Which came first to the Jewish Land <Arab conquerors of Jewish Land...> They will have to leave for this is not their Land!
GOOD NEWS FROM ISRAEL FM Liberman announces the opening of an Israeli embassy in Lithuania The embassy, due to open in January 2015, is an expression of the significant strengthening of the bilateral relationship in recent years and its contribution to both peoples. (Communicated by the Foreign Minister’s Bureau) Minister of Foreign Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, currently on an official visit to Lithuania, met yesterday (Wednesday 10 September 2014) in Vilnius with Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite, Prime Minister Algridas Butkevicius and Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius. During his meeting with FM Linkevicius, FM Liberman announced the opening of an Israeli embassy in Vilnius as of January 2015. FM Liberman stated that relations between Israel and Lithuania have strengthened in recent years, a fact that has been expressed in many areas. These include the inauguration of a Tel Aviv-Vilnius airline route, a substantial increase in tourism, the development and strengthening of economic and business ties between the two countries in the fields of high-tech, technology and medicine and the relationship between the two nations. 150 representatives from 60 Israeli companies are participating in The Life Sciences Baltics conference currently being held in Lithuania, and next week an event commemorating the 70th anniversary of the destruction of the Kovno Ghetto will be held in Vilnius with the participation of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta. FM Liberman thanked his hosts on Lithuania's fair position during Operation Protective Edge and for the backing given to Israel in the Security Council during the operation. FM Liberman stated that this meant that the Security Council did not issue a condemnation against Israel, despite pressure from certain countries, thus allowing the IDF to continue its operation against terror. FM Liberman added that Israel and Lithuania will continue to reinforce and strengthen the relationship that contributes to both peoples and both countries. ________________________________________ IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
CLARIFICATION OF TURKEY'S STANCE VIS A VIS THE WEST Excerpts: Turkey says 'no' to U.S. re combat missions against IS.Syria Islamist Ahrar al Sham anti Assad and Islamic State.10 Arab states commit to 'share 'U.S. led fight.10 Arab states commit to 'share 'U.S. led fight September 11, 2014 +++SOURCE: Saudi Gazette 11 Sept.’14:”Turkey refuses U.S. permission for combat missions against IS:Official”,Agence France Presse SUBJECT: Turkey says ‘no’ to U.S. re combat missions against IS FULL TEXT:ANKARA — Turkey will refuse to allow a US-led coalition to attack extremists in neighboring Iraq and Syria from its air bases, nor will it take part in combat operations against militants, a government official told AFP Thursday[11 Sept.]. "Turkey will not be involved in any armed operation but will entirely concentrate on humanitarian operations," the official said on condition of anonymity. The decision echoes the country's refusal to allow the US to station 60,000 troops in Turkey in 2003 to invade Iraq from the north, which triggered a crisis between the two allies. Ankara then also refused Washington permission to use its air bases to attack Saddam Hussein's regime. Turkey has come under fire by some critics for indirectly encouraging the formation of the Islamic State because of its support of Islamist opponents of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and its loose control of its borders. But Ankara vehemently denies its strategy has backfired. After a lightning advance, IS militants now control swathes of Iraq and much of northern Syria along the Turkish border. Turkey now sees itself a victim of the IS with Islamist militants holding 49 Turks hostage, including diplomats and children, abducted from the Turkish consulate in Mosul in Iraq on June 11. Ankara is therefore reluctant to take a stronger role in the coalition against IS militants in apparent fear of aggravating the hostage situation. "Our hands and arms are tied because of the hostages," the official told AFP. Turkey can open Incirlik Air Base in the south for logistical and humanitarian operations in any US-led operation, according to the official who stressed that the base would not be used for lethal air strikes. "Turkey will not take part in any combat mission, nor supply weapons," he said. Turkey is the only Muslim country in a coalition of 10 countries who agreed to fight IS at the NATO summit in Newport. Kerry is due to stop over in Turkey on Friday[12 Sept. according to the official, although the US embassy in Ankara declined to confirm the visit that comes as part of a regional tour. — AFP +++SOURCE: Jordan Times 11 Sept.’14:”Syria rebel group names new chiefs after blast kills leaders”, Agence France Presse SUBJECT: Syria’s Islamist Ahrar Al Sham. anti Assad and jihadistIslamic State, rebel group QUOTE:”Ahrar al Sham rebel group names new chiefs after blast kills leaders “ FULL TEXT:BEIRUT — Syria's Islamist Ahrar Al Sham rebel brigade named new chiefs on Wednesday [10 Sept.] after a devastating blast killed nearly 50 members of its leadership in a northwestern province largely under rebel control. The blast in Idlib province on Tuesday[9 Sept.] evening killed the key rebel group's leader Hassan Abboud, known by the name Abu Abdullah Al Hamawi, along with 46 other top members. The attack targeted a meeting of around 50 military and religious leaders in the basement of a house at Ram Hamdan, northeast of Idlib city. The initial death toll in the attack was 28, but it rose to 47 on Wednesday[10 Sept.] morning, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. On Wednesday[10 Sept.] morning, in a video posted on YouTube, Ahrar Al Sham announced that Hashem Al Sheikh, known as Abu Jaber, would replace Abboud as head of the group, with Abu Saleh Tahhan as military commander. "A group of the best chiefs of Ahrar Al Sham have been martyred. But Ahrar Al Sham is more determined than ever to continue on the path to liberating our country from dictators," the video statement said. Ahrar Al Sham is a key component in the Islamic Front rebel