Hamas' new methods: Multiple small attacks by unknown imported terrorists
DEBKAfile Exclusive Report September 2, 2010, 9:48 AM (GMT+02:00)

Israeli soldiers in Hebron after attack

Another drive-by shooting claimed by Hamas injured Moshe and Shira Morani from Maaleh Efraim at the Rimonim junction near Ramallah Wednesday night, Sept. 1. It was exactly the same as the attack which left four Israelis dead near Hebron Tuesday night - except that the couple saved their lives by fleeing their vehicle to a nearby wadi to escape a second round of point blank fire.When finally rescued, Moshe was in serious condition.
debkafile's counter-terror sources report that although the method of attack did not vary the two incidents were the work of different Hamas cells. Several of these cells are believed to be loose on the West Bank with instructions to accompany to keep up their terrorist attacks for as long as the Washington talks between Israeli and the Palestinians continue. Some of these death squads are expected to try and cross the Green Line from the West Bank and reach targets inside Israel.
According to our sources, the IDF and Israel's security services have no leads to the perpetrators of the two attacks or their despatchers - because, they estimate, Hamas has imported terrorists from its ranks in Syria and Lebanon. These terrorists have no known ties to any Hamas branch. Neither are they listed by the Israeli and Palestinian security services. Each of these cells operates independently of the others.

So even if any of these terrorists are caught - or an individual is wounded and questioned, he will not be able to provide leads to the others.
For now, these imported terrorists are at large on West Bank roads, exploiting the removal of a great many Israeli security roadblocks and checkpoints in an effort to ease Palestinian movements. The only way to stall them, therefore, is to follow the advice of counter-terror experts and restore the roadblocks. Until this is done, Hamas will be free to strike at will and eventually take its terrorist campaign against the Washington talks into the Israeli heartland.
The problem is that Israel's leaders, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gaby Ashkenazi oppose reinstalling the checkpoints and roadblocks for as long as the US-sponsored talks with the Palestinians continue.

Hamas' tacticians are fully aware of Israel's diplomatic constraints and exploiting them to the full, ordering their terror squads to keep going in the hope of sabotaging the negotiations.
All this makes a mockery of Netanyahu's directive to the IDF and security services to hunt down and punish the perpetrators of the Hebron attack irrespective of diplomatic considerations. For as long as the IDF and Shin Bet are groping in the dark for leads to the assailants and are prevented from physically controlling the road movements of the drive-by shooters, diplomatic considerations are clearly trumping operational needs.

debkafile's sources report that no useful information was gleaned from the 250 Hamas operatives rounded up by the Palestinian security services after the Hebron shooting - most of them from Mt. Hebron villages and familiar faces to their interrogators.
One third had been recently released from Israeli or Palestinian jails; one third was made up of members of Hamas student's organizations and a final third consisted of activists in Hamas's various societies. None appeared to have any knowledge of the identities of the people running and executing the new wave of attacks.

Moreno describes ‘miracle’ escape from Hamas attacker

By BEN HARTMAN AND KHALED ABU TOAMEH
09/03/2010 02:13

Couple wounded in West Bank shooting saved by terrorist's rifle malfunction which allowed them to hide in roadside ditch

A husband and wife who were wounded in a shooting attack on Wednesday night in the West Bank escaped death when one of the attackers’ guns jammed and they were able to hide in a nearby ditch.

Ma’aleh Efrayim resident Moshe Moreno told Army Radio on Thursday that he and his wife, Shira, were driving on Route 60 when a car pulled up behind them and began “riding his bumper.”

RELATED:
Analysis: Hamas has more cards to play
After shootings, West Bank police on highest alert

Moreno said he waved to the driver, signaling him to pass, and “then we took a turn and the car passed us and opened fire.”

The terrorists sprayed the car with automatic rifle fire and the vehicle spun out of control, overturning on the side of the road.

The attackers approached the car when suddenly, amid the hail of gunfire, one of their rifles malfunctioned, and the Morenos were able to escape.

“One of the guns jammed and we took the chance to roll out of the car and take cover,” Moshe said.

The Morenos hid in a ditch and called police, who rushed to the scene to search for the assailants.

Moreno added that he and his wife, who was lightly wounded, were lucky that the shooting took place as they were driving on an incline, saying that if the gunmen had attacked as they were heading downhill they would probably have plunged off the road to their deaths.

Speaking from his hospital bed, where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder, Moreno told Channel 2 that as the gunmen passed his car they “opened fire from, at most, one meter away. Luckily, I was only hit in the shoulder.”

The incident was the second in two days in the West Bank, both claimed by Hamas. In a terror attack outside Kiryat Arba on Tuesday night, gunmen riddled a car with bullets, killing four residents of the settlement of Beit Hagai.

Moments after that shooting, paramedics rushed to the scene, including Zaka rescue and recovery organization volunteer Maimon Even-Haim, whose wife, Kochava, was among the four victims.

Even-Haim’s friends in the rescue unit tried to keep him from reaching the car where his wife lay mortally wounded, but he could not be swayed.

Speaking to Channel 2 on Wednesday, Even-Haim said, “She looked so beautiful, so pure. I kept telling her, I’m here, I’m here, but she didn’t move.”

