of Northern & Southern radiuses

Lebanon's  ...

Palestine's (Gaza branch) ...

Gaza: 'Questions for Egypt and Hamas'

'Allah shall provide ...!'

Ibrahim al-Amin editor-in-chief of Lebanon's 'Al-Akhbar' wrote this yesterday; 

'Israel has dealt a harsh blow to the resistance in Palestine. Its assassination of the prominent Hamas military commander Ahmad al-Jaabari was a vengeful move, which will affect Hamas in several ways.

The immediate impact is on the running of the movement’s military apparatus. In the short term, it is on the command of that apparatus, given that its top commander, Mohammad al-Daif, was heavily reliant on his aide Jaabari. The long term impact relates to Jaabari’s official position in the Hamas leadership, the choice of his successor, and the considerations and outlook which govern that choice.

Regardless of how the Palestinian resistance responds on the ground, or whether Israel’s claim to have destroyed its strategic missile infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is true, the answers needed today are less about Palestine than Egypt.

No amount of evasion can prevent a succession of questions from being asked about the real strategy of the worldwide organization of the Muslim Brotherhood (see this, here) (MB), and of its Egyptian and Palestinian branches, which control the Egyptian state and the Gaza Strip respectively.

Israel’s government – as well as its security and military establishments – has ample reason for wanting to unleash all kinds of aggression on Gaza. But Israel’s audacity in deciding to go after such a heavyweight target as Jaabari remains puzzling.

On the ground, Israel was relying on its intelligence and operational prowess to counter the Palestinian resistance’s improved capabilities. Its announcement that it destroyed some 20 key missile sites presents a challenge in this regard, after Israel tried the same thing in Lebanon in 2006, but fell into a trap that made its “operation” to establish decisive deterrence come to nothing, even after the “operation” turned into “war.”

The fact that Israel can reach Jaabari and other military commanders shows it has a massive advantage on the intelligence front. This made it easier for the political leadership to execute this blow, and also led it to the conclusion that it would not – at least for now – risk seeing the confrontation escalate into a broader war. Yet there is no guarantee against that since other battlefield-related factors were involved in the decision to embark on this adventure.

This leads to the more important question: Was Israel’s assessment based on accurate information reassuring that neither Egypt nor the MB leadership are prepared to take any radical action toward creating new realities in Palestine and the region?

The MB needs to be asked some fundamental questions here. Leaks from internal discussions by the worldwide MB leadership, described as the most important ever held, indicated a decision was made to give absolute priority at present to consolidating Islamist rule in some countries and acquiring power in others, and to avoid antagonizing foreign powers in the process. It has been widely said that the MB want a full term in power, meaning between four and six years, in which no other issue would be allowed to preoccupy them. The most viable way of ensuring that with regard to Palestine is through a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel.

The first Brotherhood-ruled Arab country, the MB as an organization, and the bereaved Hamas, are facing their toughest test. It will not be the last, but it is the toughest. Will the upshot of the Arab Spring be that Palestine is forgotten and Israel is left to ravage it undeterred? Or will the Arab Street in general, and the Palestinians in particular, sense that a positive change has occurred?

Lest anyone think this is about withdrawing ambassadors or issuing strongly worded statements of condemnation, or even about summoning the Arab League or UN Security Council into session – such steps are meaningless. Hosni Mubarak would have done the same thing if he had been confronted with a big demonstration in Tahrir Square.

The question for this group today is, simply: Are you in the heart of the struggle with Israel or not? While many Egyptians can say where they stand, the regime is facing a moral dilemma that could result in it being weakened more than many might expect.

But the real challenge is for the Hamas leadership. If it opts to go along with the line of the worldwide MB, it will court an explosion within its own ranks. This is a serious prospect. It has been raised in internal discussions which showed that differences between Hamas’ various factions are not superficial, with the military wing – and Jaabari in particular – opposed to any truce with the enemy.

This compounds the danger. The resistance in Palestine could face a major crisis. It knows, however, in line with its people’s instincts, that when the baton-carrier’s grip loosens, others pick it up and race forward.'

Run, Dichter, run like the wind!

Minister of Home Front Defense in 'Criminal State' Avi Dichter runs for cover ...