coalition, which has been battling both President Bashar Assad's regime and jihadists of the Islamic State group. No group has claimed the attack on Ahrar Al Sham's leadership and the rebel brigade has not officially pointed the finger at any organisation. It was also unclear what caused the blast, whether a planted bomb, an attacker wearing explosives or even an air strike. But the observatory said it believed the blast had been caused by a bomb planted in the entrance to an underground bunker where the leadership was meeting. The blast blocked the only route out of the bunker and many of those killed died from asphyxiation, the Britain-based group's director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. All of Idlib province is under rebel control apart from Idlib city. IS fighters were pushed out of the province earlier this year. Elsewhere in Syria, the observatory said the toll in two regime air raids on the town of Douma in Damascus province on Tuesday[9 Sept.] rose to 25, including 10 children. In Quneitra province, meanwhile, rebel forces continued to advance, with the observatory saying opposition forces were now in control of 70 per cent of the region. Last week, rebel forces seized the Syrian side of the province's crossing with the Israeli-occupied portion of the Golan Heights plateau. In eastern Deir Ezzor province, the observatory said Syrian warplanes continued aerial raids against the provincial capital. Three jihadists from the Islamic State group were killed in the raids on Deir Ezzor city, along with nine civilians, three of them children, the group said. Three other civilians were killed in an air raid elsewhere in the province, the Observatory added. More than 180,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising against Assad's rule erupted in March 2011. +++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 11 Sept.’14:”!0 Arab States Commit to ‘Share’ U.S. led Fight against IS at Jeddah Talks”, Agence France Presse SUBJECT: 10 Arab states commit to ‘share’ U.S led fight SULL TEXTTen Arab states, including heavyweight Saudi Arabia, agreed Thursday[11 Sept.] in Jeddah to rally behind Washington in the fight against Islamic State jihadists, as it vies to build an international coalition. In the final statement, the 10 countries and Washington declared their "shared commitment to stand united against the threat posed by all terrorism, including the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant." Participation in the fight will include "as appropriate, joining in the many aspects of a coordinated military campaign against ISIL", said the statement. The fight will include "stopping the flow of foreign fighters through neighboring countries, countering financing of ISIL and other violent extremists, repudiating their hateful ideology, ending impunity and bringing perpetrators to justice." It will also include "contributing to humanitarian relief efforts, assisting with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of communities brutalized by ISIL, supporting states that face the most acute ISIL threat." Kerry will visit Cairo Saturday[13 Sept.] as part of efforts to build the international coalition, an Arab League official said Thursday[11 Sept.]. The U.S. top diplomat will meet League chief Nabil al-Arabi "to brief the secretary general on the results of the Jeddah conference", a senior League official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Egypt's state news agency MENA confirmed the meeting would take place, and a senior Egyptian official also speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed Kerry would visit, without divulging details about his program. Before the Jeddah meeting started, Kerry met his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa. In a televised address late Wednesday, President Barack Obama pledged to expand U.S. military operations against IS, a radical Islamist group that has seized a swathe of Iraq and Syria and committed horrifying atrocities. +++SOURCE: Naharnet (Lebanon) 11 Sept.’14:”!0 Arab States Commit to ‘Share’ U.S. led Fight against IS at Jeddah Talks”, Agence France Presse SUBJECT: 10 Arab states commit to ‘share’ U.S led fight FULL TEXT: Ten Arab states, including heavyweight Saudi Arabia, agreed Thursday[11 Sept.] in Jeddah to rally behind Washington in the fight against Islamic State jihadists, as it vies to build an international coalition. In the final statement, the 10 countries and Washington declared their "shared commitment to stand united against the threat posed by all terrorism, including the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant." Participation in the fight will include "as appropriate, joining in the many aspects of a coordinated military campaign against ISIL", said the statement. The fight will include "stopping the flow of foreign fighters through neighboring countries, countering financing of ISIL and other violent extremists, repudiating their hateful ideology, ending impunity and bringing perpetrators to justice." It will also include "contributing to humanitarian relief efforts, assisting with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of communities brutalized by ISIL, supporting states that face the most acute ISIL threat." Kerry will visit Cairo Saturday[13 Sept.] as part of efforts to build the international coalition, an Arab League official said Thursday[11 Sept.]. The U.S. top diplomat will meet League chief Nabil al-Arabi "to brief the secretary general on the results of the Jeddah conference", a senior League official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Egypt's state news agency MENA confirmed the meeting would take place, and a senior Egyptian official also speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed Kerry would visit, without divulging details about his program. Before the Jeddah meeting started, Kerry met his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal and Bahraini Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa. In a televised address late Wednesday, President Barack Obama pledged to expand U.S. military operations against IS, a radical Islamist group that has seized a swathe of Iraq and Syria and committed horrifying atrocities. Sue Lerner - Associate, IMRA ________________________________________ IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis