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

Source : TODAY'S ZAMAN

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

Keywords: turkey , national news , al qaeda

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

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

Karzai from New Delhi: I Don’t Trust US

Source : Al Manar.com

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

Lebanon in high alert at border with Israel

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

Assassinated Hezbollah leader key to technology, drone operations

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

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

Israeli occupation To Build 3000 New Settlement Units

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

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

Amnesty international tells israel to end illegal blockade of Gaza

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

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

Source: Agencies

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

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

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

Israel’ Intervenes in Ghota Battles

Source :

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