countries that, while interfering in the Syrian domestic affairs and supporting the extremists and armed and illegal opposition groups, deliver arms to these groups . These countries are, undoubtedly, responsible before the Syrian and world public opinion. Instead of shipping arms and munitions, they should take part in rebuilding Syria.

- The Islamic Republic of Iran has always endeavored towards constructing and developing Syria. During the crisis, instead of shipping arms into that country to bring about destruction and stoke conflicts, Iran ha provided the Syrians with food, medicine, fuel and the like on a constant basis to enhance the livelihood o the Syrian people.

- Since the onset of the crisis, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always maintained a consistent and balanced position, stressing the need for fulfilling the legitimate demands of the Syrian people and encouraging reforms in Syria. Unfortunately, following the foreign intervention, the crisis turned into a proxy war blocking the way of reforms by the Government towards improving the livelihood of the people.

- Iran has always been part of the solution in Syria, spared no effort in this direction and supported the good-intentioned plans aimed at justly resolving the crisis in a Syrian-led framework and dialogue between the Government and the opposition.

Syrian rebels call for Qusayr reinforcements ahead of conference

Source : Al Akhbar English

Syria's main opposition alliance on Wednesday urged fighters to come from around the country to reinforce Qusayr against attempts by President Bashar al-Assad's troops and supporters to gain control of the rebel-held town.

The appeal came as Syrian government forces battled for the fourth straight day trying to wrest control of the western town of Qusayr from the rebels. The town lies along a strategic land corridor linking the capital, Damascus, with the Mediterranean coast.

"Forces from outside Syria" aim to destroy Qusayr and rebels should join the fight to "rescue" the town, George Sabra, the acting chief of the Syrian National Coalition, said in a statement.

A local government official from the Homs governor's office told The Associated Press on Wednesday that about 80 percent of the town was in government hands. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to give information to the media during an ongoing military operation.

He added that Assad's troops had discovered tunnels linking areas around the town, adding that the fighting is now concentrated in the northwestern parts of Qusayr where the "terrorists" – the phrase the Syrian government uses for opposition fighters – were still entrenched. The official's account could not be independently verified because Damascus bans independent media access to much of the country.

In Lebanon, dozens of supporters of Salafi sheikh Ahmad al-Assir on Wednesday blocked the road leading to a cemetery in the southern city of Saida to prevent the burial of a Hezbollah fighter who died recently in Qusayr.

The standoff, which lasted over an hour, was the latest sign of rising tensions in Lebanon because of the growing involvement by disparate Lebanese groups on opposing sides of the Syrian civil war. The conflict in Syria has killed more than 80,000 people, according to United Nations, and has often spilled across Syria's borders.

Also on Wednesday, an international group known as the Friends of Syria is due to meet in Amman, Jordan. The closed-door meeting among diplomats from nations that back the Syrian uprising is aimed at preparing for UN-hosted international talks expected to be held in Geneva next month.

Top diplomats from Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and the United States are attending the meeting.

The Syrian ambassador to Jordan lashed out on Wednesday at the meeting, describing it as a gathering of "enemies of Syria".

"It is a meeting of Syria's enemies, or friends of Israel," Bahjat Suleiman said in a rare news conference hours before the "Friends of Syria" group meets in Amman to discuss the US-Russian proposal for peace talks.

"Those who want to end the tragedy in Syria need to stop arming and training terrorist gangs in Syria. The war on Syria is unprecedented."

Suleiman castigated Arab nations for attending the Amman meeting, saying they are aiding Washington in its "aggressive, terrorist war, on behalf of Israel, to destroy Syria."

Princess Hind Blasts Qatari Emir's Support for Terrorists in Syria

Source : Fars News

Support for Terrorists in Syria TEHRAN (FNA)- Qatari Emir's daughter, Shaikha Hind, rapped his father for supporting the Syrian armed rebels who are killing innocent citizens in mass numbers in the Muslim Arab country.

Writing on her Twitter page, Hind severely criticized her father's policies on Syria, calling Qatar's interference in Syria a "big scandal recorded in Qatar's history".

"My father supported the Syrian rebellion because he thought what was happening in Syria was decided by the Syrian people, but now we see that the situation has gone on the contrary," she wrote, and added that "a recent video showing a terrorist eating a Syrian citizen's heart reveals that this is not what was wanted, rather it is a crime against the Syrian people".

Hind also criticized the Saudi armed men who are fighting against the Syrian government and mass murdering the Syrian citizens.

"I saw a video where a Saudi fighter kills 12 Syrians allegedly to be Assad loyalist soldiers. I think such acts convert a purely public revolution to a revolution by terrorists," she added.

Earlier reports said that the US and Qatar are set to boost their support for the militants operating inside Syria, in an act of foreign interference in the internal affairs of the crisis-hit Middle Eastern country.

US President Barack Obama made the announcement at the White House following a meeting with the emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, in April.

This comes days after US Secretary of State John Kerry said that Washington would double its assistance to the militants in Syria.

The new plan by the US and Qatar is the latest instance of foreign meddling in the internal affairs of Syria.

Other regional countries have also been providing the militants in Syria with various forms of support. Qatar has been leading such efforts.

