IDF allows first peek into secret Golan Heights field hospital

Facility has treated 700 Syrians, from children to old men, breaking down stereotypes about ‘the Zionists’ as clashes continue across the fence

By Yifa Yaakov February 1, 2014

Read more: IDF allows first peek into secret Golan Heights field hospital | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-allows-first-peek-into-secret-field-hospital-on-syrian-border/#ixzz2s6EqHd6h
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The Israeli military allowed cameras into a secret field hospital on the Syrian border for the first time.

On Friday evening, Channel 2 News aired footage of the fenced Golan Heights facility, which has treated over 700 Syrian patients since it was established less than a year ago.

The hospital, staffed by soldiers in uniform, includes an emergency room, an intensive care unit, an operating theater, a mobile laboratory, a pharmacy and an x-ray facility. It treats Syrian patients who cross the border regardless of creed – or of where their loyalties lie.

The once-sporadic treatment of Syrian nationals in Israel has, by now, become routine, the report made clear: the wounded cross the border, and IDF medical teams deployed in the Golan Heights give them preliminary treatment. Those who are well enough are sent back across the border, and those who require further treatment are evacuated to the military hospital, a field commander at the facility told Channel 2. In this way, the hospital treats about a hundred Syrians per month.

Maj. Itay Zoarets, a senior surgeon, described the situation as “surreal.”

Official: Fatah leadership in Gaza submits resignation to Abbas

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The leading body of the Fatah movement in the Gaza Strip submitted its resignation to President Mahmoud Abbas last week, Fatah sources said.

An official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Ma'an Saturday that Gaza's chief Fatah leader Zakariyya al-Agha submitted the body's resignation in protest against interference in Gaza affairs by the Fatah Central Committee.

It has been difficult to find solutions to problems Fatah members in Gaza have faced since 2006, when Hamas one legislative elections, the official added.

He said Fatah officials in Gaza had not been receiving regular salaries, and that families of "martyrs" had not received allowances for six years.

Interfaith outreach in Syria: Islamic jihad groups attack monastery, try to destroy “idolatrous” statue of Jesus

Robert Spencer


This is yet more evidence of why the Christians in Syria do not support the so-called “rebels,” and do not want to live in a state governed by them.
Click here to view video
Video from Eretz Zen, January 29 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

Militants from Jabhat al-Nusra (al-Qaeda) in collaboration with the Ghuraba’ (Foreigners) Brigade have attacked the Cherubim monastery in Saidnaya, located on the highest hilltop in the Qalamoun mountain range. The militants have unsuccessfully been trying to sneak into and attack the monastery for the last couple of months. This time, they were able to start destroying the monastery, while aiming to bring down what they perceive as the “idolatrous” statue of Jesus.

Headliners without hankies

By SARAH HONIG

Shechtman has proclaimed that he “doesn’t want to be a copy of Peres.” that in itself is nothing if not laudable, but is it enough?

Chaim Weizmann takes the oath of office as the state’s first president on February 17, 1949. Photo: JERUSALEM POST ARCHIVE

We hardly relish another updated sequel of the same farce, but every seven years we’re compelled to watch a bunch of by and large has-beens vie for the post of president. This prestige-laden sinecure has become a golden- age retreat for assorted flunkies. No finer end-of-career-in-the-limelight can be had.

The trouble is that, as time goes by, the list of candidates becomes exponentially more preposterous, even downright embarrassing.

Hamas, Islamic Jihad Gunmen Now in West Bank

Khaled Abu Toameh

If anything, the rally that saw Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah join forces in a rare show of power means that Abbas's claim that he is fully in control of the situation in West Bank is baseless.

For the first time since 2007, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militiamen this week made a public appearance in the West Bank, raising fears that the two radical groups continue to maintain a military presence in areas controlled by Mahmoud Abbas's Palestinian Authority.
Palestinians were surprised to see Hamas and Islamic Jihad militiamen in broad daylight in an area controlled by the Palestinian Authority.
The masked militiamen made their rare appearance in the Jenin refugee camp during a rally to commemorate Islamic Jihad member Nafi Sa'di, killed by the Israel Defense Forces last December.

Gunman flank a speaker at the Jenin rally staged by Hamas and Islamic Jihad in January 2014.

The Palestinian Authority security forces, which are supposed to be in control of the refugee camp, did not intervene to stop or arrest the Hamas and Islamic Jihad gunmen, even as they fired into the air in honor of Sa'di.

No Time to Spare: Talking about Israel’s Legal Grounds

Arlene Kushner
If the Israeli building in Judea and Samaria destroys the peace process, then, Lars Faaborg-Andersen, the EU ambassador to Israel, declared just days ago, “Naturally, the blame will be put squarely on Israel’s doorstep.”