First Declaration of War on Twitter

Funny how the love of Israel makes YouTube, Twitter, Facebook & co.... bend all their rules & terms!

IDFVerified‏@IDFSpokesperson

The IDF has begun a widespread campaign on terror sites & operatives in the #GazaStrip, chief among them #Hamas & Islamic Jihad targets.

YouTube removes 'mistakenly' (then reinstates) video of Israeli assassination!

YouTube's terms:

• Graphic or gratuitous violence is not allowed. If your video shows someone being physically hurt, attacked, or humiliated, don't post it.

• YouTube is not a shock site. Don't post gross-out videos of accidents, dead bodies or similar things intended to shock or disgust.

FP Passport | FOREIGN POLICY

...and from the 'friends' of the Syrian Jeffersonian revolutionaries?

............  deafening ..............

"Most US media outlets are petrified of straying too far from pro-Israel orthodoxies" bar these ...

[Guardian] "... Meanwhile, most US media outlets are petrified of straying too far from pro-Israel orthodoxies. Time's Middle East correspondent Rania Abouzeid noted this morning on Twitter the typical template: "Just read report in major US paper about Gaza/Israel that put Israeli dead in 1st sentence. Palestinian in 6th paragraph." Or just consider the BBC's headline. Worse, this morning's New York Times editorial self-consciously drapes itself with pro-Israel caveats and completely ignores the extensive civilian deaths in Gaza before identifying this as one of the only flaws it could find with the lethal Israeli assault: "The action also threatens to divert attention from what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly described as Israel's biggest security threat: Iran's nuclear program."In what I know will be a fruitless attempt to avoid having this discussion subsumed by that tired script: I will recommend several outstanding, truly must-read pieces written by others over the last 24 hours in lieu of my own reciting of the various arguments. Begin with this article by Yousef Munayyer in the Daily Beast setting the crucial context for the rocket attacks from Gaza; then read this Daily Beast news-breaking account from Gershon Baskin, who details how the provocations from the Israelis were geared toward disrupting an imminent peace deal with Hamas ("The assassination of Jaabari was a pre-emptive strike against the possibility of a long term ceasefire"); also vital is this time-line of events leading up to the rocket attacks from Gaza, with ample documentation from Ali Abunimah; and finally, there is this very succinct but poignant summary of what Israel has done over the last three weeks...."

Nasrallah on Israel's aggression

"...“Israel is taking advantage of the turmoil in Syria in its onslaught against Gaza. Today’s aggression is happening in a different context from 2008. In 2008, the Resistance Axis was more capable of extending support to Gaza and the resistance there and this was the case before 2008 and after 2008 and we can see the results of this on the ground today. One of the supply lines to Gaza has now been cut and that is Syria. It can no longer provide logistical support, although it can still take a political stand.  Israel is taking advantage of the fighting in Syria, of the reversal of priorities, of the transformation of enemies into friends and friends into enemies. It sees this as a good opportunity to restore its deterrence and to strike at missile capabilities in Gaza, which Israel is aware, will be hard to replace in light of the situation in Syria.”.... The resistance project is a joint one and the fate of Palestine will determine the fate of the entire region. ..."

Israeli TV: 'Another Fajr5 missile hits Tel Aviv'

AFB: 'Missile hits Jaffa's port'

"Mohamed Morsi's reaction was not different from Hosni Mubarak's"

 'My money & your quiet 

to neuter Hamas once and for all!'

[DB] "... Aly said the response so far from Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was not much different from what he would have expected from Hosni Mubarak, the ousted autocrat who ruled Egypt for three decades.Mubarak maintained regular contact and security coordination with Israel, .....But he also frequently criticized Israeli governments for their treatment of the Palestinians, twice recalling Egyptian ambassadors from Tel Aviv.
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has close ties to Hamas, called yesterday for a severing of relations with Israel in response to the offensive. But Morsi, who had been among the leaders of the movement until he was elected Egypt’s president earlier this year, said only that the Israeli attacks must cease.
"The Israelis must understand that we do not accept this aggression, which could lead to instability in the region," he said in televised remarks.
Jordan, the only other country in the region that has a peace treaty with Israel, also condemned the Gaza assault, with a spokesman warning that it would “drag the region into the cycle of violence and instability again.”
(Based on that) Israel has not ruled out a ground operation in Gaza ...............
But the Jordanian government has been mostly focused in the past week on the turmoil in its own country, .........
 Turkey’s own circumstances had changed since Cast Lead, chiefly its war against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has heated up since the summer and caused civilian casualties..........
“While I expected Turkey to issue a condemnation of Israeli actions, it is not surprising that it did not have the full force as it has in the past given the uncomfortable parallels that exist between Israel's actions against Hamas and Turkey's actions against the PKK,” wrote Michael Koplow on the The Atlantic yesterday...."