On April 22, during a meeting with Arab League Secretary General Nabil al-Araby, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on Qatar and some other Arab countries to stop supplying weapons to the militants in Syria.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Syrian President Bashar al- Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling Assad's government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons - most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past - has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

Slaughterer israeli Defense Forces soldier killed in Golan Heights

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

An israeli Defense Forces soldier has been killed while participating in an operation to clear a minefield in the southern Golan Heights.

The 19-year-old soldier, Roey Yisrael Alfi, was a member of the Engineering Corps. He was participating in an advanced training course near Moshav Yonatan when an old mine went off.

A senior army source said that the mine exploded for unknown reasons.

Ground Forces Commander Major General Guy Tzur appointed a committee of inquiry to investigate the incident.

The occupied Golan Heights is an area surrounded by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, Mount Hermon in the north, and the Raqqad Wadi in the east.

Israel has occupied the western two thirds of this region. Syria controls the eastern third.

Tel Aviv has recently boosted military activities in the area, where clashes between Syrian forces and foreign-sponsored militants have spiked dramatically.

The Israeli military has set up a “military field hospital” at military outpost 105 in the occupied Golan Heights to treat wounded militants fighting against the government in neighboring Syria.

Israeli forces shoot teen near Ramallah

Source : Maan News Agency

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces on Tuesday shot and injured a Palestinian teenager in Jalazoun refugee camp near Ramallah, witnesses and the Israeli army said.

Witnesses told Ma'an that Atta Sabah, 13, was walking with school friends when Israeli forces opened fire at the group and hit him in the back.

An Israeli military spokeswoman said soldiers opened fire at a Palestinian trying to hurl a firebomb at Israeli forces during a riot in the area.

She said the Palestinian failed to respond to warning shots and that soldiers fired "towards his lower extremities."

Sabah is undergoing surgery at the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah.

Jordan closes its borders to Syrian refugees: activists

Source : Al Akhbar English

The Battle for Qusayr: Decisive Victory or War of Attrition? The battle for Qusayr has not been settled. There are conflicting estimates about the outcome, with loyalists speaking of “hours separating us from victory,” and opposition fighters promising a “... On Hezbollah’s Syrian Intervention The matter is very simple: If the forces backing the Syrian opposition could have provided them with more support, they would have already done so. In fact, there is little left they have not given... SARS-like virus kills one, infects two in Tunisia Tunisia's Health Ministry said Tuesday that a 66- year-old man has died after being infected by the new coronavirus following a visit to Saudi Arabia. The Tunisian, a diabetic, had been complaining... Jordanians in Israeli prisons launch hunger strike Five Jordanians imprisoned in Israel have entered their 20th day on open hunger strike, a prisoner rights groups said Tuesday. “Five of around 30 Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails are currently on... Jordan has turned away thousands of Syrian refugees in the past week in the first such clampdown since the crisis in Syria began more than two years ago, diplomats, activists and aid workers said on Tuesday.

"The Jordanian authorities have stopped receiving refugees whatever their circumstance, except the wounded," Abu Hussein al-Zubi, a Syrian aid worker contacted by phone from Nasib, where he said at least 1,000 refugees were stranded, told Reuters.

"There are now many refugees gathering on the border trying to enter Jordan and waiting for the border to open," he added.

All four unofficial crossing points used by refugees trying to escape bombardments in the southern province of Daraa have been closed for the past six days, refugees and aid workers said, although the official frontier post at Jaber remained open.

Activists said Syrian families trying to pass into Jordan from the rebel- held border villages of Nasib and Tel Shehab had been turned away with no reason given by the Jordanians.

A Western diplomat linked the closure to security measures before Wednesday's so-called "Friends of Syria" meeting in Amman, where foreign ministers of Western and Gulf states opposed to Assad will discuss the quest for a political solution in Syria.

"The Jordanians are worried about security issues (and) are sending signals to the international community highlighting the huge refugee burden they are now shouldering," he said.

Jordan, due to host an international conference on Syria on Wednesday, has already taken in 473,587 Syrians out of a total of 1.5 million who have fled the conflict in an exodus that has accelerated in the past four months, UN figures show.

The US-backed monarchy has long sought to win more outside help in its struggle to cope with the vast influx of refugees.

The head of the UN refugee agency in Jordan, confirmed to Reuters that the refugee flow had slowed to a trickle in the last few days, but said the reasons were not clear.

"What we are pretty sure of is that the refugees are not coming to the border. At the moment the access routes to the border are closed," UNHCR's Andrew Harper said.

He said fewer than 30 refugees had arrived in the last three days, compared to the usual 1,000 to 2,000 a day.

Last month, Jordan said it was hosting more than 500,000 Syrian refugees and the United Nations High Commissioner expects the number to soar to 1.2 million by the end of this year – equivalent to a fifth of the kingdom's population.

(Reuters, Al-Akhbar)

RedditTweet4 Send by emailPrinter-friendly version Tags Category: Top News Tags: syria, Syrian refugees, Jordan Related Articles Jordan police injured in clashes with Syrian refugees Ten policemen were injured in a clash with demonstrators in the Syrian refugee camp of Zaatari in northern Jordan, a security official said on Saturday. The source, declining to be named, said two of... Caught in a Bind: Syrians in the Gulf As Syrians living outside of Syria are desperate to bring their family and friends out of harm’s way, one place has firmly and quietly restricted its borders: the Gulf Arab region. Advertisement Tuesday, May 21, 2013

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Israel bars UN investigators from visiting Jerusalem

Source : Al Akhbar English

Israel on Monday barred a UN commission from visiting Jerusalem to investigate ongoing violations of religious freedom against Muslims and Christians in the Holy Land.

"Israel has cancelled the delegation," which was due to have arrived the same day, a foreign ministry official told AFP.

Israel in late-April agreed that the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization could assess the state of the Old City of Jerusalem, the first such monitoring mission since 2004.

Palestinians had urged for the visit after an escalation of Israeli attacks on non-Jewish worshippers in the Old City in recent weeks.

Israel said it decided to cancel the visit because it feared Palestinians wanted to “politicize” the issue.

"The Palestinians were not respecting the understandings. The visit was supposed to be professional, (but) they were taking measures that showed they were politicizing the event and not letting the delegation focus on professional sides of it," the official said.

Israeli forces as recently as Saturday used tear gas and rubber bullets to attack a demonstration after right-wing Israelis raided al-Aqsa mosque two days earlier.

Tensions have been high around the mosque in recent weeks, as Israel has limited access to Palestinian worshipers while allowing Israelis to tour the compound under armed guard.

And earlier this month religious groups condemned Israel for attacking Orthodox Christians celebrating their easter in the Old City.

Tens of thousands of Orthodox Christians had gathered in the streets around the holy sites where clashes erupted after police blocked them from entering certain areas.

The Palestine Liberation Organization last week denounced Israel for causing "countless difficulties" for Palestinian Christians and Muslims to reach their holy sites.

Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki on Thursday announced that the UNESCO would spend five days in Jerusalem before returning to its headquarters in Paris to submit a detailed report.

Maliki said that Israeli assaults against holy places in Jerusalem were part of a systematic policy crystallized recently.

(AFP, Ma’an, Al-Akhbar)

Clashes between Palestinian youth and IOF in Jerusalem

Source : Al-Qassam Brigades

Occupied Jerusalem - Clashes broke out on Saturday evening between Palestinian youth and Israeli occupation forces in Nablus Road in the occupied city of Jerusalem.

The IOF arrested two young men and a photographer working for Wadi Helwa information center was wounded with shrapnel from a stun grenade.

Wadi Helwa information center said that the clashes broke out after a demonstration that started at Bab al-Amoud towards the Nablus Road, where the demonstrators were surrounded by IOF troops who prevented them from marching further. The protesters used waste containers to block the road.

IOF troops using stun grenades and water cannons, as well as horse mounted police dispersed the protesters.

Following that, dozens of young men held a sit in on the stairs leading to Bab al- Amoud in support of the Aqsa Mosque. Then they marched towards al-Aqsa Mosque through Wad Street in the old city, but they were met with IOF troops who arrested three of the youth.

Local sources, said the young men managed to continue their march to the Mosque and entered it through the Majlis gate.

Foreign ministry: Azerbaijan's territory not to be used for military strike on Iran

Source : Trend.Az

Azerbaijan's territory will not be used as a base for a military strike on Iran by Israel or the U.S, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elman Abdullayev said in an interview with the Egyptian media today.

During his official visit to Egypt last week, Abdullayev gave an interview to the Egyptian newspapers and news agencies "Al-Youm Al-Sabia", "Al-Ahram", "Dostor Al-Asli" and "Tahrir News".

"Azerbaijan hopes Egypt to continue supporting the country in the Nagorno-Karabakh problem," he said.

"Azerbaijan is able to liberate its lands by military means, but we do not want bloodshed and hope for the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement by diplomatic means," he added.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

Official: Palestinian Nation Not to Withdraw from Legitimate Rights

Source : Fars News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior official of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine condemned the Zionist regime for its attempts to legitimize its illegal settlements on Palestinian lands, and stressed that the Palestinian nation will never give up its legitimate rights.

"The occupying regime's decision to legitimize four settlements and the measures taken by the occupiers is a firm reason showing their expansionist and colonial goals and their efforts to render useless every possible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," Qais Abdulkarim told FNA on Sunday.

He said that the Palestinian nation will not accept the imposition of Israel's wills, and stressed that the Palestinian people are seriously seeking to materialize their legitimate rights and will not give up their struggle for forming an independent Palestinian government inside the June 1967 borders with the holy Qods city as its capital.

UN Human Rights Council released a report in February in which it called on the Israeli government to evacuate all the settlements set up on Palestinian territories, considering that the presence of those settlements lead to the violation of Palestinians rights.

After the report, Hamas movement hailed the report of the UN Human Rights Council which calls for the evacuation of all settlements in the Palestinian occupied territories.

Sami Abu Zuhri, the movement spokesman, said, "This UN report represents a positive step and is in the right way; but it needs practical steps to force the occupation to comply with it".

He called for imposing sanctions to deter the occupation from stealing Palestinian lands and forcibly displacing its people.

Abu Zuhri stressed the need to force the occupation authorities to stop the settlement activity and the Judaization policy pursued against the city of Jerusalem.

He also asserted that the Palestinian people have the right to confront and resist the settlement building and the occupation crimes by all available means

1 dead, 2 injured in clashes at Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp

Source : Xinhua

BEIRUT, May 19 (Xinhua) -- Fierce clashes erupted in the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon around midnight on Saturday, leaving one killed and two others injured.