Naturally: We wouldn’t expect anything else of the EU.  The issue here is not that this is a surprise, but rather that Israel is being forewarned: The government must consider its official stance now, before that blame has been levied:
It is time for Israel to enunciate a policy that directly addresses her rights.
It is two years since Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu appointed a three-person committee, chaired by former High Court Justice Edmond Levy, to examine the situation of the settlements. The Committee’s report – “The Status of Building in Judea and Samaria” – was released on July 8, 2012.
While we have it on good authority that the prime minister was initially enthusiastic about the report, once he began to assess the opposition that was mounting against it, he decided to table it.  In several quarters, this document is viewed as a radical departure from Israeli government policy – a departure that would be highly problematic in the context of the current political situation.

Obama’s Middle East Cowardice Confirmed

Benjamin Weinthal

Jerusalem — The eureka moment in Obama’s Middle East policy, in the eyes of Israel and other U.S. allies in the region, came with the famous withdrawal of his red line over Syria’s use of chemical weapons.
From the vantage point of America’s strategic allies in the Middle East, Obama’s decision last September to recoil from lobbing some missiles at mass murderer Bashar Assad showed a backbone filled with jelly.
At the time, Assad agreed to eliminate his stockpile of chemical weapons in exchange for Obama’s decision to pull the plug on military strikes. How’s the strongman holding up his end of the bargain?
“Syria has given up less than 5 percent of its chemical weapons arsenal and will miss next week’s deadline to send all toxic agents abroad for destruction,” Reuters reported on Wednesday.
Just the night before, Obama claimed during his State of the Union address that “American diplomacy, backed by threat of force, is why Syria’s chemical weapons are being eliminated.”
What’s the effect of this disconnect? Assad views Obama’s rhetoric as largely meaningless.
And he’s not the only one. Syria’s principal partner, the Islamic Republic of Iran, appears to share Assad’s attitude toward Obama. And they aren’t mistaken: The most pressing security problem across the globe remains Iran’s illicit nuclear-weapons program, yet Obama is wedded to diplomacy without muscle.

Bayit Yehudi MK: Kerry pressure on Israel has anti-Semitic undertones

By LAHAV HARKOV

First-term MK Motti Yogev claims the secretary of state "wants to decrease the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel."

Bayit Yehudi MK Motti Yogev (left) and Dep. Min. Eli Ben-Dahan (right) praying against Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at the Western Wall, January 30, 2014. Photo: JEREMY SHARON

US Secretary of State John Kerry is not a fair mediator in peace talks because he has "anti-Israel roots," MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi) said Thursday.

"Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is acting under Kerry's obsessive pressure, which may have anti-Semitic undertones," Yogev told Israel Radio. "Kerry is not here to reach a compromise. He wants to decrease the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel and create a Palestinian state."

'Mahmoud Abbas: Number One Anti-Semite'

Yoni Kempinski, Tova Dvorin

Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz spoke at a Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) ceremony Wednesday, where he reflected on the US-Israel relationship, the intentions of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, and the waning possibility of reaching a peace deal. 

Steinitz sharply criticized statements made by Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon earlier this month, who called US Secretary of State John Kerry "obsessive" and "messianic" in his quest for peace in the Middle East.  

"There is room for criticism and disagreements - but not hurling personal insults," Steinitz opined. "If it happened - and it does happen that things which are said in a closed room leak to the media - something this serious requires a clear, immediate, and serious apology."

"There's no point and no reason to throw insults about those who are our friends and greatest allies," he added. 

Nevertheless, regarding peace talks between Israel and the PA, Steinitz remained pessimistic. 

Bennett caves in, apologizes to Netanyahu

Habayit Hayehudi's leader yields to threat of dismissal from the government, apologizes to Netanyahu for unwarranted criticism • PMO: Bennett will be judged according to future conduct. He must remember that he's a senior cabinet member, act accordingly.

Mati Tuchfeld and Shlomo Cesana

Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu [Archive] | Photo credit: Uri Lenz

Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett on Wednesday yielded to pressure and apologized to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for recent critical comments he made against him. The apology followed several barb-laced and politically tense days, which culminated in an unequivocal demand by the prime minister that Bennett apologize or face serious consequences.

'Jerusalem is ours, we're coming': Obama's brother joins Hamas

Walid Shoebat (former terrorist, now a Christian convert) has connections and much deeper knowledge of Muslim mentality than almost everyone of us.

It is important that we give proper respect to what he has to say.  He must be important because he is fatwa-hunted, and has to move often.  Don S.

 Tuesday, January 28, 2014

 

Walid Shoebat presents a slew of photographic evidence that President Obama's brother Malik is a member of Hamas, and that he and the President of the United States are much closer than they are willing to publicly admit. Here are some highlights, but you should definitely check out the evidence.

