tagged w/ Middle East Conflict
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IAF jets attacked targets in Khan Yunis and Rafah on Tuesday afternoon, several hours after a Grad-type rocket landed in Ashkelon, Palestinian sources reported.
Grad rocket hits Ashkelon
Around 6:00 p.m. a car was hit in the Rafah area at the southern Gaza Strip. Earlier a Hamas outpost in the Bani Swaheil area east of Khan Yunis was destroyed. Several smuggling tunnels along the Philadelphi Corridor were also struck.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who was speaking at the Herzliya Conference, told attendees that "the IAF is operating in the Gaza Strip right now."
Earlier, after the Grad-type rocket hit in Ashkelon on Tuesday morning, the IDF warned residents of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, that they should leave their homes lest they be caught in an IAF air strike.
Read more by clicking link above.
What more could any country do than to warn the the resident's of the town that the IDF is gonna launch airstrikes. If they want the strikes to stop, don't let Hamas fighters launch rockets from your towns and villages intto Israel.IAF jets attacked targets in Khan Yunis and Rafah on Tuesday afternoon, several hours... more
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Moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has been elected Somalia's new president, after a secret ballot of members of parliament. The BBC's Peter Greste in the region says he won the election as the one man who may be able to straddle the political extremes between the secular warlords, who until now have dominated government, and the Islamist al-Shabab militia.
He is due to be sworn in as president later on Saturday, before representing Somalia at an African Union summit in Ethiopia over the weekend.
Earlier this week, 149 new opposition members from the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia (ARS), which is led by Mr Ahmed, were sworn in to parliament.
But al-Shabab says it will not recognise the new government.Moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed has been elected Somalia's new... more
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mik661
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Islamic radicals in Somalia desire to create an Islamic state based on Sharia Islamic law and the brutality of their thinking can be seen by recent events in Somalia. This most notably applies to stoning a young lady to death and beheading a Christian convert from Islam. So will major powers support a policy based on the stabilization of Somalia via economic, political, and military support? Or will the international community do little apart from empty words? If the international community does the latter, then Ethiopia and the African Union will be left to deal with the crisis by themselves despite having major capital concerns.
Before focusing on current events it is important to acknowledge that Ethiopia and the African Union (AU) support a stable Somalia, whereby a centralized government can stabilize this country from various militias and Islamic radical organizations. However, militant Islamists desire to follow a radical Sunni Islamic path which will lead to the implementation of Sharia Islamic law. This means that Islamists desire to kill converts to Christianity, stone women to death for adultery, openly flog people for listening to music, and turning Somalia “into year zero.”
Added to this, radical Islamic forces will allow global jihadists to cause mayhem in neighbouring countries, and much further afield. This should alarm regional nations in Africa and throughout the world because we all know the consequences of global terrorism.Islamic radicals in Somalia desire to create an Islamic state based on Sharia Islamic... more
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sontag
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Pakistan is currently in crisis because many parts of this nation are out of control and central forces can do little to stem the tide of hatred. For recently the Taliban and other radical Sunni Muslim organizations have warned young females from obtaining an education. This policy is not related to the government of Pakistan. Instead this barbaric policy is being introduced by radical Sunni Islamic forces who desire to rule by fear. Therefore, in the last few days at least five schools have been bombed by pro-Taliban forces. So how can Pakistan and other nations stop this barbaric threat from radical Sunni Islamic zealots?
Of course the political correct liberals in the West and the “well meaning” who try to excuse every crime committed by these fanatics, remain mainly silent when issues like this occur. Therefore, we hear so much about Guantanamo Bay but what about the dark forces of radical Sunni Islam, why don’t we get more information about this?
Yes, Guantanamo Bay can be questioned because of the violation of international law. Yet what about informing people about the brutal ideology of radical Sunni Islam? After all, they support the persecution of women, killing homosexuals, killing converts from Islam, stoning people to death for adultery, closing female schools, killing teachers who teach females, and many other barbaric and draconian measures.