The clashes between the Bilal Badr Islamist Salafist group and Fatah movement took place at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.

The victim was identified as Moawiya Mathloum, while the injured included a woman called Mirna Shahatha and another man, state-run National News Agency reported.

The conflict continued until the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp has been the scene of recurring violence as Islamist and secular Palestinian factions vie for power within the area. According to long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the 12 refugee camps on its soil but leaves security to the Palestinians themselves.

So far, 400,000 Palestinian refugees are living in the 12 camps.

‘Bahrain regime crosses Islam red lines’: Iranian official

Source :  Ahlul Bayt News Agency

An Iranian official has warned the Manama regime against the ramifications of a recent raid by Bahraini forces on prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Issa Qassem’s house.

“Certain entities in Bahrain’s government have crossed the red lines of the Islamic world Shi’ism, and if they fail to apologize for this inappropriate action, they should expect an unpredictable reaction,” said Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Saturday.

Plain-clothes Bahraini forces raided and searched Sheikh Issa Qassem’s house in the village of Duraz on Friday.

Women and children were in the house at the time of the raid, but the Sheikh was not at home.

The Iranian diplomat condemned the insulting act, noting that the issue is beyond Bahrain’s internal affairs and concerns the entire Muslim world.

Born in 1937, Sheikh Issa Qassem is often referred to as the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s main opposition party, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society.

The Bahraini revolution began in mid-February 2011, when the people, inspired by the popular revolutions that toppled the dictators of Tunisia and Egypt, started holding massive demonstrations.

The Bahraini government promptly launched a brutal crackdown on the peaceful protests and called in Saudi-led Arab forces from neighboring states.

Dozens of people have been killed in the crackdown, and the security forces have arrested hundreds, including doctors and nurses accused of treating injured revolutionaries.

Syrian Electronic Army hacks the British newspaper website, Financial Times

Source : شبكة عاجل الإخبارية

Syrian Electronic Army has hacked today the website of the British newspaper, Financial Times, in addition to 17 accounts on the Twitter site of the newspaper.

As the Syrian Electronic Army published two videotapes on the penetrated site, the first shows one of the "Free Army" militia’s elements as eating the heart of one of the Syrians in city Abel of Homs, while the second shows the masked members affiliated with al-Nusra Front executing 12 civilians in Deir Ezzor.

Those two videotapes have spread a few days ago on the social networking sites and raised angry reactions on these brutal crimes carried out by militia and elements of al-Nusra against civilians in areas under their control.

25 Palestinians Injured Near Ramallah

Source : International Middle East Media Center

Friday evening, May 17 2013, Palestinian medical sources reported that approximately 25 Palestinians have been injured, including twelve who were shot by live rounds, during clashes that took place when Israeli soldiers invaded the Al-Jalazoun refugee camp and Silwad town, east of the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

The sources said that clashes took place at the entrance of the Al-Jalazoun refugee camp, close to the Bet El illegal settlement, and added that the army fired dozens of rounds of live ammunition, wounding twelve Palestinians, mainly in their lower body.

Also, clashes took place in Silwan town, east of Ramallah, after the army invaded the town following Friday prayers, and fired dozens of gas bombs and rubber-coated metal bullets, wounding more than 10 Palestinians, one in his mouth.

The soldiers also kidnapped one Palestinian after ambushing him in the town, local sources reported. Furthermore, the army attacked several Palestinian reporters wounding one identified as Moath Mashal, a cameraman working for the Anadolu Turkish news agency.

In related news, hundreds of Palestinians held Friday prayers in lands Israel intends to illegally confiscate for its illegal settlement activities, in Deir Jarir village, east of Ramallah. Israeli soldiers attacked the residents, fired gas bombs, and rubber-coated metal bullets.

Israel settlers also arrived at the scene and fired rounds of live ammunition in an attempt to remove the Palestinians from their lands.

Local sources reported that several trees and crops were burnt due to Israeli army gas bombs fired at the residents.

ramallah, israeli attacks

Hagel meets Morsy in Egypt, addresses Syria chemical weapons

Source : Egypt Independent

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Wednesday the US effort to determine whether Syria has used chemical weapons is a "serious business" that cannot be decided in a rush just because several countries believe evidence supports that conclusion.

"Suspicions are one thing, evidence is another," Hagel told reporters as he wrapped up a visit to Egypt that included talks about Syria and other regional issues.

"I think we have to be very careful here before we make any conclusions (and) draw any conclusions based on real intelligence. That's not at all questioning other nations' intelligence. But the United States relies on its own intelligence."

A statement from Egypt’s presidency Wednesday confirmed that President Mohamed Morsy met with Hagel and discussed the Syria conflict.

According to the statement, Morsy pointed to a consensus among regional and international parties on the importance of reaching a political settlement for the Syrian crisis in order to stop the bloodshed, prevent sectarian division, and maintain the unity of Syrian territory.

The United States has warned that any chemical weapons use by Syria, now convulsed by civil war, would cross a "red line" that would trigger some unspecified response.

Hagel rejected suggestions the United States was undermining its credibility by saying it was continuing to assess the issue, even as France, Britain and Israel have concluded evidence suggests chemical arms have been used in Syria's conflict.

A top Israeli military intelligence officer said on Tuesday that evidence supported the conclusion Syrian government forces had used chemical weapons - probably sarin - several times against rebels trying to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.

