Breaking news - Rockets from Gaza hit southern Israel.

Discussion in 'Middle East' started by MGB ROADSTER, Mar 21, 2013.

  1. HBendor

    HBendor New Member

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    Which came first to the Jewish Land <Arab conquerors of Jewish Land...> They will have to leave for this is not their Land!
     
  2. HBendor

    HBendor New Member

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    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&#8217;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
     
  3. HBendor

    HBendor New Member

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    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.&#8217;14:&#8221;Turkey refuses U.S. permission for
    combat missions against IS:Official&#8221;,Agence France Presse
    SUBJECT: Turkey says &#8216;no&#8217; to U.S. re combat missions against IS
    FULL TEXT:ANKARA &#8212; 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. &#8212; AFP


    +++SOURCE: Jordan Times 11 Sept.&#8217;14:&#8221;Syria rebel group names new chiefs
    after blast kills leaders&#8221;, Agence France Presse

    SUBJECT: Syria&#8217;s Islamist Ahrar Al Sham. anti Assad and jihadistIslamic
    State, rebel group

    QUOTE:&#8221;Ahrar al Sham rebel group names new chiefs after blast kills leaders
    &#8220;

    FULL TEXT:BEIRUT &#8212; 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.&#8217;14:&#8221;!0 Arab States Commit to &#8216;Share&#8217;
    U.S. led Fight against IS at Jeddah Talks&#8221;, Agence France Presse

    SUBJECT: 10 Arab states commit to &#8216;share&#8217; 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.&#8217;14:&#8221;!0 Arab States Commit to &#8216;Share&#8217;
    U.S. led Fight against IS at Jeddah Talks&#8221;, Agence France Presse

    SUBJECT: 10 Arab states commit to &#8216;share&#8217; 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
     

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