Even-Haim said his colleagues told him his wife died instantly, but when he arrived he could tell that “she didn’t. I saw her face and could tell she didn’t die right away.”

A Palestinian Authority security source said on Thursday that its men had seized the car used in the Beit Hagai attack.

The source said that the car was found in Hebron and that the PA security forces were now questioning several suspects linked to the vehicle.

The source refused to comment on reports that the PA has arrested two men suspected of involvement in the attack.

The PA security forces have arrested more than 300 Palestinians from different parts of the West Bank since the attack.

The crackdown has been described as the largest security operation by the PA since its inception.

Hamas, however, announced that the number of those arrested by the PA in the past 48 hours had reached 550. It said another 1,500 Palestinians suspected of affiliation with Hamas had been summoned for interrogation by the various branches of the PA’s security services.

Hamas said that the detainees included prominent political figures, physicians, engineers, university students, former security prisoners who were released from Israeli jails, and relatives and friends of Hamas legislators living in the West Bank.

Eyewitnesses told The Jerusalem Post that the Fatah-dominated security forces also rounded up dozens of worshipers as they emerged from mosques following evening prayers in many cities and villages.

Gaza Arabs celebrate massacre of Jewish civilians

The Palestinian Arabs of the Gaza Strip came out en masse Tuesday night to celebrate the brutal slaying of four Jewish civilians in Judea (the so-called "West Bank") earlier in the evening.

Photos taken by Reuters and the Associated Press show Palestinian men, women and children waving Hamas flags, flashing "victory" signs and passing out candies to commemorate the murder of Yitzhak and Talia Ames, Kochava Even-Chaim and Avishai Schindler. Seven Israeli children were made orphans by the attack.

In one of the photos, a Palestinian man has given his young boy a toy gun to carry to the celebratory rally, apparently hoping he will also grow up to be a killer.

The photos of the Gaza rally can be seen at the website of investigative journalist Tom Gross:
http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/001132.html

* Scroll down to the second news item to see the photos.

Civilians to Patrol Judea, Samaria Roads

by Maayana Miskin

A Jewish civilian patrol will begin Thursday night on Judea and Samaria roads. The patrol began its work shortly after two terrorist shooting attacks, one near Hevron and one in the Binyamin region, in which four people were murdered and two wounded.A third shooting attack was reported on Thursday night near the town of Ofra. The intended victim said he heard shooting, but was not hurt. The IDF investigated the incident and said it was not a shooting.

The civilian patrol initiative is backed by the Binyamin and Samaria Residents Councils. Those taking turns on patrol are former combat soldiers and IDF reservists; all will be armed with guns and will carry medical supplies.

The Residents Councils called on all Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria to send units made up of civilian reservists out to patrol local roads on a regular basis.

Binyamin Residents Council head Yitzchak Shedmi, a former IDF commander, explained that the civilian patrols aim to augment the security provided by the IDF. The IDF has been weakened by recent political concessions, he said, “They've reduced the number of troops in the region because they trust Abu Mazen's [PA Chairman Abbas – ed.] soldiers.”

Civilians “can provide medical care, or assist in defense, and can respond more quickly than the army,” he continued. The patrol units will inform the IDF of their plans before beginning their route, he said.

Samaria Residents Council head Benny Katzover head Defense Minister Ehud Barak responsible for the need to provide additional security on Judea and Samaria roads. “Due to the Defense Minister's irresponsible behavior in recent months, including taking down checkpoints and reducing the number of IDF troops... there has been a serious downturn in the security situation,” he said.

(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Study: US Jews Still Support Israel

by Elad Benari

A new study in the US shows that American Jews are still attached.

“Still Connected: American Jewish Attitudes About Israel” is the title of the study, which was published in August by the Maurice and Marilyn Cohen Center for Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. Authored by Theodore Sasson, Benjamin Phillips, Charles Kadushin, and Leonard Saxe, it is based on a survey which was conducted among 1,200 individuals who were identified as Jewish in a large national panel. The study was done in response to suggestions by some media outlets that younger American Jews were being alienated from Israel due to factors such as the flotilla incident and the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza.

The study, however, found that 63 percent of American Jews still feel connected to Israel, and 75 percent said that caring about Israel is a significant part of their Jewish identity. This connection is true for both younger and older respondents.

In fact, no relation was found between political views and the strength of the attachment to Israel.

The survey also dealt with the US support for Israel, and found that 52 percent of respondents characterized the current level of US support for Israel as "about right", 39 percent felt US support was too little, and only 9 percent said it was too much.

In regards to the May 31 flotilla incident, 61 percent of respondents blamed “pro-Palestinian activists” for the incident, and only 10 percent blamed Israel.

The study also finds that direct experience with Israel affects younger Jews’ relationship to the country. Young adults who participated in a Birthright Israel trip were more likely to say they felt very connected to Israel, as were those who had visited Israel in any capacity.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

4 Israelis shot dead by Hamas terrorists in West Bank

By YAAKOV KATZ AND YAAKOV LAPPIN
09/01/2010 01:42

Yitzhak Ames, Tali Ames, Kochava Ben-Haim and Avishai Schindler were all from Beit Hagai; Netanyahu tells security forces to act "without constraints against the murderers."

Four Israelis were killed Tuesday night in a shooting attack in the West Bank believed to have been aimed at torpedoing the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, set to kick off on Wednesday in Washington.

The four victims, described by a settler spokesman as a couple and two hitchhikers – were driving on Route 60 near the entrance to Kiryat Arba when their vehicle came under fire.

The victims were named as Yitzhak Ames, 47, and his wife Tali Ames, 45, Kochava Ben- Haim, 37, and Avishai Schindler, 24, all from Beit Hagai. The Ames couple had six children, including a oneand- a-half-year-old toddler.

Zaka volunteer Momy Ben- Haim was dispatched to the scene of the attack with his colleagues, when to his horror he discovered that his wife was among the dead.

“We saw a crying volunteer, and at first we did not understand what was happening – he has seen many disasters before,” Zaka volunteer Isaac Bernstein told The Jerusalem Post.

“Then he started shouting, ‘That’s my wife! That’s my wife!’ We took him away from the scene immediately,” Bernstein added.

Ben-Haim was taken to his home in Beit Hagai by his colleagues.

“When we arrived on the scene, all four doors of the car were open and four bodies were strewn on the road,” Magen David Adom paramedic Guy Ronen told The Jerusalem Post. “We saw that the vital organs had been struck by a very large number of bullets, and that there was no chance of saving their lives,” he added.

“It was a very difficult scene. We had learned to forget scenes like this in recent years,” Ronen said.

The IDF was investigating two possibilities – that Palestinian terrorists had laid an ambush alongside the road or that the shots were fired from a passing car.

IDF troops immediately launched searches for the perpetrators and the Central Command raised its level of alert, out of fear that Palestinian terrorists will increase efforts to perpetrate attacks in the coming days with the goal of torpedoing the peace summit in Washington.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who heard about Washington to relaunch direct talks with the Palestinians, said upon landing that he would speak in the evening with US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and tell her that this “criminal attack” proves again the need for Israel to stand steadfastly by its security demands.

Netanyahu said that his heart goes out to the families of the victims, and that terrorism would not determine Israel’s borders or the future of the settlements.

Netanyahu spoke on the plane with Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) head Yuval Diskin and Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi.

Netanyahu, according to his office, directed the security branches to act “without any diplomatic constraints against the murderers, and act aggressively against those who sent them.”

Officials in the prime minister’s entourage said that while Netanyahu was outraged by the attack, there was no intention of canceling the trip and returning to Israel.

Magen David Adom paramedics arrived at the scene soon after the shooting at around 7:30 p.m. and declared the four people dead. Paramedics added that one of the women may have been pregnant.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said, “Shots were fired from close range at the vehicle at approximately 7:30 p.m. All four occupants of the vehicle were shot dead. Security forces are searching for the attackers.”

According to eyewitness reports, the terrorists succeeded in hitting the passengers in their initial fire, but then approached the car and shot the occupants again at close range.

Following the attack, the Israel Police Operations Branch sent out an order to all officers in the Judea and Samaria district calling on them to increase their awareness and be on the look out for potential terror attacks, while maintaining security in the area.

Barak was also briefed on the attack by Ashkenazi and Diskin.

“This is a very grave incident,” Barak said. “The IDF and Israeli security forces will do everything they can to capture the murderers.

“Israel will not allow terrorists to lift their heads and will exact a price from the murderers and those who sent them. This is likely an attempt by terrorist lowlifes to stymie the diplomatic process and to hurt the chances of the talks opening in Washington.”

Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, who is acting premier during Netanyahu’s absence, released a statement, saying that he was in close contact with Barak and with Netanyahu’s military attache and was constantly receiving updates.

“Unfortunately it has once again been proven that while we are working to find ways to advance peace and coexistence, there are those who will continue trying to commit acts of terror and murdering innocents,” Shalom said.

“Now it is clearer than ever that the real obstacles to peace are terror and the extremists who would do anything to inflame the entire region. The PA must fulfill its obligations in the territories.”

The head of the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria, Brig.-Gen. Yoav Mordechai, spoke with his Palestinian counterparts and updated them regarding the attack. PA security forces were conducting their own investigation into the shooting.

It was unclear if the attack was carried out by an established terror cell or by a small group of attackers not affiliated with a larger terrorist group.

Hamas military wing spokesman Abu Obeida told The Associated Press late Tuesday that Hamas carried out the attack.

While the IDF apparently did not have specific intelligence regarding the Tuesday night’s shooting, there had been concern that terror groups would use the launching of direct peace talks to perpetrate attacks in the West Bank.

Ashkenazi and OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Avi Mizrachi had toured Judea and Samaria earlier this week and met with brigade commanders.

Ashkenazi asked the commanders to raise their level of vigilance for the duration of the summit in Washington out of fear that either Hamas, Islamic Jihad or even al-Qaida-affiliated elements would launch attacks against Israel.

The forces were also asked to avoid friction with the Palestinian civilian population and to demonstrate sensitivity at the crossings between Israel and the West Bank.

The US labeled the deadly shooting Tuesday “a tragedy” while urging both sides not to take steps that would jeopardize direct peace negotiations, set to be launched Thursday.

“Any time one human being takes out a weapon and fires and kills other human beings, it’s a tragedy,” said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley following the attack, adding that the US still didn’t know the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“We are cognizant that there could be external events that can have an impact on the environment.

We also are cognizant that there may well be actors in the region who are deliberately making these kinds of attacks in order to sabotage the process,” he said.

“We are very aware that as we go forward in this process, not everyone sees this in the same way, and there are those who will do whatever they can to disrupt or derail the process.”

The head of the Mount Hebron Regional Council, Tzvika Bar-Hai, called on Netanyahu to cancel the Washington talks.

“There is no place for negotiations with those who respond with deadly fire to our hand outstretched for peace,” he said.

“It is time for the leaders of Israel to wake up from the illusion of false peace,” Bar-Hai added.

“We’re talking about one of the worst terrorist attacks in the past few years,” said Naftali Bennet, director-general of the Council of Jewish Communities of Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

“We’re asking that the prime minister immediately turn the plane around and come back to Israel. It’s not possible, while we’re holding funerals, that he can stay there. And we’re calling on him, tomorrow morning, to renew the building in Judea and Samaria,” he said.

The council announced Tuesday night that it would respond to the attack by unilaterally ending the construction freeze and starting to build on Wednesday.

On Tuesday night after the attack, several youths gathered at the entrance to Kiryat Arba protesting the talks in Washington.

Right-wing MKs also called for the talks to be frozen.

“The terror attack near Kiryat Arba is a reminder to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu who his partners are,” said MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union). “The Likud government’s negotiations with the terrorist Abu Mazen are an energy boost to murder and terror.

The blood of those harmed is upon the head of the Likud government.”

MK Uri Ariel (National Union) said, “Now it is clear – the most violent period is when there are negotiations. Netanyahu must immediately freeze the talks and concentrate on promising peace for Israeli civilians.”

Ariel’s fellow party member MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) joined the calls for Netanyahu to immediately return to Israel.

“Everyone who in recent months was a partner to the myth that Abu Mazen controlled the field must come to their senses and immediately suspend the activities to strengthen the Palestinian army that is being established with American assistance,” said Eldad.

“Such a body is not capable of effectively combating Hamas, and we should not be surprised if its weapons are directed against us.”

Within the coalition, ministers were much less willing to consider freezing the talks, despite the deadly attack.

“I do not think that we need to give a prize to the murderers by not holding talks,” said Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar. “As we see an Israeli hand extended to peace, we see a murderous response on the part of Palestinians.”

Coalition Chairman Ze’ev Elkin (Likud) placed the blame not on the talks themselves, but on coalition partner Barak.

“Unfortunately all of the warnings that the policy of removing checkpoints and easing barriers for Palestinians would lead to terror have come to fruition.

“Defense Minister Barak needs to do his job as the person who is responsible for the security of Israeli civilians and not as a foreign minister who deals in diplomacy,” complained Elkin. “The answer to the attack needs to be an announcement of an immediate cessation of the building moratorium, renewing building in Judea and Samaria and stopping all gestures to the Palestinians.”

Among rank-and-file Likud MKs, many of whom have taken more right-wing stands than those of the party’s ministers, the responses were more ambiguous regarding the future of the talks.

“The terror organizations are passing on a clear message when they return to harming innocent Israeli civilians,” said MK Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), considered to be one of the most right-wing members of Likud’s Knesset faction.

“This is a warning light to all those who believe that concessions on the Land of Israel will lead to a solution to the conflict.

In the face of terror, one must respond with a strong hand without concessions.”

“We received an additional proof this evening of whom we are dealing, and once again the question arises who our partner is on the opposite side,” said MK Danny Danon (Likud). “We knew that Abu Mazen has no control in the Gaza Strip and, as we saw this evening, he has none in the West Bank either.”

Danon called on Netanyahu to make a condemnation of the attack by Abbas a condition for going ahead with the Washington summit.

On the opposite side of the aisle, MK Ze’ev Bielski (Kadima) said in response that “this horrific and murderous attack that occurred tonight was an attempt to weaken the peace talks through terror. We are witnesses to a condemnable act of murder of innocents. I am certain that the security forces will find the terrorists.

“The peace talks must continue because in the end, there is no way other than through an agreement to prevent terror,” he concluded.

Gil Hoffman, Herb Keinon, and Hilary Leila Krieger, and Melanie Lidman contributed to this report.

Authorities Took Firearm Permit from One of the Victims

by Gil Rone

One of the people murdered by Palestinian Authority terrorists Tuesday used to carry a gun for self-defense, but Israeli authorities took away his permit in late 2009 – leaving him defenseless.

Attorney Yitzchak Bam of the Forum for the Land of Israel represented the deceased man in his legal attempts to win back his gun permit. “In December, he received a letter according to which the permit is suspended because of closed criminal files regarding disturbance of the public peace,” he related. “The last closed file was from the period immediately after the Disengagement,” he said. The permit was extended after the files were closed, however, making it hard to understand why authorities suddenly decided to revoke it.

Shortly after the police's letter arrived at his home, police came to the man's home and took his weapon. An attempt to appeal the decision was rejected.

"The team for the Justice Department's law enforcement in Judea and Samaria, headed by Attorney Shai Nitzan, is the one that set the criteria regarding the licensing of firearms in Judea and Samaria,” Bam said.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Jerusalem Arab Teens Charged in Murder of US Tourist

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

Police lifted a gag order Tuesday and revealed they have arrested two Jerusalem Arab teens for allegedly murdering an elderly American tourist in Jerusalem two weeks ago. The vicim apparently refused them a cigarette. Police have not stated whether nationalist motives were involved.

The suspects are aged 13 and 15 and are from an Arab neighborhood in northern Jerusalem. The victim was identified as Lance Wolf, who was described as being 60 years old and living in the capital for approximately the last two years. His children in the United States have been notified of his death.

The youths initially denied they murdered Wolf, but later confessed. Security cameras in the Nahalat Shiva neighborhood located immediately behind the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall caught the murder on camera.

They said they smashed his head with a wooden board after he refused their request for a cigarette in what they said was a rude manner. A short time before, Wolf had agreed to buy vodka for them, and police said the teenagers may have been under the influence of alcohol when they murdered him. They were charged with manslaughter.

Police said the suspects have no criminal record. After Wolf fell under their blows, the two Arabs fled without seeking help for the man, who died of his wounds in Hadassah Hospital several days later.

Most of Israel’s mainstream media did not identify the teenagers as Arabs. This follows a similar omission several weeks ago when American authorities arrested an Israeli Arab for serial murders in the United States as he was about to board a plane for Israel. At that time, most American media did the same and called him an Israeli citizen without using the word Arab.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Hollywood: Three Iranian Jews Murdered

by Elad Benari

Three Iranian Jews living in Los Angeles were found murdered inside their apartment last Thursday, according to a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s report.

The three victims were identified as Pirooz Moussazadeh, 27; his brother, Shahriar Moussazadeh, 38; and Bernard Khalili, 27. The sheriff’s report said that deputies arrived at a West Hollywood apartment a little after 9pm following calls to 911 from neighbors who had reported hearing a series of gunshots.

Though police told the Beverly Hills Courier that the victims were “targeted by assailants seeking something from one or more of the victims,” a Los Angeles Times report said that detectives had found no sign of forced entry, drugs or weapons in the apartment.

In 2008, Khalili's sister Bianca died after falling from a high-rise. Her death was ruled a suicide, but rumors of foul play have circulated among the Iranian immigrant community.

Pooya Dayanim, president of the Iranian Jewish Public Affairs Committee, told the Courier: “Our community is shocked by the needless murder of three members of the Iranian Jewish community. I urge the Los Angeles Police Department, the coroner's office, the FBI and all other law enforcement agencies to use all tools at their disposal to fully investigate this tragedy and apprehend the perpetrator(s) of this triple murder.”

According to the Jewish Journal, this case is not the first of its kind among local Iranian Jews. In February 2008 it was reported that one Beverly Hills Iranian Jewish man allegedly shot and then paralyzed his own brother in a dispute. The man was eventually arrested and charged with attempted murder. He jumped bail and a $1 million warrant for his arrest was issued in October 2009. He has since not been located.

The Iranian Jewish community in Los Angeles has its own synagogue, the Nessah Synagogue. Since the murders the synagogue’s Rabbi David Shofet has cautioned community members to refrain from gossiping about the case.

“This is the worst tragedy in our community in the last 30 years,” said synagogue president Mehdi Soroudi. “We all feel the pain of these two families and pray for their peace. Before his sermon this Saturday, Rav David briefly said something that I agree with fully— that we do not know what has happened and therefore it’s not wise for anyone to make speculations or pass judgment.”

Sheriff Deputy Jeff Gordon assured that police was doing everything in their power to locate suspects. “Sheriff's homicide detectives are actively investigating the homicides of these three men and are seeking the suspect(s) responsible,” he said.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

MKs to Netanyahu: Come Home Now, This is Your Fault

by Gil Ronen

MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Tuesday to call off the planned direct talks with the Palestinian Authority and to return to Israel immediately to “actively participate in the immediate response that is required” following the multiple murder near Hevron.

Eldad rebuked "everyone who took part in building the myth, in the past months, that Abu Mazen controls the territory” and called upon them to “sober up and immediately suspend the continued activity to strengthen the PA army that is being established with American sponsorship. This body cannot fight Hamas effectively and we will not be surprised if their weapons are turned against us.”

MK Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (NU) said in response to the attack that “the terror attack on the outskirts of Kiryat Arba is a reminder to Netanyahu regarding the identity of his partners” in negotiations. “The Likud government's talks with the terrorist Abu Mazen are a shot in the arm to murderous terror. The blood of the victims is upon the head of the Likud government.”

MK Uri Ariel (NU) said: “It is clear by now – the most violent period is when there is a diplomatic process. Netanyahu must freeze the talks immediately and concentrate on safeguarding the security of the citizens of Israel.”
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Abbas: Settlers are sitting on lands that are not theirs

PA President sends message prior to deadly Kiryat Arba attack.

Shortly before the deadly attack near Kiryat Arba on Tuesday night, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who was on his way to Washington, sent a message to the settlers to the effect that they should leave.

Speaking to the editor of the Bethlehem-based Maan news agency aboard his plane, Abbas said in his message: “You are living on land that doesn’t belong to you and this is impossible.”

Abbas made the statement before the attack.His remarks were published as the main news item of the news agency and other Palestinian media outlets.The editor asked Abbas what message he had for the settlers on the eve of the direct talks with Israel.

Abbas replied: “The settlers are sitting on lands that are not theirs. I tell them that this is not your land and you know that. You can’t impose facts on the ground, because the settlements are illegal and will be removed.”

Meanwhile, PA security sources said that the attack may have been carried out by a cell belonging to either Hamas or Islamic Jihad. A Hamas spokesman told AP on Tuesday night that it had carried out the attack.

The sources said that the attack was clearly designed to foil the US-sponsored direct talks between Israel and the PA and embarrass Abbas.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum defended the attack as a “natural response to Zionist crimes” but stopped short of endorsing it.

Islamic Jihad welcomed the attack, saying it was intended to send a warning to the Palestinian negotiators in Washington.

Syria, Hezbollah Sign Defense Pact

DAMASCUS - Syria and the Lebanese-based Hezbollah Shiite group have signed a defense pact that includes broad-based "field understandings," according to a report in the Kuwaiti paper al-Rai.

In the event of war with Israel, the two allies will provide military support for one another, including "combat cooperation" such as divvying up the bombing of Israeli targets.

The treaty also calls for setting up a joint operations center "to fill in all the intelligence gaps that can emerge in the battlefield," according to the Kuwaiti report.

The Syrian army will provide Hezbollah with intelligence information on the location of Israeli Air Force bases to target aircraft on the ground.

While Syria's alliance with Hezbollah is not new, signing an official pact will present the Israel Defense Forces with an even more complicated scenario than it faced in the Second Lebanon War in the summer of 2006.

Other than providing an open border for Iranian armaments to reach Lebanon, Syria heeded Israel's warnings to stay out of that war. The new defense pact promises to complicate the next confrontation.

According to the most recent assessments, Hezbollah possesses an estimated 40,000 medium- and long-range rockets in its arsenal. Syria allegedly is arming some of its missiles with non-conventional warheads.

In the latest visit by Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri to Damascus, one of many over the past year, Syrian President Bashar Assad advised Hariri to support the Iranian-back group, which is now an integral part of the Lebanese government.

Last week, a prolonged gun battle on the streets of Beirut between Hezbollah's Shiite forces and pro-Syrian al-Ahbash Sunni Muslims left three dead.

Skeptics: Prospects Dim for Mideast Peace Talks

video

http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/insideisrael/2010/August/Skeptics-Prospects-Not-Good-for-Mideast-Peace-Talks/

President Obama will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the White House Thursday for their first face-to-face talks in 20 months.

Israel wants Abbas to recognize it as a Jewish state with Jerusalem as its capital. Abbas wants a permanent freeze on Jewish building in the West Bank.

In his last cabinet meeting before the direct talks, Netanyahu said he will seek an agreement but he won't allow concessions of territory to hurt Israel's security, like the last two withdrawals did in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip.

Both Netanyahu and Abbas have been feeling the heavy hand of the Obama administration, and it's likely that neither one is looking forward to the kind of three-way handshakes that have led to nothing in the past.

Many in the Middle East share their skepticism.

"I cannot say that I am extremely optimistic because the Palestinians seem to be too weak to deliver or to make historical decisions on their part," Israeli Cabinet Member Yuval Steinitz said.

In an address before his trip to Washington, Abbas told the Palestinians that Israel is completely responsible for the success or failure of the talks. He has promised to quit the talks if Israel does not extend it's building freeze in the West Bank. The freeze is set to expire on Sept. 26.

U.S. and European leaders say the talks should continue despite the skeptics.

"I know some say it is all for show. I reject that view," Tony Blair, Quartet envoy to the Middle East, said. "I think if Israel can receive real and effective guarantees about its security, then it is willing and ready to conclude a negotiation for a viable independent Palestinian state."

Supporters of the talks have said little about the role of Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip and is committed to Israel's destruction.

Hamas has condemned the upcoming meeting in Washington.

PA Minister Threatens War over Jerusalem

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

video

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/139400

The Palestinian Authority religious affairs minster, a week before peace talks in Washington, warned of war if Jerusalem is not “returned” to “its owners. And we are its owners.

With PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in the audience, Mahmoud Al-Habbash declared in his Friday sermon, "Jerusalem can ignite a thousand and one wars,” according to a translation supplied by Palestinian Media Watch.

Unless Jerusalem "becomes the capital of the Palestinian people, there is no peace," he warned. "The term 'war' will not be erased from the lexicon...as long as Jerusalem is occupied.

“If Jerusalem is dishonored, if Jerusalem is disgraced, if is lost, it may leave the door open to all possibilities of struggle, all possibilities of war.

"Jerusalem is not just a city. Al-Aqsa is not just a mosque. Jerusalem is the key to peace…. Unless Jerusalem will be Palestinian, as it was throughout history, the capital of the Palestinian state and the capital of the Palestinian people, the place which is the object of heartfelt longing and which all Muslims aspire to reach; unless Jerusalem is like that way, there is no peace. There is no peace without Jerusalem. There is no stability without Jerusalem.”