Yet the political correct who were aghast by Guantanamo Bay, say very little about the reality of radical Sunni Islam. Therefore, today we are seeing a new wave of radical Sunni Islam in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan once more. This means a new drive against women in order to maintain a firm male grip over society. However, the mass media, on the whole, appears to be asleep on this issue?Pakistan is currently in crisis because many parts of this nation are out of control... more
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sontag
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(IsraelNN.com) IDF tanks rolled back into Gaza along with foot soldiers Tuesday afternoon following an early morning roadside bomb explosion and a rocket-propelled grenade attack that killed one soldier and wounded three others, one seriously.
"This is a serious attack," Defense Minister Ehud Barak told soldiers during a visit near a base close to the scene of the attack and at the same time it occurred. "We cannot accept it and we will retaliate. I do not think there is any point in saying how."(IsraelNN.com) IDF tanks rolled back into Gaza along with foot soldiers Tuesday... more
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ISTANBUL -- After her arrest at Cairo's airport on Dec. 13 while attempting to flee anti-Christian hostilities in Egypt, convert Martha Samuel Makkar was granted bail on Saturday (Jan. 24), but not before a judge took her aside and said he would like to kill her, according to her lawyer.
Attorney Nadia Tawfiq said Judge Abdelaa Hashem questioned Makkar extensively about her Christian faith during the hearing. Makkar, charged with forging identification documents, explained her reasons for her conversion, avowing her Christian faith and repudiating the judge's claims that converting from Islam to Christianity was impossible.
"Then he said, 'I want to talk with Martha alone,' so we all left the room, and he said to her, 'Nobody changes from Muslim to Christian - you are a Muslim,'" Tawfiq said. "And she said, 'No, I am a Christian.' He told her, 'If I had a knife now, I would kill you.' [Makkar] came out crying and depressed, but at least he gave the decision to let her go free."
Makkar, 24, had planned to escape the dangers she has faced in Egypt by travelling to Russia with her family. She says that since converting to Christianity five years ago, police and members of her extended family have threatened her incessantly, the relatives vowing to kill her.ISTANBUL -- After her arrest at Cairo's airport on Dec. 13 while attempting to... more
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Washington (AINA) -- US representatives Ana Eshoo and Frank Wolf have sent a letter to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, calling for protection for Iraq's Assyrians. The letter states:
"The Christian owner of a car repair shop was killed execution-style in Mosul, police said Saturday, raising concern about the possibility of new attacks against the religious minority in the northern Iraqi city."
This chilling excerpt came from an AP story last week. The targeted violence comes on the heels of attacks and intimidation last fall which prompted thousands of Iraqi Christians to flee their homes in fear.
This is not the first time we have seen targeted killings. We need look no further than the 2008 kidnap and murder of Archbishop Rahho of Mosul, an Assyrian Christian of the Chaldean Church, or Youssef Adel, an Assyrian Christian priest who was also fatally shot in a drive-by attack in April 2008. These high-profile killings are indicative of wider-scale persecution experienced by this suffering community. The numbers tell the story.
The lawmakers asked the Secretary to:
Among your first actions as Secretary, we urge you to facilitate the development of a comprehensive policy to address the unique plight of Iraq's struggling ethno-religious minorities, specifically the Christian community. Further, we ask, consistent with the recommendations of USCIRF, that you appoint a special envoy for human rights in Iraq to our Embassy in Baghdad, reporting directly to you to serve as the lead human rights official in Iraq for the United States.Washington (AINA) -- US representatives Ana Eshoo and Frank Wolf have sent a letter to... more
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WASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama told Israelis and Palestinians it was time to return to the negotiating table, as he dispatched his new special envoy George Mitchell on a debut tour of the region.