This is the Custodian of Palestine!

So full of it: So, Israel & the 'moderate' (sigh) Arabs are discovering that this little man, is a useless, corrupt & cowardly criminal, something every Palestinian child (killed or alive) knew all along?

"... The document further reveals that Abbas has serious concerns that he will meet the same fate as Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and ousted Tunisian leader Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali. "In addition, the Saudis are accusing him of lack of efficiency and corruption," the paper said. 

"Several Gulf states are also angry with Abbas for his removal of Mohammed Dahlan  ... However, the Foreign Ministry also recommended offering the PA some rewards. 

According to the paper, if the Palestinians refrain from approaching the UN, Israel should negotiate a Palestinian state on provisional borders with the PA until the Arab world stabilizes and Palestinian elections are held.  However, if the Palestinians decide to go ahead with their plan and receive upgraded status, Israel would consider it as the crossing of a red line which merits a tough response. 

The Foreign Ministry claimed that Abbas chose to take his bid to the UN now realizing he needs to improve his popularity among Palestinians in light of his perceived inability to handle domestic challenges, particularly the economic challenge. 

The Palestinian president is also worried about the exposure of more corruption allegations against him. Since he became PA chairman, details about Abbas' income and assets have been disclosed by opposition elements within Fatah. 

According to the paper, Abbas earns $1 million a month. US President Barack Obama's annual salary, in comparison, stands at $400,000. The paper also quoted data published by the Inlight Press website according to which Abbas holds several Jordanian accounts of more than $500 million, mostly Palestinian tax payer money. ...... 

The paper claims that Abbas' sons are given a share of all Palestinian Authorities projects, based on information from the Inlight Press website. 

"This explains why Abu Mazen tried to promote a Dead Sea tourism project funded by Gulf states. It is claimed that his sons won contracts for more than $250 million." 

The website had apparently revealed that Abbas had prepared a plan to flee the Palestinian Authority to Jordan more than a year ago....

The Foreign Ministry believes these reports are credible and had relayed the information to the US State Department. 

Israeli sources claimed that the CIA is now reviewing the data. ..."

Palestinians in Gaza shelled Tel Aviv with Fajr 5 missile

Gaza ...

Remember? Nov 2011, a year ago French foreign minister Alain Juppé goes out of his way to promote the SNC as THE 'legitimate representative of the Syrian people'

"Stupid Americans!"