While in Sanaa, Yemein in 2010, President Barack Obama’s brother Malik Obama was at an event billed as the Orphans Development Fund (ODF) Conference.

BENNETT DELIVERS A GREAT SPEECH

HERB KEINON, JPOST.COM STAFF
Bayit Yehudi leader says Jews would be killed in Palestinian state, Israel must preserve sovereignty.

Naftali Bennet speaking at INSS conference January 28 2014
Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett addressed a security conference in Tel Aviv hosted by the Institute for Nation Security Studies (INSS) on Tuesday.
“People said that giving back land would bring security, but in the year 2000, terrorism was rampant in the streets of Haifa, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,” he said.
Jews cannot live under Palestinian sovereignty for the simple reason that if they do they will be killed, he said.
Not only did Bennett not back down from criticisms he sounded Monday against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s suggestion that the settlements may remain under Palestinian sovereignty in a future agreement, but he ratcheted up his criticism.

Turkish Charity Still Not on Terror List Despite Numerous Calls

John Rossomando
IPT News

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4278/turkish-charity-still-not-on-terror-list-despite

It has been implicated in the Millennium bomb plot targeting Los Angeles International Airport. It openly led a campaign to break Israel's blockade on Gaza – meant to block supplies and weapons from reaching Hamas terrorists. It has also been implicated in a Libyan gunrunning operation aimed at supplying Syrian rebels that allegedly involved an al-Qaida linked figure.
And now, six of its offices were raided Jan. 14 by Turkish authorities in connection with an investigation of al-Qaida.
The Turkey-based IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has been designated as a terrorist group by U.S. allies Israel, Germany and the Netherlands.

sraeli Soldiers Defend Themselves after Terrorist Opens Fire

 IDF Blog
This morning, a Palestinian terrorist opened fire at IDF soldiers stationed near the Israeli community of Ateret. The soldiers returned fire and neutralized the attacker.
IDF forces from the Home Front Command neutralized a terrorist who opened fire at their position Wednesday near the Israeli community of Ateret, located in the Judea and Samaria region.

The scene of the terrorist attack near Ateret, January 29, 2014

At 10:30 A.M. this morning, the terrorist opened fire at IDF forces. The attacker, who works near the IDF position, engaged the forces in a fire exchange. After returning fire, the IDF soldiers confirmed a direct hit.

PM Netanyahu demands apology from Bennett

PMO officials: If Naftali Bennett does not apologize, he will risk the current composition of the coalition • "Israel does not have to accept every American position," PM Benjamin Netanyahu says about peace talks in INSS speech.

Shlomo Cesana, Mati Tuchfeld, Israel Hayom Staff and News Agencies

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "We will soon know if it is possible to continue negotiations with the Palestinians" | Photo credit: Yehoshua Yosef

<< 1 2 >>

Prime Minister's Office officials informed Habayit Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett on Wednesday morning that he must apologize to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for recent critical comments he made about the prime minister, or face serious consequences.

According the PMO officials, Bennett harmed the interests of the settlements with his insolent and irresponsible behavior. "No one will teach Netanyahu what it is to love of Israel, and what it is to protect the security interests of Israeli citizens," the officials said.

To the West, not all occupied territories are equal (UPDATE)

Elder of Ziyon

An interesting thing happened last week:

In today's meeting of EU Ambassadors, a majority of EU Member States indicated to favour the newly proposed EU-Morocco fisheries protocol, which opens for EU fishing in the waters of occupied Western Sahara.

Though many Member States voiced their concerns on the protocol, a majority could be reached in today’s COREPER meeting. The decision to sign the EU’s most criticised fisheries protocol will be formalised at a Council meeting in the coming weeks.

Throwing its massive voting weight in the scale, Germany ended up supporting the controversial protocol that the Spanish government has lobbied so hard for. As far as WSRW understands, the German government will issue a statement that their endorsement should not be viewed as uncritical support.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day's Fatal Flaw

Caroline Glick

On the surface, it is very moving to see half of the members of Knesset at Auschwitz marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

But in a larger sense, it is not at all clear why this is necessary.

The Jewish people have Yom HaShoah V’Hagevura, our own national day of mourning for the genocide of our people in Europe. More importantly, we carry the legacy of the Holocaust inside of us.

Every day, at some level, we experience the ulcerative loss of a third of the Jewish people in the hell of Europe, because we feel the hollow absence of the victims.
The six million murdered have become 10 million descendants who were never born. And we miss them.

We remember them too, every day, when we look at our children and thank God we can protect them.