Barack Obama (L) speaks alongside George Mitchell in the Cabinet Room
Also:
Obama on Arab TV: Moment at Hand to Forge Middle East Peace Accord
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-01-27-voa7.cfmWASHINGTON (AFP) — US President Barack Obama told Israelis and Palestinians it... more
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Nine Saudi Islamic militants, including former Guantanamo inmates, have been rearrested in the Kingdom despite completing a controversial rehabilitation programme.
The arrests follow the embarrassing revelation last week that another Saudi Guantanamo Bay detainee who was released to the authorities in 2007 has emerged as the deputy leader of al-Qaeda's Yemeni branch of the terrorist organisation.
Both incidents are a serious setback for the experimental regime in which Saudi terror suspects are "weaned off" Islamic militancy at the so-called "Betty Ford clinic" for jihadists.
The rearrest of nine Saudi militants has also underlined the dilemma now facing governments with nationals still being detained in Guantanamo Bay, following President Obama's decision to close the camp. He has called on other countries to take detainees to help clear out the controversial prison.Nine Saudi Islamic militants, including former Guantanamo inmates, have been... more
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Anger Rises in the West Bank
Fury is rising in Ramallah over the war in Gaza, as are support for Hamas and anger with the Palestinian Authority.
By STEVEN ERLANGER
Published: January 5, 2009
NABLUS, West Bank — Fewer than 100 people showed up on Monday in the busy center of Nablus for a demonstration in solidarity with the suffering Palestinians of Gaza. There were a few Palestinian flags, and some posters that featured bombs with Jewish stars and dripping blood and demanded, “Where is the conscience of the world?” But when an organizer asked passers-by to join the rally, only a handful responded.
The lack of interest was not, for certain, lack of support for Hamas. Fury is rising here over the war in Gaza, as are support for Hamas and anger with the Palestinian Authority in this city, which has long been the beating heart of opposition to Israeli occupation of the West Bank. Many want the authority and the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas of the Fatah party, to do more to criticize Israel.
But a complicated internal struggle is also playing out here in the West Bank, separate geographically and governed by the Palestinian Authority, not, like Gaza, by Hamas. Fatah leaders are growing deeply worried over popular reaction and support for its rival, Hamas, to the point of crushing recent demonstrations.
since the westbank has a different ruling party and has real U.S. support what will the people decide?Anger Rises in the West Bank
Fury is rising in Ramallah over the war in Gaza, as are... more
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Dozens of Iranians burnt posters of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in Tehran on Tuesday and waved Palestinian flags in support of Gaza, according to a witness and photographs.
Iranian demonstrators have often burnt effigies or pictures of U.S. presidents in protests. This appeared to be the first time Obama's picture had been defaced so publicly, a week before his inauguration as president.
Iran has condemned the West, and the United States in particular, for not doing more to stop Israel's attacks on Gaza. The 18-day-old offensive, which Israel says is to stop rockets being fired at it, has killed more than 900 Palestinians.
"Where are the freedom seekers?" read one poster held up by a demonstrator at Tuesday's protest. It had the word "Gaza" emblazoned on it and an image of a weeping Palestinian.
The demonstrators, waving Palestinian flags, some chanting "Death to Obama," had gathered outside the Swiss embassy which handles U.S. interests because Tehran and Washington have not had diplomatic ties for nearly three decades.
Pictures obtained by Reuters showed the president-elect's image laid on the road for cars to drive over it, and other images showed demonstrators burning the Obama poster.
[Photo: Reuters]Dozens of Iranians burnt posters of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama in Tehran on... more
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Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Israeli embassy, Kensington
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According to a United Nations aid official, the Israeli airstrikes pounding Gaza are deepening the humanitarian crisis in an area that was already in deep distress.
"The situation is absolutely disastrous," U.N. official Christopher Gunness told CNN on Sunday, as a second day of aerial attacks brought the death toll in Gaza close to 300. Hundreds more people have been injured.
Israel has said the airstrikes are a necessary self-defense measure after repeated rocket attacks from Gaza into southern Israel by Hamas militants. Israeli leaders say they are trying to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.