U.S. President Barack Obama, who is scheduled to host Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Abbas this week, has gradually changed his position on Jerusalem. During his 2008 election campaign, he stated that the city is the "undivided” capital of Israel, but he backtracked the next day after Arab protests.

He explained that it was up to the PA and Israel to decide the borders of the city and later stated that he meant the city should not be divided by barbed wire, as it was during the Jordanian occupation between 1948 and 1967.

In his “reaching out Muslims’ speech in Cairo in June 2008, President Obama said he foresees the United Nations flag flying over the city.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Jewish families nearly lynched in Palestinian town

Two Israeli Jewish families made the horrible error of accidentally driving into a Palestinian Arab town on Saturday, and nearly paid for it with their lives.

The families, driving in two separate cars, were returning from a bar mitzvah party when they took a wrong turn on the highway that enters Jerusalem from the north and instead headed into the Ramallah suburb of Qalandiya.

The drivers very quickly realized their error and tried to turn around, but by that time local Palestinians had noticed that Israeli Jews had dared to come into their midst and began pelting the cars with stones. In addition to the two couples, there were five children in the cars ranging in age from six-year-old to just 11-months-old.

Needless to say, both the parents and children were in a state of intense fear and panic.

"We already said our last prayers," one of the parents told Israel's Ynet news portal. "They had giant rocks and murder in their eyes. It's not fear, it's crazed horror one cannot imagine. I was afraid they'd yank the kids out of the car."

The drivers knew they had to remain in motion or risk having their families dragged from the vehicles and lynched. But even their constant motion didn't prevent the vehicles from being terribly battered. The drivers of one of the vehicles also failed to lock his doors quickly enough, and several local Arabs reportedly climbed inside the car in an attempt to grab family members.

One of the mothers said her children were saved by their decision to drop them to the floor. Moments later, a large stone smashed through the back window and landed on the 11-month-old child's seat.

The murderous affair finally came to an end when a Palestinian gas station worker offered to help the families and spoke on the phone with Israeli army officers to let them know where the victims were located exactly.

The incident was yet another example of why any agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinians is not going to be a genuine peace because the Palestinian Authority has chosen to do the opposite of educate its population for peaceful coexistence.

'PA to have state institutions in year'

By JPOST.COM STAFF AND KHALED ABU TOAMEH
08/30/2010 17:26

Fayyad announces second year of institutional capacity-building.

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad announced his intention to continue moving forward with the second year of a two-year program of institutional capacity-building to lay the groundwork for a future Palestinian state at a cabinet meeting held in Ramallah on Monday.

A document released by Fayyad's office forecasted that the PA would complete all the major reforms and initiatives necessary for the creation of an independent state within the coming year.

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A report released two weeks ago by the PA government listed a number of “achievements” toward building institutions and infrastructure in the West Bank over the past 16 months.

According to the report, the Fayyad government built 34 new schools and expanded another 23. Eleven new clinics were opened, while another 30 were expanded, the report said.

It also discussed the establishment of 44 housing projects in various parts of the West Bank, as well as the construction of 16 new roads.

In addition, the PA government took credit for renovating another 40 roads and planting 370,000 trees.

The report said the achievements had been made despite “Israeli occupation restrictions and obstacles.”

“While we were building new houses, the Israeli authorities stepped up the process of house demolitions, including in occupied east Jerusalem,” the report claimed.

The Fayyad government also accused Israel of erecting 500 “impediments” at a time when the PA was paving 157 kilometers of new roads in the West Bank.

'I hope to find a brave partner as Begin found in Sadat'

By YAAKOV KATZ AND HERB KEINON
08/31/2010 01:53

Netanyahu speaks to Likud supporters ahead of peace talks trip; Israel putting out feelers for significant US arms package to compensate for loss of security assets in a peace deal.

Israel is looking into the possibility that it will receive an arms package as compensation from the United States in the event that it reaches a peace agreement with the Palestinians that entails significant concessions, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

Israel’s argument is that there is a need to compensate for security assets that would be lost under a deal that would necessitate a withdrawal from almost all of the West Bank.

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Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, on the eve of his departure on Tuesday to Washington to relaunch the talks, told Likud activists at a pre-Rosh Hashana toast in Tel Aviv that he would be cautious during the talks and insist on security guarantees, so an Israeli withdrawal would not be met by the firing of hundreds of rockets, as was the case when Israel left the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

“I am not naïve,” Netanyahu said.

Then, referring to the 1979 peace agreement with Egypt brokered by Likud prime minister Menachem Begin, he said, “I know that there are two sides. I want to give this time and resources. I hope to find a courageous partner as Begin found in Sadat.”

Netanyahu pointedly did not mention the settlement housing-start moratorium that ends on September 26.

While many Likud ministers and MKs are calling for building to resume immediately when the freeze ends, the Palestinians have said that if Netanyahu does so, they will quit the talks.

Ahead of the launch of this long-waited round of peace talks, the IDF’s Planning Branch formulated a paper outlining Israel’s security requirements that was recently approved by Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

In the plan, the IDF referred to three requirements necessary for any withdrawal from the West Bank: a commitment that rockets would not be smuggled into the West Bank, a commitment that the Palestinians will not resume terrorist attacks against Israel like during the second intifada, and a commitment that if Iraq were to one day pose a military threat to Israel again, the Palestinians would not allow it or any other country to deploy military forces in the West Bank.