The officer's remarks came in the final moments of a three-day visit by Hagel to Israel.

Syria's information minister was quoted as saying on Wednesday that Damascus would not resort to chemical weapons against its own citizens or even in the event of war with its neighbor Israel.

Hagel, who had not previously commented on the Israeli report, said that while he had discussed the Syrian conflict and chemical weapons with Israeli leaders, he had not been given the findings cited by the intelligence officer.

"When I was in Israel they did not give me that assessment. I guess it wasn't complete so I haven't seen the specifics, haven't talked to any Israeli officials, nor have I talked to any of our intelligence officials specifically about it."

US defense officials said it wasn't immediately clear whether the intelligence report reflected the final conclusions of the Israeli government or simply the Israeli military.

Hagel declined to elaborate on his discussions about Syrian chemical weapons with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon.

Asked whether the assessments by France, Britain and Israel put pressure on Washington to make a judgment more quickly, Hagel said, "I don't think you judge these kinds of serious matters based on a time line.

"This is serious business and you want to be as sure as you can be on these kind of things, and until I see our intelligence assessments and the results of those, I can't respond any further," he said.

The Syrian government and rebels each accused the other of launching a chemical attack near the embattled city of Aleppo last month.

Syrian authorities last year acknowledged having chemical and biological weapons and said they could be used if foreign countries intervened in the conflict, a threat that elicited strong warnings from Washington and its allies.

Hagel’s visit to Egypt also addressed the Israel-Palestine, with Morsy stressing during the meeting the need to reach a just and comprehensive settlement that took into account the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.

Egypt’s Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also attended the meeting.

Russia: CIA Spy Agency Crossed Red Line

Source :

Russia says the US spying agency CIA ‘crossed a red line’ by ignoring Moscow’s warning against its recruiting Russian security service employees as spies.

The spokesman for Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Nikolai Zakharov, said Thursday that in October 2011 the FSB officially warned the CIA station chief in the country that “if provocative recruitment efforts aimed at Russian security service employees continued, the FSB would take ‘mirror’ measures.”

“The CIA crossed a red line and we were forced to react,” Zakharov stated.

On May 14, Russian authorities detained a US diplomat, identified as Ryan Fogle who was attempting to recruit a Russian national to spy for the CIA.

Zakharov said in December 2012 another US diplomat, who was a third secretary at the US embassy in Moscow, had been caught red-handed when he was trying to recruit a Russian agent.

“In the hope that the CIA leadership would draw the necessary conclusions, we did not make this case public. But apparently the adherence by the FSB to the principles of professional ethics was not properly appreciated,” Zakharov said.

Erdogan in US, CIA chief John Brennan in Israel for sinful Syria plans

Source : islamicinvitationturkey.com

The director of the US spy agency CIA has visited the occupied Palestinian territories to discuss the situation in Syria with Israeli officials.

An unnamed Israeli official said John Brennan arrived in Tel Aviv on Thursday and went straight into a meeting with Israeli Minister for Military Affairs Moshe Yaalon.

The Tel Aviv regime has not provided any details about the meeting.

Brennan’s visit comes two days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the crisis in Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

During the meeting, Putin warned against any moves that would further destabilize the situation in Syria and said, “In this crucial period it is especially important to avoid any moves that can shake the situation.”

The Russian president made the comments days after the Israeli military launched airstrikes on two research centers near Damascus following heavy losses inflicted upon al-Qaeda-affiliated groups by the Syrian army.

Turmoil has gripped Syria for over two years, and many people, including large numbers of Syrian soldiers and security personnel, have been killed in the foreign- sponsored militancy.

Western powers and their regional allies including the Israeli regime, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar are partners in supporting the militant groups in Syria.

Palestinian group claims Golan attack

Source : Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The Abdul Qader al- Husseini brigades on Thursday claimed responsibility for an attack from Syria on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The military wing of the Free Palestine Movement said it had received permission from Syria to launch the attack, following recent Israeli attacks on Syria.

The brigades said in a statement that militants fired projectiles at dawn on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the Nakba -- or catastrophe -- of Israel's founding in 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced or fled from their homes.

"We are avenging all our martyrs that we lost in our war with the Zionist enemy," the brigades said in a statement.

The group posted a video online showing what it says is footage of the attack. Ma'an is unable to verify the  content of the footage.

Israel's military said several rockets fired from Syria landed in the occupied Golan Heights on Wednesday.

"Around 6 a.m. several rockets landed in the Hermon area on the Syria-Israel border," an Israeli army spokeswoman told Ma'an.

"As a result, the site has been closed to visitors and Israel has registered a complaint with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force. The incident is most likely related to the internal conflict," she added.

No injuries or damage were reported.

Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said last week that Israel was not getting involved in Syria's internal conflict. It has, however, carried out several targeted strikes in Syria.

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in a 1967 war and later annexed it in a move never recognized internationally.

Technically, Syria and Israel are still at war, but the Golan, a strategic plateau, has been largely quiet for decades.

Prominent Bahraini activist Nabeel Rajab goes missing

Source : Al Akhbar

Prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab has been removed from his cell to an unknown location, losing all contact with his family and lawyer, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights reported Wednesday.

In an appeal sent out by the human rights group, Rajab had reportedly witnessed prisoners at the central Jaw prison being tortured.