Gunness, a spokesman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), said the agency has been unable to get needed medical supplies into Gaza for more than a year, because of Israel's blockade of border crossings.
"Long, long lists of drugs and other medical supplies which in the U.S. would be considered standard in any hospital -- they're just not available in Gaza," he said. "When people have been turning up for treatment following this massive attack, they are simply being turned away. If you've got things like shattered limbs, broken arms, broken legs, feet blown off, that kind of thing, you're simply not being seen. If you've got very light injuries and you need bandages or aspirins, you'll get seen."
Israel did give in to requests from the Red Cross and others to allow 30 trucks loaded with fuel, food and medical supplies to pass into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing Sunday morning, along with five ambulances contributed by Egypt, an Israeli security source said.
However, a senior Israeli military official said that the air raids will continue, and that Israeli ground troops deployed around Gaza will "be activated if needed."
The Red Cross and World Food Program trucks that moved across the border Sunday were the first deliveries allowed by Israel since 80 trucks moved through on Friday.According to a United Nations aid official, the Israeli airstrikes pounding Gaza are... more
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US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday called on Hamas in Gaza not to attack Israel, and warned that acts of violence would not help the Palestinian cause.
"I sincerely hope that there will not be a resumption of the violence because that is not going to help the people of Gaza, it is not going to help the Palestinians, it is not going to help the Palestinian cause," she said.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his appeal to extend the truce and immediately halt rocket attacks against Israel and all acts of violence, UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said at the UN headquarters in New York.
"At this point, no one has requested that we extend the truce," Zakkai said, adding that Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in August 2005 had not freed Gaza from occupation.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday called on Hamas in Gaza not to attack... more
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sontag
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Authorities charged the president of an Iranian foundation Friday with obstructing justice in an investigation of a bank accused of helping fund Iran's nuclear program.
650 5th Ave. is seen in Manhattan, New York. The US government alleged that ASSA Corp. was created by Bank Melli to hold its interest in a building located at 650 Fifth Ave. in New York. The building's construction had been partly financed by a Bank Melli loan, Treasury said.
Photo: AP
Jahedi Farshid, 54, the president of the Alavi Foundation, is accused of trying to throw away documents cited in a subpoena issued Wednesday, federal prosecutors said.
The US government said Assa was a front company set up by Iran's Bank Melli to funnel money from the US to Iran. Bank Melli has been accused of providing support for Iran's nuclear program.Authorities charged the president of an Iranian foundation Friday with obstructing... more
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sontag
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The rocket struck a parking lot near the Victory supermarket in the Peretz Center shopping mall. It damaged cars and stores and sent shoppers fleeing for their lives. Islamic Jihad took responsibility for the attack.
At least 16 rockets have struck the Gaza Belt and Sderot Wednesday.The rocket struck a parking lot near the Victory supermarket in the Peretz Center... more
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sontag
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“There is also the small issue of Blair having achieved fuck all as peace envoy to the Middle East. I don’t think Tony realises that working for JP Morgan and making crappy speeches in China is not a great help to people living in the Gaza Strip.”“There is also the small issue of Blair having achieved fuck all as peace envoy... more
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Israel declared that it plans to start building its first settlement in the Jordan Valley since 1991, causing an uprising in the surrounding Palestinian farming villages. Freelance journalist Daniel Heimpel travels to the Northern Jordan Valley and talks to some key players in the situation.Israel declared that it plans to start building its first settlement in the Jordan... more
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Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear capability and if time begins to run out, Jerusalem will not hesitate to take whatever means necessary to prevent Iran from achieving its nuclear goals, the government has recently decided in a special discussion. Israel will not allow Iran to attain nuclear capability and if time begins to run out,... more
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The tone is getting rougher. This doesn't look like a diplomatic solution is possible anymore.The tone is getting rougher. This doesn't look like a diplomatic solution is... more
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