"...The election of the Cairo-based Khatib, a former imam of Damascus's historic Umayyad Mosque who was imprisoned under Assad, is a crucial part of this strategy. Western media outlets such as the BBC were quick to declare him "a respected figure within Syria" who holds "moderate" political views, citing his trips to Britain and the United States, as well as his teaching experience at the Dutch Institute in Damascus, as evidence. However, public statements posted on the clergyman's website, darbuna.net, paint a different picture.Khatib's website features numerous instances of anti-Semitic rhetoric. In one of his own articles, he writes that one of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's positive legacies was "terrifying the Jews." He has also published others' anti-Semitic observations on his site: In one article, written by Abdul Salam Basiouni, Jews are described as "gold worshipers." Finally, in an obituary of a Gaza sheikh copied from IslamSyria, Jews are dubbed "the enemies of God."
While Khatib used his post-election speech to call for equal rights for "all parts of the harmonious Syrian people," his previous rhetoric toward his country's minorities has been nothing short of virulent. One of his articles describes Shiite using the slur rawafid, or "rejectionists"; he even goes further, criticizing Shiites' ability to "establish lies and follow them." Such language, needless to say, will hardly reassure the country's Alawite community, a Shiite offshoot to which Assad belongs.
Khatib's animosity toward the West is similarly evident in his writing. In one article, written in 2011, the new coalition leader speaks of "stupid American, cunning British, and malignant French diplomacy." He also accuses Western powers of propping up the old Egyptian regime and working to weaken the country for their own ends. "The collapse of the Egyptian regime is the beginning of the international regional system's descent," he writes. "The collapse of Egypt itself is an enormous Israeli desire [emanating] from its frightening project to split the region into repugnant sectarian entities."
The new Syrian opposition leader doesn't hesitate to stoke Muslims' fears of persecution at the hands of the West. He posted on his website a flamboyant Dutch Radio report on the imminent ethnic cleansing of Europe's Muslim minorities, based on statements by right-wing European figures and Rached Ghannouchi, the leader of the Tunisia's Islamist Al-Nahda party, which is now a major partner in the country's coalition government.
Khatib is also a fan of Qatar-based Egyptian televangelist cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi. His website places Qaradawi on equal footing with Tunisia's Mohamed Bouazizi, whose self-immolation set off the Arab revolutions, and praised the Egyptian preacher as "our great Imam." Qaradawi is a controversial figure who has been denied entry to France and Britain for his support of suicide bombings -- he has described such attacks, when used against Israel civilians, as "evidence of God's justice." Given Qaradawi's Qatari connections, Khatib's praise of the cleric may be an indication of where his loyalties lie.
In certain instances, Khatib's conspiratorial language even mimics the regime's own rhetoric. In an article titled "Facebook, is it an American-Israeli intelligence website?" he claims that users of the social networking website involuntarily become Israeli or American spies through information-sharing. Khatib warns against the potential use of exchanges of a sexual nature on Facebook, which he says could be "weak spots" used to recruit spies. The Assad regime previously used the same logic when it banned Facebook, arguing that the site allowed Israel to make contact with Syrian youth.
Taken as a whole, these statements raise disturbing questions about whether Syria's new opposition leader is truly as "moderate" as he has been described in the press. His religious and political views appear divisive and at odds with the reassuring image Syria's opposition is trying to present -- both domestically and on the international front. Rather than a positive step forward, Khatib's leadership suggests that Syria's opposition is poised to repeat the same mistakes that have bedeviled it since the beginning of the revolt."

“Every place the Free Syrian Army controls has been destroyed,”

"... “Every place the Free Syrian Army controls has been destroyed,” Suleiman Ismail, a Kurdish National Council representative in Dar Bassiyeh, a predominantly Kurdish city about 30 miles east of Ras al Ayn, said, referring to the rebels by one of the umbrella names they use. “We have asked them not to come here and negotiated with them, but so far they have not agreed to stay out.”..."

But of course: ""There is no justification for the violence that Hamas & other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel"

 'Hey Mark Toner: Look here!'

"... "We strongly condemn the barrage of rocket fire from Gaza into southern Israel, and we regret the death and injury of innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians caused by the ensuing violence," State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. "There is no justification for the violence that Hamas and other terrorist organizations are employing against the people of Israel. We call on those responsible to stop these cowardly acts immediately. We support Israel's right to defend itself, and we encourage Israel to continue to take every effort to avoid civilian casualties." Toner placed the blame for the new violence squarely on Hamas..."

Criminal 'updates' on assassinating Arab leaders!

Israel resumes slaughter of Palestinians!

[Al Akhbar] "... Summary:

■ Hamas military chief Ahmad Jaabari and Ahmad al-Zahar, the brother of Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zahar, were killed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City

■ The Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, said in a statement that the assassination "has opened the gates of hell" for Israel■ Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh reportedly survived an air strike, Sawt al-Aqsa reported■ Israeli fighter jets targeted Gaza police stations, bringing the death toll to at least 20, including a 4-year old girl, since Israeli air raids against the Strip began on Saturday■ Israeli TV says army unit moving toward Strip for possible land invasion■ Egypt has reportedly recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv over the attacks■ Retaliatory rockets from the Gaza Strip struck Beersheba, Ashkol and Dimona, home to Israel's main nuclear power plant..."