Rajab’s wife had received a phonecall from Rajab testifying on what he had witnessed in the prison. Shortly after, Rajab’s wife was told that her husband had been removed from his prison cell.

His lawyer, family and fellow activists have not been in contact with him since.

Tweet from head of the BCHR, Yousif al-Muhafda

More than a day passed an @NABEELRAJAB is not allowed to call and his fate is unknown after his call about prison crimes was disconnected

11:01 AM - 16 May 2013

S.Yousif Almuhafda @SAIDYOUSIF Follow 35 RETWEETS 5 FAVORITES

_________________________________________

On Wednesday, six Bahraini tweeters were sentenced to one year in jail each for insulting the King and “misusing the right of free expression.”

Torture in Bahraini prisons is very commonly used to force prisoners to sign confessions. In February of last year, leading political prisoners began refusing food after reporting systematic abuses in Bahrain’s jails, including beatings, torture and the use of tear gas.

Nabeel Rajab, who founded the Bahrain Center for Human Rights in 2002, has been in custody since June 6 on charges of "public insults against plaintiffs," the prosecution said in a statement at the time of his rearrest in June 2012.

The avid Twitter user has been charged with insulting the security forces, posting comments on Twitter deemed insulting to a government body and organizing peaceful protests.

His activism has given him the largest Twitter following in Bahrain, and the fourth largest in the Arab world.

Jordan military plane crash kills two pilots

Source : The Daily Star

AMMAN: A Jordanian air force plane on a training flight crashed on Thursday due to a technical failure, killing the pilot and a trainee, an official in the armed forces' general command said in a statement.

"At 6:55 am (0355 GMT) on Thursday morning one of the training planes, a Firefly, at the King Hussein air force college (in Mafraq, in northern Jordan), crashed in a training area to the west of the college after a technical failure during a routine training flight," the statement said.

The source added that the pilot and the trainee on board both died in the accident.

The last incident of this kind took place in January 2012, when a Jordanian military pilot was killed after his aircraft crashed on a training flight due to a technical failure.

Zionists Storm Aqsa Mosque on Nakba Anniversary

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

53 Zionist settlers stormed Al-Aqsa mosque Wednesday morning through the Moroccans Gate, under high police protection, while 50 other Israeli children concurrently broke into the mosque through King Faisal Gate.

The settlers made these escalatory moves as Palestinians were reviving the 65th anniversary of Al-Nakba (catastrophe).

The occupation has been calling on settlers to go on with their violations of Al-Aqsa mosque, and the biggest violation is expected to take place on the coming Thursday as Jewish youth and children will reportedly break into Al-Aqsa mosque to celebrate “Torah Revelation Holiday” in the “Temple Mount”, where they believe the Torah was revealed.

The call was published by Israeli settlers on social network and media, who said that Rabbi Yisrael Ariel and Rabbi Yosef Elbaum will head a mass pilgrimage, and will move after that to a Jewish neighborhood in the old city to demand freedom of performing Jewish prayers in the courtyard of Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Israel Mulling Plot to Assassinate Assad

Source : Fars News Agency

Assad TEHRAN (FNA)- The Israeli regime's security bodies are working on a plot to assassinate Syrian President Bashar al-Assad by the help of terrorist groups and armed rebels in the country after Damascus showed strength and months of resistance against the terrorist attacks orchestrated by US, Israel and their Arab partners, the Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

The Israeli Vala news website reported that the Israeli security and spy agencies were shocked at Assad's resistance against two years of terrorist and sabotage operations against the country and are mulling other ways to topple him.

Meantime, the report underlined high security measures adopted by the Syrian forces in safeguarding the roads to Damascus where government buildings are located and Assad himself resides, and said the only way to assassinate the Syrian president is designing a complicated operation and coaxing the people close to Assad into betraying him.

Earlier, a documentary movie posted on a Lebanese website unveiled details of a plot by the French and Turkish intelligence services to assassinate President Bashar al-Assad and other senior officials of Syria.

The video posted by Lebanese Asianews website, which was produced in March by Khedar Awarake, a well-known Syrian media activist, included part of the confessions made by those involved in France- Turkey joint plot to kill Assad.

The report said that the Syrian security apparatus defused Turkey and France's attempted assassination plot on the lives of Assad and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Mualem.

The report noted that the Turkish and French spy agencies embarked on the establishment of a joint operation room to direct a well-concerted operation to carry out the mission after they failed in their earlier plot to overthrow Assad's government, adding that their mission had overlaps with security services of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the US on many aspects.

The report further unveiled that the new mission to kill Assad started by Turkey and France's joint effort to recruit high-ranking officials in Syrian governmental offices, including the office of Mualem and offices related to the presidential palace in Damascus.

The report also said that Turks wished to bring along French in their operation since Paris has strong relations with Kurdish parties and could help recruit the Kurdish staffs in Assad's offices.

The report at the same time noted that Syrian security services were able to thwart the plot due to their intelligence supremacy and close watch on the plot.

In January, informed sources had said that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has ordered his army commanders to target Israel and the US interests in the Middle East region in case he is assassinated by the terrorists.

President Assad's remarks came after he attended several meetings with his senior commanders, and discussed the country's security situation with them, the Algerian Al-Shorouq Oline newspaper quoted informed sources close to the Syrian government as saying at the time.