In talks Netanyahu and Barak have held with US officials, there appears to be a readiness by the US to offer Israel an arms package if the direct talks succeed and result in a peace deal with the Palestinian Authority.

One example of what the package could include are additional F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets. Israel recently announced it was buying 20 JSFs for around $3 billion, but there is skepticism within the defense establishment as to whether it would have funds to purchase additional aircraft down the road.

Such a package could include additional funding for missile defense systems that Israel is planning to deploy throughout the country.

Earlier this year, the US Congress approved $205 million for Israel’s Iron Dome short-range rocket defense system. The money is expected to allow the IDF to buy an additional six batteries for the system.

Netanyahu is scheduled to leave on Tuesday morning for the talks. He will meet with US President Barack Obama on Wednesday, before attending a dinner hosted by Obama with PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordanian King Abdullah and Quartet envoy Tony Blair. He is expected to hold separate talks with each of the other leaders as well.

On Thursday morning, Netanyahu and Abbas will launch the talks in the presence of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the State Department.

This ceremony will be followed by the first working meeting between Netanyahu and Abbas, and their respective teams.

The head of Israel’s negotiating team, attorney Yitzhak Molcho, flew to Washington on Monday for preparatory discussions. Netanyahu’s office said on Monday, in response to demands by women’s groups, that it would appoint at least one woman to the negotiating team.

Also on Monday, Jordan continued its efforts to prod Israel to an agreement, by hosting Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog in Amman for discussions with the Jordanian leadership.

Herzog’s visit followed a visit to the capital by Barak, who met with Abdullah.

In addition, the king gave an interview to Channel 1 over the weekend where his message was clearly that the Israeli people should compel its leaders to show flexibility in the upcoming talks.

Herzog, following a meeting with Jordanian Prime Minister Samir Rifaay, quoted the prime minister as saying Israel needed to do “everything possible” to ensure that the diplomatic process succeeded, including continuing with the settlement construction freeze. He said Jordan and Abdullah “are making every effort” so that this time the talks would succeed.

Egypt and Jordan led the efforts inside the Arab League last month to get that organization to give its backing to the talks.

Herzog said that Netanyahu was aiming for the success of the talks, and that Israel was committed to accelerated negotiations. He said that history would judge the leaders, who both needed to demonstrate “courage and responsibility.”

Herzog also met with the Jordanian Social Affairs Minister Hala Latuf and Information Minister Ali Alayed.

According to Herzog, his Jordanian colleagues said that positive results from the talks in Washington would create a good opportunity for constructive movement between Israel and Jordan, and between Israel and the region.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office said it would update the public on developments from Washington using the new social networks, including Facebook and Twitter. The office recently launched a YouTube channel, including video clips in Hebrew and English on Netanyahu’s activities.

Gil Hoffman contributed to this report.

Barak to head to Moscow to prevent missile sale to Syria

By YAAKOV KATZ
08/31/2010 03:25

Defense Minister will head to Russia amid Israeli concerns regarding sale of advanced military technology to Syria and Iran.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak will travel to Russia next week amid Israeli concerns regarding the sale of advanced military technology to Syria and Iran.

Israel is particularly concerned over a deal to supply Syria with advanced supersonic P-800 Yakhont cruise missiles that would pose a serious threat to Israel Navy ships if transferred to Hizbullah. During the 2006 Second Lebanon War, Hizbullah succeeded in striking an Israeli navy missile ship with an Iranian-supplied surface-to-sea missile.

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Barak will discuss the proposed sale of the missiles to Syria as well as a Russian request to collaborate with Israeli defense industries in the development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

In 2009, Russia purchased 12 drones from Israel Aerospace Industries as part of a new requirement it had issued for UAVs following its war with Georgia during which Georgian military forces operated Israeli Elbit Systems Hermes 450 UAVs.

Israel recently put plans to establish a joint venture with Russia to manufacture UAVs on hold amid concerns regarding the transfer of sensitive technology to Moscow.

While elements in the Defense Ministry are concerned over the possible transfer of technology, other Israeli government officials – particularly from the Foreign Ministry – have recommended going through with the project as a way of tightening ties with Moscow and creating leverage to prevent future sales to Iran and Syria.

Israel is also concerned over the possibility that Russia will follow through with the delivery of the S-300 surfaceto- air defense system to Iran.

Russia has issued mixed messages regarding the future of the 2005 deal in recent months, first saying that the new round of sanctions on Iran passed by the United Nations in June would not impede the deal and later saying that it would.

Despite the Israeli objections, a top Russian official issued a statement on Sunday saying that Moscow would honor its deal with Syria.

“I would like to emphasize that the Russian Federation is fully honoring its earlier agreements with Syria,” Russian presidential aide Sergey Prikhodko told the Interfax news agency.

A senior Israeli defense official said Monday that Israel believed Moscow would be flexible on the issue of the Syrian arms deal.

“Moscow is a very important power to us in terms of defense and diplomacy and we see room for accommodation regarding what we want from them and what they want from us,” the official said.

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