MEMRI: Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei Denies the Holocaust

IPT News  
http://www.investigativeproject.org/4275/memri-iranian-supreme-leader-khamenei-denies


Anti-Semitism has long characterized the Iranian government's positions. Holocaust denial in particular has repeatedly surfaced within senior official statements. In an 3 interview with ABC's George Stephanopolous last September, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif asserted that Ayatollah Ali Khamanei is not a Holocaust denier and that statements found on his official English-language website were a "bad translation" and "out of context."

Palestinians: No settlers will be allowed to stay in our state

After Prime Minister's Office official is quoted as saying that Netanyahu thinks settlers should have right to remain in their homes in a Palestinian state, political firestorm erupts • PMO blasts Bennett for "irresponsible" response.

Shlomo Cesana, Mati Tuchfeld, The Associated Press and Israel Hayom Staff

Should Israeli settlers have the right to remain in their homes in a future Palestinian state? | Photo credit: AFP

It may just have been a trial balloon, rather than a statement of intent, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suggestion that Judea and Samaria settlers should have the right to remain in their homes even if they fall within the territory of a future Palestinian state after a peace deal is signed sparked a political firestorm on Sunday. Rightists expressed anger over the idea, leftists said it was unfeasible, and the Palestinians also dismissed it.

On Sunday, a Prime Minister's Office official was quoted as saying that Netanyahu believes all settlers should have the right to remain in their homes in a future Palestinian state.

"The prime minister believes that in peace, just as Israel has an Arab minority, there is no logical reason why the Palestinian state could not contain a Jewish minority and that Jews living in Judea and Samaria would be given the option to stay," the official said. "It should not be accepted a priori that in peace the Palestinian state must be ethnically cleansed."

Those statements followed Netanyahu's remarks in Davos, Switzerland on Friday in which he said that no Israelis would be uprooted in a peace deal with the Palestinians.

The Prime Minister Office official's quotes drew a fierce response from the Right.

"Never," Habayait Hayehudi leader Naftali Bennett wrote on his Facebook page. "The idea of Jewish settlements under Palestinian sovereignty, as was suggested by someone in the Prime Minister's Office, is very dangerous and reflects an irrationality of values.

Four big things to know about Egypt in 2014

Raymond Stock
Fox News

http://www.meforum.org/3728/egypt-new-year

Egypt will continue to make much news in the New Year -- as it has since the 2011 revolution that brought down longtime U.S. ally President Hosni Mubarak amid scenes of blood and jubilation in Tahrir Square and beyond.
As Egypt celebrates the third anniversary of that revolution's launch on January 25th, the world's oldest nation-state enters another phase in its volatile transition from Mubarak's fading, sclerotic autocracy to a yet-uncertain future:
With all that in mind, here are four big things to know about Egypt in 2014.
1. EGYPTIANS SHOULD BE HEADING BACK TO THE POLLS SHORTLY. The overwhelming passage January 14-15 of an amended Constitution paves the way for new presidential and parliamentary elections soon, and legitimizes the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi following the largest demonstrations in history last June 30.
This means that Egypt's extremely popular military regime, headed by charismatic Minister of Defense General Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, has turned a crucial corner in gaining international acceptance, after nearly seven months of physical attacks within Egypt, and of media and policy assaults from abroad.

Egypt's extremely popular military regime has turned a crucial corner in gaining international acceptance. Pictured, Egyptian Minister of Defense General Abdul Fatah Khalil al-Sisi bids farewell to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry after a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, on November 3, 2013. (Image source: U.S. State Department)

2. TERRORISM AND DISSENT WILL CONTINUE TO TORTURE EGYPT. Despite this latest triumph of the majority's will, the same destructive forces that have plagued the nation following the euphoria at Mubarak's fall will likely keep eating away at Egypt's social, political and economic fabric for the foreseeable future.
Friday, four explosions, including a suicide bombing that blew the facade off the seven-story State Security building downtown, have struck targets throughout Cairo, killing at least six and wounding more than 60 others.
President Barack Obama's botched handling of the rollout of Egypt's -- and the Arab world's --democracy, in which the U.S. backed Islamists over secular liberal forces throughout the region, means our alliance with Cairo is far less secure than it was during Mubarak's nearly thirty years atop the pyramid of power in Egypt.

Senior Lawmaker Warns of Iran’s Crushing Response If Attacked by US

TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior parliamentary officials in Tehran slammed US Secretary of State John Kerry for beating on the drums of war against Iran again, and said Tehran would target all the 32 US military bases in the region and turn them into a graveyard for American soldiers, if it comes under attack.

 

“(The US president) Obama knows better than anyone that the US is not in such a condition that it can launch a military attack against any country,” member of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Mohammad Esmayeel Kosari told FNA on Saturday.

“Yet, in case of a US military attack against Iran, all the US military bases in the regional countries will be turned into slaughterhouse of the American forces,” he added.