In the meetings presided by President Assad, Syria's top army commanders told him that "the foreign hostile states will strive to assassinate him instead of launching a military attack on Syria".

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

Hundreds of people, including members of the security forces, have been killed, when some protest rallies turned into armed clashes.

The government blames outlaws, saboteurs, and armed terrorist groups for the deaths, stressing that the unrest is being orchestrated from abroad.

In October 2011, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of increasing unrests in Syria.

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Idea of breaking up Syria is rejected: Iran

Source : Tehran Times

TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi has said that the idea of breaking up Syria is rejected because it will cause the crisis in the Arab state to spill over into other regional countries.

“If a political vacuum is created in Syria or Syria is divided, the crisis in the country will spread to the entire region and will compound the problems of regional countries,” Salehi told Al Hayat in an interview in Jeddah published on Tuesday.

The Syrian government and opposition groups should sit at the negotiating table and discuss the establishment of a transitional government and the holding of elections based on the Constitution, he added.

Salehi also welcomed a U.S.-Russian proposal for an international conference on ending the two-year-old conflict in Syria, expressing hope that it would help find a political solution to the crisis.

“Since the onset of the crisis till now, Iran has announced that it agrees with a political solution to the Syrian crisis without the interference of foreign parties and believes that the sovereignty of Syria is still intact. The people have some demands, and they should enjoy freedom like any other nation. The time for dialogue has come,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

Iran to continue consultations with S. Arabia

Elsewhere in his remarks, Salehi commented on his meeting with his Saudi counterpart Minister Saud al-Faisal in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Sunday and said, “The stances of Iran and Saudi Arabia are different on certain cases.”

“We discussed relations between the two countries and regional developments,” he said. “We agreed to be in contact constantly and emphasize the positive points of these relations.”

Iran will continue talks with Saudi Arabia and there are security agreements between the two countries which should be implemented, Salehi said.

The Iranian foreign minister visited Jeddah on Sunday and Monday at the invitation of his Saudi counterpart to attend a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Contact Group on the crisis in Mali.

EP/PA

Sinai: Foreign Militiamen Trained to Join Fight in Syria

Source : http://www.almanar.com.lb

Tribal sources in North Sinai revealed Tuesday that “Jihadist members” of foreign nationalities are deployed and trained in North Sinai in order to participate in the battles against the Syrian army.

Security sources, however, indicated that the geographical nature of the area allows the stationing of those members, noting that eliminating them requires “bombardment of Joya.”

“There are groups of foreign nationalities in Sinai, belonging to jihadist organizations,” the tribal sources, preferred not to be named, told al- Misri al-Yom newspaper.

“Militants are stationed and can move freely. They are aware of not engaging with the army troops or police forces, only if they approach or try to cope with them,” the sources indicated.

“Those members invest the mountainous nature of the Sinai to get trained on martial arts,” the sources added.

“They are heavily armed with diverse weapons and hard to reach.”

“They include Jihadists coming from Arab and Muslim countries, as well as from Egypt, who are pushed to fight in Syria after receiving training courses on martial art and Jihad.

Witnesses said they saw members of non-Egyptian features between now and then, while moving freely and accompanied by Egyptians in Sinai.

“Concerned security agencies have been informed,” witnesses added.

Second Mossad spy trapped in Rafah

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, May 13 (MNA) –Egypt State Supreme Security Prosecutiton has ordered the imprisonment of the second man accused of spying for the Zionist regime in Rafah.

Al-Youm Al-Sabe'a website reported that State Supreme Security head prosecutor, Hisham al- Qarmuti has ordered the imprisonment of another man for the charges of espionage for the apartheid regime for 15 days.

The prosecutor has finished the investigation on a second man, and has decided to lock him under heavy security in Torre prison.

According to the report, Egyptian security forces announced that they had dismantled a spy network, and arrested the ringleader. The investigation revealed that he had been in contact with Mossad agents by his mobile phone.

The report says, after the Egyptian security forces arrested the ringleader, took number of people in Rafah into custody and after interrogating them, released them.

Clashes as Israel detains 2 al-Aqsa brigade members in Jenin

Source : Maan News Agency

JENIN (Ma'an) -- Clashes broke out Monday morning in the Jenin refugee camp as Israeli forces detained two members of the Fatah- affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, locals said.

Locals said the fighting continued for two hours after Israeli forces raided the al-Jabaryat area of the camp at 4 a.m., detaining Raed Amin Dababa and Mohammad al-Amer.

A large military convoy was seen in the camp and two helicopters were overheard in the area, they added.

The two detainees are exempt from arrest by Israel under a deal with the Palestinian Authority signed in 2007, allowing Palestinian fighters who renounced violence against Israel and gave up arms immunity from detention.

Clashes also broke out after Israeli forces deployed near the local Martyrs' Cemetery. Locals threw stones and glass bottles at soldiers, who responded with live bullets and tear gas, locals said, reporting no injuries.

The camp residents said the sound of clashes reminded them of the second Intifada, when the camp was held under siege for 11 days during Operation Defensive Shield in which over 50 Palestinians were killed.

In a recent interview with Ma'an, commander of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade Zakariya Zubeidi said Israeli forces were returning to the camp and targeting activists of the brigade who have full immunity from detention.

"I call on all the members of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade to be careful, and consider themselves [as being] chased by the Israeli authorities," he said.

An Israeli military spokeswoman did not immediately return requests for comment.

Meanwhile, the spokeswoman said two Palestinians were detained in two Jenin villages for 'illegal activity.'

The spokeswoman also confirmed the detention of 22-year-old Ahmad Fawzi Shahada from the Oref village in Nablus. Locals said he was taken to the Huwara military camp.

Seven Children Injured In Jerusalem

Source : International Middle East Media Center

Saturday, May 11 2013, Palestinian medical sources reported that seven Palestinian children have been injured by gas bombs and concussion grenades fired by Israel soldiers at elementary schoolchildren in At-Tour town, in occupied East Jerusalem.

The sources said that the seven children were injured by fragments of gas bombs, and concussion grenades, and that all of the wounded are 10-13 years old.

Dozens of students hurled stones at the army after attacking them leading to further clashes, local sources reported.

Furthermore, the army kidnapped one resident, identified as Mustafa Abu Al-Hawa, 20, and took him to an unknown destination.

Hatem Khweiss, media spokesperson of the Parents Committee of Jerusalem Schools, stated that the union will call for a strike and a press conference on Monday to expose the ongoing violations carried out by the soldiers against the Arab students in occupied Jerusalem.

He added that these violations require a serious action to stop them, and called on the international community to intervene and stop the ongoing Israeli violations against the Palestinians, their lands and property in Jerusalem.

Israeli drone shot down due to malfunction

Source : http://old.mehrnews.com

TEHRAN, May 12 (MNA) – Yedioth Ahronoth writes Israeli Air Force has shot down one of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles over sea due to engine malfunction.

An Air Force Shoval-type drone engaged in routine activity was shot down over the sea due to an engine malfunction on Saturday. IAF helicopters searched for its remains in the sea between Tel Aviv and Netanya.

Shoval is one of Israel's largest and most advanced drones. The IAF has launched an investigation to discover out the reason for the malfunction. It was also decided to ground all Shoval UAVs.

The IDF stressed this is not the first time the IAF downs a drone in a controlled manner.

Martyrs of the Return Brigade Formed outside Palestinian Territories

Source : SANA

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – The military wing of the Palestinian "Youths of the Return" Movement, Ahrar Palestine Brigades announced on Saturday the formation of the first military brigade outside the Palestinian territories dubbed "Martyrs of the Return" Brigade in commemoration of the martyrs who were killed at the Palestinian borders in the occupied Syrian Golan on May 15th, 2011.

In a statement, the brigades pointed out that the formation of the new brigade is an expression of rejection of the negotiations and concessions to the Zionist entity.

The Brigades said, "The time has come for each and every citizen to become a resistant fighter who knows his destination," calling on all liberation and national movements to stand as one against the Zionist enemy.

Resistance front has right to respond to Israel’s attacks on Syria

Source : Tehran Times

Western governments’ recent allegations that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons against his own people should be regarded as a new scenario meant to advance the objectives of the anti-Syria front and prepare the ground for military intervention.

U.S. President Barack Obama recently said that if the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, it has crossed a red line. Obama’s remarks opened the way for an extensive propaganda campaign against Assad, who has been very successful in defusing numerous plots against his country over the past two years.

In fact, Assad has no need to use prohibited weapons since he has effective control over the situation on the ground.

Quite the contrary, it is the terrorists operating in Syria who have resorted to chemical weapons in their war against Assad’s legitimate government. There is abundant evidence proving that the rebels have actually used such weapons in the Khan al-Asal region.

However, in the wake of the anti-Syria front’s allegations, Israel recently carried out airstrikes on the outskirts of Damascus. Many pundits say that the attacks were orchestrated by the United States in order to indirectly provoke Syria into entering a military confrontation. But in reality, the U.S. will be unable to increase its involvement in Syria since it is still suffering from the repercussions of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Over the past few years, Syria has repeatedly exercised restraint in the face of Israel’s illegal attacks. However, this time Syria seems to be planning a response to Israel’s recent acts of aggression. In light of the problematic situation in the region, such a response from Syria could seriously endanger the existence of Israel and pave the way for an all-out war in the Middle East. Even the United States, Russia, and their allies may become involved in such a scenario.

The defense of Syria is also a very important issue for the Muslim world in general, since the country is regarded as a major component of the resistance front and the main buffer against Israel’s hegemonistic policies. Thus, responding to Israel’s illegitimate attacks is clearly an inalienable right of the resistance front.

Mohammad Ali Mohtadi is an established journalist and Middle East expert based in Tehran.

Jordanians call for closure of Israeli embassy

Source : Xinhua

AMMAN, May 11 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of Jordanian activists gathered near the Israeli embassy in Amman Saturday, calling for the closure of the embassy.

During the protest, which they held in rejection of recent attacks by Israeli settlers against worshippers in Al Aqsa Mosque,

and breaking into its yards, the demonstrators called for expelling the Israeli ambassador from Amman.

The protesters also tried to approach the Israeli embassy but the security forces dispersed them and prevented them from approaching the embassy.

Last week, the Jordanian government summoned the Israeli ambassador in Amman and voiced its strong condemnation and rejection of breaking into Al Aqsa Mosque, one of most sacred three mosques for Muslims, by a group of radical Israeli settlers.

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994.